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Collection by Francesca Banci

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A pair of Icelandic prefab pioneers deliver an efficient family home in Culver City. Building smarter is at the heart of everything designers Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir do. Whether they’re testing the limits of indoor/outdoor living or developing a prefabricated wall system that they hope will make traditional wood framing a thing of the past, the founders of the Santa Monica design studio Minarc are consumed with making structures stronger, lighter, and more efficient.
A pair of Icelandic prefab pioneers deliver an efficient family home in Culver City. Building smarter is at the heart of everything designers Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir do. Whether they’re testing the limits of indoor/outdoor living or developing a prefabricated wall system that they hope will make traditional wood framing a thing of the past, the founders of the Santa Monica design studio Minarc are consumed with making structures stronger, lighter, and more efficient.
The Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, features a solar hemicycle footprint. Image courtesy of Wright Auction House.
The Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, features a solar hemicycle footprint. Image courtesy of Wright Auction House.
As the only handicap-accessible building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent House (so named for the couple that lived there from 1952 until 2012) was completed in 1952 as one of the so-called Usonian homes. The couple married shortly before World War II, and Ken Laurent underwent surgery during his service in the Navy that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Wright listened closely to his clients' needs, featuring accessible design that were decades ahead of his time, including a lack of thresholds and floors that are level with the exterior ground for easy transitions between inside and outside. Wright designed much of the furniture in the house, including the built-in seating shown here.
As the only handicap-accessible building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Kenneth and Phyllis Laurent House (so named for the couple that lived there from 1952 until 2012) was completed in 1952 as one of the so-called Usonian homes. The couple married shortly before World War II, and Ken Laurent underwent surgery during his service in the Navy that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Wright listened closely to his clients' needs, featuring accessible design that were decades ahead of his time, including a lack of thresholds and floors that are level with the exterior ground for easy transitions between inside and outside. Wright designed much of the furniture in the house, including the built-in seating shown here.