Architecture

Klopf Architecture updated this Eichler with a radiant floor heating system, re-stained paneling, and a new office/guest room filled with Eichler hallmarks like dark bronze door handles.

After an unprecedented year of earthquakes, hurricanes, and fires, a bright light has been shed on the benefits of building with concrete.

Built with a steel frame, the Frost House features panels of styrofoam between aluminum sheets for the exterior walls and styrofoam between plywood for the roof and floors. Bold, primary colors accentuate its geometric form. Shortly after Karen Valentine and Bob Coscarelli purchased the home in 2016, they began to unearth nuggets of information about its pedigree. Their realtor had provided a brochure that identified the prefab as designed by architect Emil Tessin for the now-defunct Alside Homes Corporation based out of Akron, Ohio, which had held a patent for the structure’s aluminum paneling. Their new neighbors provided a stack of Alside Homes sales materials, floor plans of various models, and even a script that had been written for salespeople during home tours. They determined that the Frost House had been a sales model for the company, and that Tessin had been the son of Emil Albert Tessin, the legal guardian of Florence Knoll.

A wooden swing is anchored into the exposed, steel cross beam that supports the second story. "It speaks to the playful whimsy of being a grown child," says Young, who found the piece at Peg and Awl -- a trove of repurposed treasures -- and thought it would be fun for the space. His kids like it too.

Clad in white HardiePlank siding, the duplex was designed to mimic the industrial look of the shipping container extensions.

All furnishings were purchased on a budget. The rug and Friheten sleeper sectional in the living room, the Luftig oven hood, Norrsjön sink, Sektion cabinetry, and countertop in the kitchen, and the small dining counter with Glenn bar stools were all sourced from IKEA.

Fields of native grasses connect the main residence, situated at the top of the slope, to the new structures scattered below. A pergola extends from the post-and-beam structure that was maintained during the remodel of the midcentury home.

When Jennifer and Mattias Segerholt decided to move to Portland after five years in Los Angeles, a shared climate-based trepidation shaped their real estate search.

As the house is situated on a steep slope, visitors enter only to be whisked upstairs to the main living space. The facade was designed by Bob Hatfield in 1996. A new glass and steel door, designed by Chris Deam and fabricated by Sand Studios, was added in the renovation.

The Opdahl House, designed by Edward Killingsworth for Richard and Joyce Opdahl, is located on the island of Naples, in Long Beach, California, and the design responds to the constraints imposed by the compact site.Unlike the neighbors, whose homes unflinchingly abut their property lines, Killingsworth set the Opdahl House 42 feet back from the street, dedicating half of the lot to a dramatic entryway that includes a carport, garden, and reflecting pool. The effect is one of entering a private sanctuary.

Buckner and Roberts both expressed admiration for Jones’s thoughtful details—including the sloping glass, angled columns, and Wrightian light shelf.

Farnham walks the couple’s Vizsla, Kasia, down the sloped alley upon which the house sits. Hill’s renovation maintains some Victorian character in the decorative eaves and scaling, but the home is largely an anomaly for San Francisco.

Landscape architect Tait Moring installed pavers around the structure’s perimeter and kept the tree cover intact. Photo by: Kimberly Davis

Edgeland House, built on a cliff-top lot in Austin by architect Thomas Bercy for lawyer and writer Chris Brown, is topped by a living roof to help it blend into the landscape. The concrete, steel, and glass house is divided into two distinct public and private halves.

Originally designed by locally renowned architect Arthur Dallas Stenger, this 1960s home featured an unusual awning that was maintained during a 21st-century upgrade by architects Rick and Cindy Black. The architects partially reconfigured the interior layout, updated the kitchen, and added new doors to the porch, all the while making sure the adjustments to the house honored its midcentury provenance while still avoiding creating a time capsule.