cool homes

"We made the space as flexible as possible to allow for numerous potential uses in all four seasons," says architect Tom Kundig. During the summer months, the property is especially lively as the residents take advantage of their waterfront location.

Pole Pass Retreat | Olson Kundig

Pole Pass Retreat | Olson Kundig

From the outside, the screen reveals an earthy patina that is in natural dialogue with the wine silo.

This gabled addition by Upstairs Studio Architecture is topped with a standing seam metal roof and is clad in vertical corrugated metal siding.

According to the architects, the house's "thinner dimensions not only display refinement of technique, but also remove visual weight from materials—the position being that lightness is good for the human spirit and visual heaviness is not."

La Jolla Exterior

A Renlita Floataway garage door is shielded by one of the home’s many overhangs.

In a family’s pint-size lake retreat in Austin, Texas, ipe siding and decking meet concrete floors and steeland-glass windows. Stained cyprus was used for the ceiling and soffit. The custom barn-style sliding door conceals the family’s collection of giant inner tubes and other boating equipment. Photo by: Kimberly Davis