Dwell November 2008, Vol. 09 Issue 01: In Its Element

The winglike dips in the roofline situate and hold the house against the region’s brutal winds. As the outdoor chairs attest, lifestyles here pass easily between inside and out; a long hike and a good swim are always just steps away

Mike Kurokawa and Paul Fishman set out for the beach from their house in the Puna region of Hawaii. A bridge leads from street level to the upper floor of the house, which is situated in a natural depression, or kipuka.

Method cofounder Eric Ryan helps us investigate the mystery of the sock-eating dryer. Though none of the machines we reviewed have pair-preservers, we discovered their many other merits in the process.

Birgitte Ginge and Madeline Williamson imagined their golden years in a loft that mirrored their urbane sensibilities and professions in music and academia. So when they fell in love with a piece of land in the breathtaking Rio Chama watershed of northern New Mexico, the couple sought an architect who could harmonize their interests with the environment. Ginge takes us through the union of landscape, architects, clients, and contractors.

The city’s second highest point, Cerro San Cristobal, with its Swiss-style gondolas, rises some 1,000 feet above the rest of the city and is where Santiaguinos escape the urban bustle to picnic, swim, hike, and wander through gardens. Metropolitan Zoo is at the base of the towering hill.

Available to rent on Airbnb, the two-bedroom prefab house as a prototype for their pre-engineered IT House series and made an appearance in Dwell Magazine’s November 2008 issue.

The sleeping cabin perches on a rocky rise near the Floating House; Meredith imagines these two as a start of a string of buildings that will wrap around the island.

Visitors to the chapel have compared it to a Japanese warrior helmet and the early construction phases of a wooden ship.