Exterior Concepts

Villa Oscar is a typical example of a Smedshammar + Holmberg private commission, where a wooden frame is used to “frame” the house in the landscape.

The Melbourne Home of Kim Victoria Wearne and Stuart Beer via the Design Files.

Gesner’s house for John Scantlin,1965, highlighting the structure of the single ridge beam, and its lateral rib-like beams, rising up and out toward the view. Photo by Juergen Nogai

The house’s slatted, anodized aluminum canopies and indoor-outdoor spaces flow into one another. The resin Opal lounge and Square Cube table, with pillows and cushions covered in Sunbrella fabrics, and the teak and powder-coated cast aluminum Silver Dining swivel rocker, are all from the Veneman Collections.

Bivak pod Skuto

When renovating a house in McAllen, Texas, for his brother-in-law’s family, architect Luis López designed an overhang with concrete beams that protects the front entrance from the area’s frequent rain. A large front window was inserted to provide views through the house to the backyard.

The large deck was falling apart when the Pfeiffers moved in, necessitating a serious overhaul of the lower level.

A large rectangular cut in the back wall of the house creates views from the entrance through a courtyard to the trees and lake beyond.

Clad in Western red cedar siding and punctuated with floor-to-ceiling windows, this minimalist two-bedroom home boasts sunrise views over the Sonoma hills.

Dotted by potted plants and lined with a simple iron gate, Casa Tuscania’s back patio aims to exist harmoniously with the wild environment just beyond.

Photograph by Matthew Millman from West Coast Modern by Zahid Sardar, reprint permission by Gibbs Smith Publisher.

Architect Sven Matt mixed basic shapes with rich details in this Austrian home. The lattice shell was hewn from silver fir sourced from a nearby forest. Eternit shingles clad the roof.

This São Paulo jungle oasis by Studio MK27 was chosen for the completed residential category.

A. Quincy Jones, Sidney F. and Frances Brody House, Los Angeles, California, 1948-51. Photograph by Jason Schmidt, 2012. Courtesy Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

A. Quincy Jones and Frederick E. Emmons, Architects. Milton S. Tyre House, Los Angeles, California, 1951-54. Photograph by Jason Schmidt, 2012. Courtesy Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

One of the most significant of Mies' works, the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, was built between 1945 and 1951 for Dr. Edith Farnsworth as a weekend retreat. The home embraces his concept of a strong connection between structure and nature, and may be the fullest expression of his modernist ideals.

After months spent researching solutions to make her home’s fabric roof functional, Lisa Sette can finally relax.