facade

At the far end of the cabin, the duo installed this Finnish necessity: the sauna. The multipurpose space can be accessed through the bedroom or via the outdoor terrace. It serves as a multipurpose space where they can also cook food—such as pike fished from the lake.

Built with trees felled on-site, a 650-foot-long elevated pathway connects the cabin to the nearest road.

Bergmann and Becker traveled from Germany, where they were studying, to the remote lakeside site in Finland to complete the project over three summers. They prefabricated the modular frames in Bergmann’s grandparents’ barn (which had electricity) to avoid weather disruptions.

This single-family residence in Bloomfield, Michigan, known as the Treehaus, embodies the iconic style of midcentury modernism. Thanks to a thoughtful renovation, this rare dwelling has been restored to its original state of refined elegance.

The entrance to the apartment after the renovation.

A limestone terrace beckons off the main living areas. The white outdoor chairs are from IKEA.

Horizontal larch cladding was used for the façade to give the house an interesting ribbed texture with deep grooves.

The roof creates a dialogue with the surrounding landscape through multiple sloped planes, irregular lines, and an absence of overhangs. The home's form appears to change according to one's angle of approach.

"We liked the idea of capturing the informality of a holiday place—nothing precious, all simple and practical," explain the architects.

The black facade of the Yatabes’ house may turn a darkly futuristic face to its suburban block, but behind it the house is full of light. In Saitama, a tightly packed neighborhood near Tokyo, the black metal screen affords the family privacy without sacrificing outdoor space.

A family of cost-conscious Hamburgers converted a kitschy turn-of-the-century villa into a high-design home with a strict budget in place. To unite the quaint masonry of the original villa with the squat, ugly add-on built flush against it, the architects decided to paint the old-fashioned facade graphite gray and then covered the box next door in plain, light-colored larch. Photo by Mark Seelen.

"With both sliding doors open, the two decks connect seamlessly through the building, dramatically changing the sense of scale, space, and connection to the site."

"Translucent glass in the sliding doors references the light qualities of Japanese rice-paper screens, creating a sense of enclosure and privacy at night, while encouraging the occupant to open them during the day," explain the architects. "They also prevent birds, including the endangered swift parrot, from attempting to fly through the building and striking the glass."

In its simplest form, the new house is designed as an operable glass pavilion that is wrapped in fine hardwood screens, so the owners can control the amount of direct sun coming in.

During the winter, the family can slide the screens open to let in the winter sun, in summer they can close the screens to provide shade, while still maintaining views and breezes through the timber battens.

House in Tokyo is a minimal residence designed by Ako Nagao + miCo for a couple who required a music studio. The site is located between reinforced concrete mid-to-high-rise apartments and an old wooden housing area. The volume needed to be closed and

The rear of the house features Victorian brick, a modern extension, and Velfac windows. Landscape designer Matthew Wright was inspired by the art of Henri Rousseau when choosing plants to set amid the garden’s Dorset pebbles.

Case Inlet Retreat

Edward Ogosta Architecture renovates and extends a Californian dwelling, creating a breezy, light-filled home for a family of five.