facade

In the backyard, there is a laneway structure that is partially clad in the same shingles as the main house. Brian and Karen rent the outbuilding to a tenant. Measured collaborated with Aloe Designs on the landscaping.

The gable-roofed home features sustainable Accoya wood siding and Tecu patinated copper by KME, experimental materials that Ricks had proposed for MASS Design Group competition entries but put in use for the first time here. His colleague, Sierra Bainbridge, designed the landscape.

The new second-story addition, clad in Hardie Lap Siding and painted in Benjamin Moore Deep Sea, creates a bold contrast with the existing home's cedar shingles in Black Panther.

The bright teal second-story addition rises above the existing home's stepped-back volumes, announcing the playful transformation while respecting the original 1919 structure.

Keyan Mizani demonstrates how the movable glass doors in front and back can make the great room one free-flowing, indoor-outdoor space.

Despite its relatively small footprint, House MM in north Amsterdam boasts significant internal volume. Chris Collaris Architects transformed a once-old-and-decaying brick house by using every inch of the allocation plan to the new home’s advantage—made possible by the clever mitigation of restricted roof heights. The outcome is an increase in volume that results in a spacious interior. Finished with protective wax-coated pinewood cladding in black, the home's exterior is clean lined and makes a bold statement standing out almost brazenly among its more mellow peers. This timber cladding yields only in precise areas for large windows throughout that invite light in and present delightful views, with full-height glazing that opens onto a terrace overlooking the gardens.

The roughly 5,000-square-foot Lens House renovation, which was finished in 2012 and just won a 2014 RIBA National Award, required six years, major remedial work on the roof and walls, approval from the planning committee, and even a sign-off from a horticulturalist to guarantee the backyard excavation didn't interfere with a walnut tree. "These things aren’t for people who are in a hurry," says architect Alison Brooks. The focus is the ten-sided trapezoidal office addition. "It wraps itself around the house with a completely different set of rules than the Victorian building," she says.

The home’s 2,340 square feet span the upper and lower levels, while the basement can serve as an independent ADU, home office, or guest quarters. The lower-level entry is now more comfortable, with a wide waiting area protected from the weather overhead.

The owners’ goal was to transform the 19th-century building into a bold single-family residence. Historical architectural details were made modern with a striking black facade, while inside, a flexible living space that opens into an exterior garden enables a simplified lifestyle.

The two structures' gabled roofs can be prominently seen from the street, alongside its all-over black siding.

Ben Warwas set a slider by Western Window Systems at a diagonal beneath the overhang created by the second floor.

Clad on two sides by an ipe rainscreen, the new ADU is connected to the house by a deck. To further ensure an easy flow between the two buildings, designer Ben Warwas set the slider by Western Window Systems at a diagonal beneath the overhang created by the second floor.

Tucked away from street view, the OCM House runs east to west to optimize north-facing views of the lawn and garden. The home is designed to embrace the outdoors and is within walking distance of rivers and beautiful beaches.

Outside, David wanted a bit more curb appeal and jumped at Nichols’s suggestion to cover part of the addition in roof tiles. “It’s supposed to be roofing tile, but I didn’t see why you couldn’t use it for a facade,” Nichols says.

The backyard office looks out on a beautiful cherry tree. “I feel so fortunate that while I’m working I can see this tree and beyond it the home that Becca designed for us,” says Alex.