Facades

The door to the house is actually on the side of the house, further adding to the sense of privacy the Shozis sought.

The home’s façade went through a laborious five-month reconstruction process, and when complete, was bathed in a demure coat of metallic silver paint.

A view of the home from the east side.

"When we started out, Casey wasn’t married and wasn’t dating anyone," says architect Arthur Furman. "So the original project brief was less about bedrooms and bathrooms, and more about the character of the home. Specifically, the shape. Casey had an image in his mind of a house he had photographed early in his career in a wooded area of Maine. The house was a basic shape—as one would draw as a child—just a box with a gabled roof." The home's simple gabled shape is emphasized by the use of burnished stucco on all sides.

Soft gray concrete, a polycarbonate screen, and metal roof bedeck the simple front facade of House A. Not immediately apparent? An underground water collection tank and solar panels. "We used a really high recycled content mix for our tilt-up concrete walls, which have 65-percent slag [a byproduct of steel production] instead of high-carbon emitting Portland cement," say the architects.

The attention to detail extends to the design of the home's streamlined contemporary gutters.

Architect Indra Janda hand-cut sheets of polycarbonate into 15¾-inch square shingles and clad the entire timber structure—a gabled roof and walls—with them.

Early American prairie homes inspired the form of the house.

Because the area lacks distinctive natural features, House 3000 by Luis Rebelo de Andrade has quickly become a landmark that helps orientate visitors to the site.

At night, the circular window glows like the moon and illuminates the lower floors much like a light box.

A pivoting glass door leads from the second-story kitchen to an elevated terrace and onto the lawn. The Mezzadro stools are by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni.

Every room on the upper level has windows that face into the courtyard, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor spaces.

The thick soil layers on the roofs function as storm water basins. If the concept is applied to more buildings in the surrounding area, it could reduce the risk of flooding in the city.

The 484-square-foot room offers a cool respite from summer sun and a warm place to relax in winter.

The open-plan living room, dining area, and kitchen are encompassed with bright vibes.

The patio and garden sit just off the interior, which consists of an open-plan living area, dining room, and kitchen.

Although the home's historic front facade needed to be preserved, the back of the residence was ripe for a remodel. The architects cladded the exterior in eastern cedar. The wood is offset with large expanses of glass, as well as yellow accents to add a playful atmosphere.