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On the left, stairs over the sauna lead up to an elevated lookout on the right. Beneath it is the bathhouse.

Double-glazed windows are an important feature that help control the building’s interior climate.

Designers Christopher Robertson and Vivi Nguyen-Robertson conceived their house as an unfolding sequence of simple geometric forms: a low concrete wall, a concrete cube, and a boxclad in Siberian larch.

Located in Orinda, California, a three-bedroom house by architect Greg Faulkner took its first aesthetic cue from a large oak tree on the site. Cor-Ten steel panels clad the exterior, while white oak offers a material counterpoint on the interior. A 12-foot-wide sliding pocket wall opens the living/dining area to a terrace with a Wave Chaise longue by Paola Lenti. The landscape design is by Thuilot Associates.

Building with Cor-Ten steel—weathering steel's nom de plume—is a bit like watching a painting slowly come to life over time. Exposure to the elements adds textured hues of red and orange to the material until it steps into a character completely its own. From the Dwell archive, we bring you nine Cor-Ten steel homes with facades that will continue to shift through shades of ochre, amber, rust, and sienna.

In Sunnyvale, California, architect Ryan Leidner cracked open a 1962 Eichler with a crisp remodel flush with foliage. He replaced the home’s vertical plywood facade with one-inch strips of American red cedar set at two depths. The rhythmic slats conceal a garage door that swings open on a hidden hinge. At the entryway, two massive panes of frosted glass shimmer with light and shadow from the atrium inside. Homeowners Isabelle Olsson and Matthaeus Krenn stand out front.

Designed in 1993 by architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, the two-level home comprises a wooden volume placed inside a metal structure inspired by an agricultural shed.

“Cement, gravel, sand, and water became the main ingredients for the envelope that makes up each box,” says Sánchez.

“The separate volumes allow the house to be used in different ways, depending on how many guests are here,” says Mar. He and Sánchez worked with landscape designer Daniel Jaramillo of Nuevos Territorios to create multiple opportunities to experience the outdoors, such as the enclosed patio off the first volume.

The 269-square-foot La Tagua cabin, seen on the left, is set downslope from the 204-square-foot La Loica cabin and is connected to the main road by three flights of stairs.

Maria Milans del Bosch’s Catskills home is attuned to the changing seasons. Sunlight pours into the double-height living room, where a Stûv fireplace and radiant floors keep the space warm in winter.

The exterior of the home features warm blackbutt timber cladding and crisp black metalwork. Each level of the home opens out to a deck or balcony, and the curved white balustrade outside the main bedroom is a contemporary take on the original architecture.

The site in Darling Point is on a winding street leading up a hill, and the new architecture is designed to express the pitched-roof language of the original terrace house. “It’s incredibly steep at the back, which means the house looks rather modest from the street front—just a pitched-roof garage and a gate,” says architect Bronwyn Litera. “At the rear facing Rushcutters Bay, however, it drops away over a height of five stories. The house is also in a heritage conservation zone, which meant that the existing roof line and chimneys needed to be retained. We worked closely with TC Build to form a ‘plan of attack,’ which involved propping the two long walls and the roof, and completely gutting the interiors.”

The compact retreat in Nayarit, Mexico, that Palma designed for an American couple comprises two stucco-clad volumes connected by a patio. The oculus above the open space frames the sky.

The oculus allows light and views to enter the courtyard.

For a concrete guesthouse in Stone Ridge, New York, LevenBetts designed an onsen-inspired bathroom with a steam room and a hinoki tub.

The bespoke tubs and basins are handmade and finished in light gray Mortex that matches the Pergaminho limestone floors.

"There are so many things Michael considered that make the space quite incredible to be in," Clint says. Case in point: the bathrooms. "They’re small spaces, so if you want to do something wacky, that’s the place," adds Lumby. The downstairs bathroom features a sink with a Crestial faucet in the windowsill. Water runs down an angled pane and into the garden.