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“Often the boys use the shipping containers in ways we hadn’t even imagined—like bravely climbing on top of the containers and jumping onto the big bean bags below,” says architect Paul Michael Davis. “It’s probably not advisable—a shipping container isn’t a jungle gym—but it’s thrilling to see a space used in ways you never expected!”

Architect Allison Reeves was renovating a townhome in Red Hook when she discovered that the existing redbrick facade was falling apart. With contractor John Fasano, she put in a new exterior of dark bricks, punctuated by a slanted pane of glass by Bieber Windows. A new roof supports a deck as well as the home's mechanicals, which the residents opted to move out of harm's way after Hurricane Sandy flooded other homes in the area.

The house’s concrete and metal are warmed by mahogany-framed windows from Duratherm.

Built on a tight budget of $120,000, a retirement home in the mountains delivers unexpected contemporary design to a rural township.