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Architects Ernesto Cragnolino and Krista Whitson designed and built an efficient four-bedroom home for their family in Austin.

The bedroom is elevated around five meters above the forest floor, and the space beneath has—like the green roof—been given back to the Bushveld. “Naturally, this space is shadier than the surrounding forest, so it creates a different microclimate for different species to flourish in that area,” says architect Ant Vervoort. “It’s an area that we have cultivated.”

A Cor-Ten steel planter running along one side is filled with Carex Ice Dance. “The plantings are minimalist, yet rich in color and texture,” says landscape architect H. Keith Wagner. The wood planters on the top level were custom designed by Kelton Woodwork.

The west-facing outdoor patio is protected by deep roof overhangs lined with southern yellow pine.

architrave-like cap on the concrete form.

A conversion with space-saving solutions in Paris.

Nine shipping containers form the basis of this new multigenerational house near Denver.

Although synthetic slate roof tiles have been around since the 1970s, the way architect Stephen Bruns used them to completely clad Woven House is unusual. "I love this material," says Bruns. "The way light reflects off the tiles creates a specular effect, almost like a mosaic." That reflective quality is enhanced by the floor-to-ceiling windows by Loewen.

A view of the connecting vestibule for which the house is named. The exterior is clad entirely in tiles made from recycled rubber and plastic—technically a roofing material—giving the eaveless home a tightly wrapped skin. “Although we used a traditional gabled form, we wanted to clean it up quite a bit,” says Bruns.

There are two nearby dams on the farmland that provide drinking water for the off-grid home.

A prefab home is any home that has been built, partly or fully, in a factory. The design may be fully preset, partly modified by the client, or completely made-to-order.

Orcas Island Retreat basement plan

There's event seating for up to 1,000 people in the midst of the library, as well as partitions to separate the space.

The renovation of this one-time locomotive shed into a multipurpose library still kept its industrial aesthetic.

Builders, developers, designers, and architects have developed a range of homes that are composed of prefabricated, modular, or kit-of-parts pieces that can allow for lower costs, faster and easier on-site construction, and even higher quality spaces. Here, we delve into the differences—and similarities—among these manufactured residences.

Sliding glass doors enable easy indoor/outdoor circulation.

The Swedish Door Company offers a range of doors for IKEA and non-IKEA cabinets. This Shaker-style door front was designed by Tatiana Wojtan Studio.

When Austin-based firm Matt Fajkus Architecture was tasked with renovating this classic midcentury home, they sought to open up the interior—not only by unifying the common areas into an open-plan layout, but also by literally raising the home's roof. This strategy increased the ceiling height on three sides of the home, allowing for the insertion of clerestory windows to create a bright and airy open living space. "The raised ceiling maintains the original pitched roof geometry to stay harmonious with the existing gabled roof in the private zone," explain the architects in a statement.

Inserting a mix of texture, raw materials and functional elements, SHED Architecture & Design was able to artfully marry the new additions with the original industrial construction in Capitol Hill Loft by using a palette of concrete brick, stainless steel plate, blackened steel, and mirror.