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Now a good example of the natural lines favored in ’70s aesthetics, Arcturus and the other homes Rick would build in the area were unique at the time. “I freaked out some of the neighbors intially,” he says, “who were not so comfortable with a bunch of, you know, pot-smoking hippies.”

The organic placement of the windows echoes the knots on the trunks of the surrounding trees.

The house is oriented north-south, with the broad side of the structure facing east-west. This guarantees not only gorgeous views of the sunset, but also minimizes wind exposure.

Just beyond the northern edge of the home is a small koi goldfish pond, extending the notion of a California oasis.

The red chimney and strategic diagonals throw accents against the simple silhouette.

In the kitchen, symmetrical, glossy surfaces keep the eating area clean.

In Kansas City, Missouri, a family sought to construct a new home using prefabricated structural insulated panels (SIPS) instead of traditional frame construction. The entire kit house is composed of 4' x 8' sections, and the shell was constructed in about a week. The project’s relatively low cost, quick build time, and highly insulated envelope were positives, but the panels also have their limitations. “Most SIP projects look pretty stupid,” Jamie says. “They haven’t been manipulated by someone who’s thinking creatively.” In this case, Jamie augmented the simple panel system with a dynamic cantilever.

Renovated from a 1940s ranch-style home, with many of the original materials used in the reconstruction, the homeowners love the self-reliance afforded by generating thermal energy and their rooftop garden. Photo: John Clark

Bill Weber built his home while serving as his own general contractor.

The house's stained-cedar cladding makes a stark but pleasing contrast to the natural foliage of the site.

Only the rear of the house suggests the building’s earlier incarnation as a 1960s bungalow, and even here the original brickwork is obscured by wood cladding.

The exterior is clad in louro gamela,a tropical hardwood.

Inside the home green and blue are used for the bathroom block, dark brown for the sliding door, and orange for the wall dividing the living room from the kitchen. The floor is dark gray industrial poured concrete.

Interior wood stairs are pared with a top-floor steel staircase outside.

Galvanized steel is used to bridge the gap between natural landscape and structure in the entryway of the house.

Anthony Pellecchia and Kathy Wesselman's careful site planning garnered a waterfront view at little cost to the trees.

This steel-and-glass house, set amid dense forest south of Ithaca, New York, captivated Maria Cook and Lance Compa when they first toured it in 2004. They bought it not long afterward and turned it into a weekend retreat.