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The single-volume home has been designed to appear to float over the lot on its deck. Ryan upgraded the existing foundation to support its passive design. "Originally, I wanted to make the whole house powered with wood pellets," he says. "But I decided against shoveling pellets in the snow. I'll get weird in a little bit less of a cold climate."

Of the homes in the community, only seven others have flat roofs like this one.

As Nicolás Tovo and Teresa Sarmiento of La Base embraced modular design as part of their architectural practice, they noticed that prospective clients were wary of prefabricated construction. So the duo teamed up with Place, an Argentine prefab builder, to make a proof of concept just outside the Patagonian resort town of Bariloche.

Capped with an original wooden ceiling, the dining area is another space offering direct outdoor access.

“We’re always throwing events,” says Paul, so the indoor/outdoor style was a great fit for them.

Greg Knapp and Robyn Traynor worked with architect Peter Braithwaite to design a nature retreat for their family on a slice of Canadian wilderness. It has two shed-roofed structures joined by a boardwalk elevated above a preexisting walking path on the couple’s land.

Glass folding doors from Panoramic Doors reach nine-and-a-half feet high to open the kitchen to the courtyard. “It's such a unique feature, especially in Brooklyn,” says Slocum. “You rarely ever see that type of thing.”

On the main floor, custom sliders by Oakridge Windows & Doors open to a table and chairs designed by Paquette and built by Conrad Contracting. The wood paneling on the walls was salvaged from the original structure and resawn; each piece was scuffed with fine sandpaper and coated with Projectol.