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The Boglis love the self-reliance afforded by generating thermal energy and growing a garden on their roof. Photo by John Clark.

“We had to talk John into doing this project,” says Dave Jordano. “He wanted nothing to do with renovation, but we gave him total freedom and, two months later, we were presented with this exhilarating design.” The experience changes dramatically as one travels the perimeter, moving from the front elevation’s equilibrium to lopsided massing along the alley. As the original structure recedes, the addition absolutely towers over the courtyard.

Carl Turner and Mary Martin pose on the porch of the Stealth Barn, a multipurpose structure that plays as a guest cottage, office space, and escape from whatever may be cooking at Ochre Barn.

Set in the Swedish summer retreat area of Österlen, this conversion of an abandoned farmhouse re-thinks and plays on the notion of "nostalgia and shelter by combining them with very contemporary desires for space, light and nature," say the architects. Photo by Thomas Ibsen.

The Pine Plains, New York, home of Elise and Arnold Goodman boasts 48 windows, the largest of which measures 8'6'' by 7'6''. As architect Preston Scott Cohen explains, the "free facade makes it impossible to identify how many levels there are, or even to tell the difference between a door and a window." Photo by: Raimund Koch

Bernstein reconfigured the entryway to the street level; guests ascend to the main living space. Ironspot clay tile and FSC-certified cedar clads the facade.

Built as part of a functional farmhouse, the original building's ground floor was used to store food and animals, a situation that didn't exactly call for expansive views or large amounts of natural light. Vieira da Silva maintained a similar layout over the two-story home, with social areas on the upper floor and bedrooms on the ground floor, but opened up the lower level with large windows. "With the pre-existing stone walls we created patios, keeping a distance [between the walls] so we could have big openings, and create a close and intense relationship with the landscape and the ruin itself."

Rachel Nolan and Steven Farrell’s weekend house is located a couple of blocks from the beach on Australia’s Mornington Peninsula. Built with passive principles in mind, the low-slung structure features double-thick brick walls for thermal massing. The vertical wood cladding is unfinished spotted gum, a local timber.

A path leads past glazing and gravel to the front door.

Architect Michelle Linden worked with Brothers to create a minimalist house. Inspired by the inward-looking approach of Cistercian abbeys, Linden oriented the U-shaped structure around a courtyard.

Mandel mounted the fireplace in a blackened-steel frame, which echoes the window and door treatment on the house’s new facade.

London based photographer, Ed Reeve used dark cedar to achieve his lifelong goal: to build his own house on a perfect plot of land located in De Beauvoir Town. Photos by: Ed Reeve

The bath and a secondary sleeping area, equipped with bunk beds, are arranged at one end of the open-plan kitchen area.