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Viewed from a good distance down the slope running to the Union River, the Maison Amtrak is clearly oriented toward the river. The deck is sheltered from the neighbors’ view by Cohen’s bedroom to the right and the living room at left.

The view from Bruce's cabin is a sight for sore eyes. One of the outermost inhabited islands on the American eastern seaboard, Criehaven (technically Ragged Island) is located 20 miles off the Maine coast and one mile south of Matinicus Island.

Photo by Patrick Barta

The Luberas didn’t use a general contractor or architect, but they did enlist the counsel of legendary Detroit designer Ruth Adler Schnee, who in 1964 helped Girard plan the color scheme for a streetscape in Columbus, Indiana. Window alignments create long views through the house and atrium.

New stone walkways, laid in a swirling pattern, surround the 4,600-square-foot house.

Current owners Scott and Kelsey Bouska worked with Landscape East & West to replenish the half-acre property.

MDO panels the color of California poppies accent the home’s exterior.

Hem House by Future Firm, a Chicago studio, is a 1,300-square-foot stand-alone in the East Garfield Park neighborhood that sold in summer 2021 at its listing price of $399,000. The design for the home was inspired by the Eames House in Los Angeles, which favored prefabricated construction over proprietary building methods, and used off-the-shelf materials instead of bespoke finishes. More cost savings came by using land that the Cook County Land Bank Authority purchased in 2015.

The main entrance is reached via a covered pathway constructed of cross-laminated timber with cedar infill walls. “The idea was to shield the view until you go through the compressive experience of the entry walk,” says architect James Cutler. “Then, beyond the front door, there are two stories of glass looking straight out at the ocean.”

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.

The sink is from Ikea and the faucet from Light in the Box.

A sink station on the southern side helps for cleanup and ceramic making.

A north-facing skylight illuminates a counter for metalworking, while, along the western wall, a built-in birch plywood bench provides a place for Amélia to rest.

The two-bedroom home under construction. Future homes on the site will explore techniques to print the floor and roof, and homes will be increasingly printed on-site rather than prefabricated in a factory.

The house meets LBC standards for net-positive water, on-site water treatment, and net-positive energy. To create a closed-loop system, potable water (blue) is collected via the rooftop and stored in an underground fiberglass cistern that holds 10,000 gallons. “In three weeks in January this year, we captured enough water for six months of use in the house,” says Todd. That rainwater is purified via a filtration system in the lower-level mechanical room before reaching faucets. A septic tank outfitted with a textile filter scrubs gray water and blackwater (orange) for non-potable use, such as irrigation. An array of 42 solar panels supplies 105 percent of the property’s power needs (yellow), and two wall-mounted batteries store backup power.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

A large deck extends from the front of the home as well.

Where the roof meets the ground, the dramatic pitch serves a practical purpose: Local sheep have a habit of climbing on top of homes with sod roofs and then getting stuck, but if the angle is severe enough, they’re deterred from even trying.