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A rooftop garden and seating area where the family sometimes gather together or with friends.

Greenery colours the architecture whose calming curves are part of the strategy of biophilic architecture.

The bathroom features a concrete soaking tub, terrazzo flooring, and wood accents.

The kitchen counter’s new pink tiles bring an element of playfulness to the scheme. Square floor tiles were also used to define the kitchen from the dining-and-living area.

A lofted drawing studio features a sawtooth roof with expansive skylights that frame the branches of a jacaranda tree overhead.

The banquette upholstery fabric is Tonic Living, paired with an Eames conference table and vintage Knoll Breuer Cesca chairs. The windows above the banquette open to the screened porch.

“Decoration is something that fascinates me,” says Carolina. “Mixing old with modern works very well for me, so I have my great-grandmother's bed, but the dining room has Philippe Starck chairs.”

"Intense color immersion,

In Barracas, Buenos Aires, architect Leandro Seoane teamed up with La Base to build a one-level home for his mother, Elena, on the site of a demolished 1940s dwelling. The project became a test of how La Base’s metal-and-wood language could merge with Place’s modular construction to create a compact, high-quality plan.

The clients loved the sound of rainwater splashing onto the rock outcropping and didn't want to lose it, so the design team rigged up a spout that deposits water at the right place to accentuate the sounds the clients love. They then had the idea to collect and recycle the water back on the roof so that the tonal experience can be enjoyed in the dry summers as well.

The structures are sprawling yet largely imperceptible. Like its counterparts, Villa 2—containing guest bedrooms, a spa, and a network of outdoor havens—extends into the hillside, cloaked in energy-saving green roofs. The new landscaping cuts water usage on the property by 70 percent compared to previous levels.

The passage that leads to the bedrooms doubles as a library, with large bookshelves and a reading window.

In the living area, Jeremy, left, and Joe relax on a green Muuto sectional. “We never would have chosen it on our own,” says Joe, extending praise to their architects for nudging them to take chances. “Now we can’t imagine any other sofa. It’s perfect.” The velvet sofa upholstery in Moss is from Knoll, while the rug is from Armadillo.