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Architect Johan Sundberg looked to Japanese architects like Kengo Kuma for inspiration for the design of a holiday home in southern Sweden. "We call it the Katsura typology, but that's probably sacrilegious," he says. The eaves of the gently sloped hipped roof extend generously in all directions, turning the deck into a covered retreat that’s part veranda, part engawa, the Japanese version of a porch.

Blaine Architects capped the front addition to this Eichler home with a shed roof that mimics the slope of traditional Eichlers, but slants in the opposite direction to make it distinct. The wood screen is made from Accoya.

You may think that an existing or historic home—known for its drafty windows, old-fashioned mechanical systems, and obsolete construction materials and techniques—would be one of the least sustainable, green-friendly buildings around, but you'd be oh-so-very wrong!

U.K. design firm Koto’s proof of concept for their new venture in architect-designed modular residences is in North Uist, an island in the remote Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The roughly 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom home carries the company’s characteristic sculptural forms, jet-black yakisugi cladding, and Japandi aesthetic.

Black granite counters top fir cabinets, and are accented by walnut open shelving in the new kitchen. The pendants are by Visual Comfort.

“I wanted something bold and fresh,” Augustin says of the unit’s citrus-inspired front door, painted Tangerine Dream by Dunn Edwards. The door is flanked by horizontal Redwood slats and gray acrylic stucco.

The kitchen cabinets were made with cabinet boxes set into framing, then a primed drywall shell covered with a textural Roman Clay finish, and sealed.