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The project’s unique challenges—a tight budget and steep, difficult terrain—led architecture firm _naturehumaine to a creative solution that gave the house its delightfully sculptural appearance. Making the first floor’s envelope slightly narrower than the top one’s saved money while minimizing the amount of excavation required.

The ADU adds to the city’s list of pre-approved designs under its Standard Plan Program, an incentive for homeowners to build units on spare land.

When the casement windows are opened, family members can bask in sunlight while reading a book indoors.

In the open living/kitchen/dining area, the containers’ original apitong wood flooring, heavily sanded and sealed multiple times, complements the industrial austerity of the painted corrugated steel ceilings. The rug is vintage.

To access a secret play area in the 2 Bar House by Feldman Architecture, children clamber up climbing holds purchased from a local sporting goods store.

When remodelling this five-bedroom family home in an Edwardian building in London, design firm AMA decked the three bathrooms in lime green, baby blue, and lemon yellow tiles

An open shelf displays the couple’s glassware collection.

The secluded location of the house at the edge of a retired shale bank allows the luxury of an open outdoor shower. Corrugated steel siding provides a durable, zero-maintenance exterior finish and captures the changing sun and woodland shadows.

The original ensuite featured an awkward triangular shower, and was, as Daniel recalls, “the size of a closet. It looked like a powder room.” Clever use of millwork redirected the light from the skylight away from the bedroom and into the bathroom.

The luminous new bathroom repurposes the original medicine cabinet and light fixture, while statement cement floor tile from Original Mission Tile in Hex Bakery adds a graphic punch. The ceramic subway wall tile is Florida Tile ‘Arctic Matte’, and the wall-mounted faucet is a Tiburon Series Lavatory Faucet from California Faucets in matte black.

While the Archetype can be easily connected to utilities in a code-compliant way, it can also run off of battery for a totally off-grid configuration.