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Regarded as one of the masters of post-war Catalan modernism, José Antonio Coderch was born in Barcelona where his father was chief engineer at the city port. He fought in the Spanish Civil War before completing his studies in 1940. Casa Ugalde was one of Coderch’s early residential projects, yet it demonstrated great maturity and ambition. The house is sometimes compared to the work of Oscar Niemeyer in its dextrous use of topography—it combines linear elements with sinuous lines and adeptly fuses indoor and outdoor space.

White Fox Lodge has been described as John Schwerdt’s magnum opus. The architect trained in Brighton and worked largely in Sussex and the south of England, with heritage and conservation projects forming a key part of his portfolio. But he was also influenced by Modernist architecture—particularly, the more organic approach advocated and pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright, whose work was a key point of reference in the evolution of White Fox Lodge. The floor plan of the single-story home adopts a pinwheel plan, as seen in the work of Richard Neutra and others.

The Palm Springs house was intended for winter use only, and was molded to Kaufmann's needs.

The '50s and early '60s formed a period of great creativity and productivity for Richard Neutra. The majority of his residential commissions of this time were in California, whose temperate climate allowed him to perfect building that were closely connected to the landscape. Neutra also tailored each house to his clients’ needs, aiming to create homes that were not only ergonomic, practical, and engaging, but could also improve well-being and make for a better way of living. The Singleton House in Bel-Air sits on an enticing site by Mulholland Drive. From this elevated position, the views are extraordinary—taking in the city in one direction but also offering an open vista towards the San Gabriel Mountains. The home was commissioned by engineer-turned-industrialist and rancher Henry Singleton and his family.

Dinwiddie placed the main living spaces at the heart of an L-shaped plan, with the floor-to-ceiling windows connecting to the veranda and the vista. A two-story element sits to one side of this central zone and holds the majority of the bedrooms, also facing the bay.

Pacific Coast architect Paul Kirk initially embraced the International Style but went on to forge his own version of regional modernism, using natural materials and a more contextual approach to site and setting. The Dowell Residence in Seattle displays a sensitive approach to its site and a sophisticated use of materials as well as spatial dexterity. The house largely turns its back on the street but opens up dramatically to the gardens to one side, taking advantage of the shifting topography to slot in a lower level that connects with the outdoors.

Inside the Dowell Residence, a key element of the dwelling is its central atrium—a dramatic space, top-lit by clerestory windows, which doubles as a circulation hub and light well while also forming a focal point over both levels of the building.

John Ekin Dinwiddie came from a family of Bay Area builders. His father established a construction company in the wake of the San Francisco earthquake of 1911, with the business expanding at a fast rate. Dinwiddie studied architecture at the University of Michigan and worked briefly with Eliel Saarinen. He settled back in San Francisco and established his own practice in 1931. This house in Berkeley, from 1951, was a commission for the architect's sister-in-law. It sits on a prime hillside site looking out over the waters of the East Bay and across to the city of San Francisco itself.

This most famous residence in Palm Springs—and perhaps all California—is the great exemplar of desert modernism. With the Kaufmann House, Neutra took the relationship between inside and outside space to a new level of intimacy, dissolving boundaries through multiple means. The rugged beauty of the mountain backdrop and the desert 'moonscape,' as he called it, serve to enhance the impact of its horizontals and verticals.

The 1,634-square-foot home features an open layout with walls of glass that overlook the manicured backyard.

New sliding doors from Marvin enable the family to seamlessly move between the indoors and the refurbished patio.

The single-level home in Los Angeles includes a large swimming pool and surrounding garden.

The view from The Preserve, a centrally located park that's open to the public in Healdsburg's new Mill District neighborhood.

As with many previous projects, Kappe designed the home to honor the topography of the site. Steel components frame the residence, allowing parts of the abode to cantilever over the natural terrain with minimal disturbance.

“The pitched ceilings and ribbon of clerestory windows make the interior feel more spacious than it is,” notes Gooden.

Another view of the living area shows how the space extends into the dining area and kitchen, both of which are sunlit by another wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.