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Photo by Patrick Barta

This modular system created by the architects at Resolution: 4 allows them to customize a home’s floor plan by stacking, lining up, and joining factory-built, rectangular modules.

The living room gives the feeling that you are sitting directly above the water.

“Previously, most of the windows were tall and narrow. It was difficult to take in the distant views or nice backyard,” Arbib says. Now “most rooms now have expansive views to the Hill Country or of the backyard... the house is flooded with natural light.” Milgard supplied the windows and sliding door.

“In the landscape, we used native plants recommended by the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center,” Arbib said. “We used a grass they developed called ‘Habiturf,’ which requires less water and only needs to be mowed a couple of times a year, if at all.” JamesHardie Smooth Lap siding and Benjamin Moore’s “Iron Mountain” gray detail the home’s exterior.

This 1,200-square-foot studio features a stained cedar exterior and an unusual roofline. "Bringing a hip roof into the massing brought down the scale of the overall structure while making the form more dynamic," architect Miriam Peterson says. "On the interior, the hip roof allowed us to create a tall space above the studio itself and make a more intimate space where the client has her desk and library."

To make the common gambrel roof more contemporary, architecture firm Walker Workshop played with the typical proportions of a gambrel roof to make it wider.

Crump played with the traditional gable roof form common to Australian farmhouses and transformed it into something entirely modern. The house’s three distinct ridgelines follow each other in succession, their simple contours conjuring a cartoon lightning bolt. The wood cladding covering the exterior also lends the house an impenetrable feel, heightening the surprise visitors experience upon entering and seeing its open, seaside views.

“For the structure, Mapos devised a hybrid system of concrete, steel, and Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs),” co-principal Caleb Mulvena says. “Each was strategically utilized to create a lightweight, rigid, and highly energy-efficient shell.” Fiber cement-board cladding and a steel standing-seam roof act as the structure’s envelope.

“The clients desired a maintenance-free, year-round home using the ultimate in ‘green’ building methodologies,” Mulvena says. The staircase is an example of the construction’s mindset: it is made from the leftover laminated veneer lumber used on the roof.

Another view of the back of the home featuring the large, wrap-around deck located on the first floor.

The elegant eat-in kitchen is one of the highlights of the renovation. It features a center island clad in Carrara marble, sleek custom cabinetry, and high-end appliances from Fisher & Paykel. There is also a skylight which floods the space with natural light.

This home's prefabricated components were all made in Marmol Radziner’s home-building factory near Los Angeles, and trucked over to the one-and-a-half-acre site.