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Kanuka Valley House by WireDog Architecture

Niko Architect and landscape firm Ecopochva designed a Moscow home that doesn’t play by the rectilinear rules of conventional architecture. Vegetation blankets the home’s concrete form, and its walls sweep upward and outward to become roofs. Molded floor-to-ceiling windows curve to grant panoramic views of the backyard and swimming pool.

The home’s compact form and modest amounts of glazing add to its overall eco-friendliness. The white oak casework, which goes from floor to ceiling throughout much of the kitchen, was fabricated by Big Branch Woodworking for $22,000.

Located in Karuizawa, a popular summer resort town in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, Four Leaves is a weekend getaway designed to accommodate the homeowner and their guests in a lush, sylvan setting. Designed by Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS), the highlight of the stunning, 2,400-square-foot house is its sloping, angular roof sections that are delicately assembled to resemble fallen leaves.

Scott MacFiggen and Regina Bustamante, tech industry veterans from Silicon Valley, called on architect Christi Azevedo to rebrand a fusty house in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, starting with the street view. Cedar boards, charred using the Japanese technique shou sugi ban, replaced plywood siding.

The Sanctuary floor plan

A 100-year-old oak shades the front of the house, which is clad in weathering yellow cedar.

“From anywhere in the house, you have a sense of the outdoors,” says Melonie, “and yet it’s very private.” Ikegami agrees. “The building was really about the landscape—it can dissolve into the background,” he says. In the master bedroom, Japanese Tansu chests from the couple’s previous home flank a Duxiana bed. The full-height windows and swing door are from Western Window Systems.

Derek Gray of Bay West Builders made the entry bench from wood earmarked for an unbuilt breakfast bar. Radiant-heated concrete floors offer a polished counterpoint to the board-formed walls outside.

A covered wooden deck is located off the kitchen. The indoor/outdoor connection is enhanced by large sliding doors that seamlessly connect the two spaces.

Paved stairs lead down to a lush lawn and the home’s main entrance: a pivoting front door that opens to a two-story atrium. Greenery dangles from planters integrated into the second floor, while additional pavers connect two sliding glass doors in the living room.

The new volume's orientation (away from the street and towards the skyline) preserves the historic continuity of the neighborhood.

"It was rundown, dark, and divided," recalls Masaaki of his first impression of the warehouse, the ground floor of a multistory apartment building. But after some thought, Masaaki, a Japanese-born architect, and Esther, an artist from Minorca, realized that owning the combined 2,700 square feet would allow them to headquarter Mas-aqui, the architecture and design firm they were planning to start, on-site. They bought the property and within months transformed it into a bright, modern live/work space.

By changing the roofline, Beebe Skidmore introduced light and usable space to the third floor. "It was not a lot of extra space, but we got headroom," explains Beebe.

From the lower level, the structure resembles a Japanese pagoda, complete with a water feature that flows inside and out. French doors provide access to extensive terracing, patios, and gardens nestled into the lush landscape.

Another bedroom includes a seating area surrounded by glass panes along the wall and ceiling above. The unique space is one of three secondary bedrooms in the home.

A look at the master bathroom, which features custom tile design, copper sinks, and marble countertops. The glass shower overlooks a view of the garden from a large picture window.

Raised flooring and edging designs help to delineate public and private spaces that otherwise open to each other throughout the home. Here, a master bedroom is carved out of one corner.