Homes

While the slate-clad northern facade has few windows and a steeply pitched roof, the southern facade is dominated by glass with the solar-panel-clad roof strategically angled to catch the sun.

Miha hangs out with Kea, the dog, on the wooden deck that extends the living space outdoors.

The 82-foot-long pool gets quite a lot of use by Jeff and Millie, and especially by the kids, who are both on the local swim team.

In line with the family’s active lifestyle, the kitchen is also situated outside; to the south of it, a screened-in area of the porch, clad in ipe and black fiberglass mesh, serves as the impromptu dining area. The table and chairs are from Black’s Farmwood, and the ceiling fan is by Fanimation.

Ray sits at the central hearth on the north end of the comfortable sunken living area. From this perspective, you can see how the interior spaces flow into one another, passing one half-level up into the breakfast nook and kitchen and out from there onto the overgrown hillside. The various built-in furnishings have all been there since the house's construction.

The entrance faces north and is approached by a drive through the ravine and adjacent woods.

Despite and orderly exterior appearance, the town home's upper floor plan is not strictly rectangular; it tessellates to create a wider and more livable space. The two front rooms act as an office and a guest room.

Zoning rules lim­ited the changes Mia could make to the structure’s front facade.

In the master bath, a dowdy tub was replaced with a standing shower designed by Di Ioia and Bédard and manufactured by Linea P International. The wall and floor tiles are by Ceragres, and the sink, tub, and towel rack are by Aqua Mobilier de Bain.

In Salt Lake City, a place not renowned for progressive architecture, Brent Jespersen built a luminous canyon retreat—using his architect father and a famed Utah modernist as his guides.

Wenes incorporated artful furnishings into the private spaces: In the living room, a leather chair by Maarten Van Severen is beneath a lamp by his son, Hannes Van Severen, of design duo Muller Van Severen.

The sloped roof of Carlton’s art studio grows a colorful mix of sedum species.

Fields of native grasses connect the main residence, situated at the top of the slope, to the new structures scattered below. A pergola extends from the post-and-beam structure that was maintained during the remodel of the midcentury home.

A section of the facade—a cross between a shoji screen and a barn door—slides open. Planter boxes contain edible varieties that fuel Mary’s culinary explorations.

Helsinki architect Ville Hara and designer Linda Bergroth collaborated on a prefab shed-meets-sleeping cabin, which can be assembled with little else than a screwdriver. Bergroth, inspired by nomadic yurt dwellers, wanted an indoor/outdoor experience for her property in Finland.

Achieving such efficiency and maintaining the integrity of the wetlands and woodlands on the property meant more research for both the designers and the resident—just getting approval for the siting of the buildings and the driveway took eight months—but Hague is hardly one to do things half way. “A lot of times couples engage in house-building, like birds. I'm doing this solo, more like a monk,” he says of the deeply personal undertaking.