House

The metal awning provides pleasant shade over the front porch on warm summer days.

The concrete flooring is complemented by maple plywood walls, creating a warm, neutral interior.

The exterior’s concrete walls pick up on the tones of the rocks that emerge from the surrounding hillside.

The two interlocking volumes with shed roofs create an unexpected form.

Even with multiple structures across their 10-acre property in Maine, Diana Arcadipone and Scott Berk only had one bathroom. This 560-square-foot guesthouse by architect Leslie Benson gives them a second, as well as space for visiting family and friends.

After: The living room overlooks the great room below. Now when you walk in the house, you can see clear out to the trees in the back—an idea sparked by an interior designer friend who commented that the most important aspect of a design is what you see when you walk in the front door.

Before: All of the framing was as old as the house, which dates to 1912, and much of it was crumbling.

Before: The previous owner had lived in the house since 1959, and it was quite literally falling apart when Zeke and his partner purchased it.

When the team presented the plans to the neighborhood historical society for approval, “everyone was thrilled,” says Martin Locraft, a member of the architecture team.

Before: The renovation completely updated the home’s original bathrooms.

The bedroom walls are painted TK.

After: The primary bedroom. Walnut sheaths a wall of closets that leads into the bathroom, where the walnut continues on the opposite wall and behind the vanity.

The front of the compact ADU has a small patio that extends the living space outdoors.

The cabin is designed as a place for Andrés’s teenage children to host barbecues and get-togethers. To make the most of the site’s impressive views, Stanaćev Granados designed a 600-square-foot cube with simple lines. The cabin, nicknamed Pabellón Galeo, is made of local wood (mostly pine) and glass.

High-level windows in the north gable, and on either side of the fireplace allow the sun to reach deep into the living room to be absorbed by the thermal mass of the polished concrete floor,

Michael and Teegan prepare lunch with their daughter, Perse, in the kitchen of their contemporary farmhouse in Australia’s Piccadilly Valley.

In the midst of the pandemic, a family leverages industry connections and modular construction to quickly rebuild a cliffside getaway on a fire-ravaged site in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.

The concrete-and-steel home by Faulkner Architects gives one family a refined escape in the mountains of Northern California.

A covered boardwalk connects the mudroom and guest bedroom structure (left) to the gathering pavilion with the living room, kitchen, and dining area (right). The boardwalk in the foreground leads to the primary bedroom cabin.