inspiration

Designed by architects Rick Shean and Christopher Simmonds, a project in Quebec, Canada, was a winner of the 2014 Architects Challenge, a collection of annual submissions each year that display architectural creativity and feature Marvin Windows and Doors. On our Design for Humankind panel, Christine Marvin will represent a family business dedicated to accommodating residents of all abilities.

Office - Closed

Designers Christopher Robertson and Vivi Nguyen-Robertson conceived their house as an unfolding sequence of simple geometric forms: a low concrete wall, a concrete cube, and a boxclad in Siberian larch.

A pair of LC2 chairs by Le Corbusier are ideal spots for watching the river down below. The Womb chair by Eero Saarinen is a close second.

Viewed from a good distance down the slope running to the Union River, the Maison Amtrak is clearly oriented toward the river. The deck is sheltered from the neighbors’ view by Cohen’s bedroom to the right and the living room at left.

The living room features a vintage credenza by Jens Risom, a Room & Board loveseat, and a CB2 coat rack. By raising a portion of the ceiling in the center of the room, “the idea was to create a big visual door to the inside,” López says.

The Opdahl House, designed by Edward Killingsworth for Richard and Joyce Opdahl, is located on the island of Naples, in Long Beach, California, and the design responds to the constraints imposed by the compact site.Unlike the neighbors, whose homes unflinchingly abut their property lines, Killingsworth set the Opdahl House 42 feet back from the street, dedicating half of the lot to a dramatic entryway that includes a carport, garden, and reflecting pool. The effect is one of entering a private sanctuary.

When renovating a house in McAllen, Texas, for his brother-in-law’s family, architect Luis López designed an overhang with concrete beams that protects the front entrance from the area’s frequent rain. A large front window was inserted to provide views through the house to the backyard.