Interieur

Mercer Modern by Wittman Estes

Heating and cooling are essential for Yosemite's snowy winters and broiling summers. Glass walls along all sides of the clubhouse fold away to let air in—or slide shut to insulate the space from the temperature outside.

The kitchen/dining space is oriented sideways, making the most of the narrow site and opening out onto the rear courtyard to create an indoor/outdoor living space.

"The curve at the ceiling blurs the boundary between roofs and wall," says the firm.

The kitchen is layered with the living room—the counter space becomes the flooring in the living area, and steps are used as additional seating.

Located in a courtyard near the Copenhagen Lakes, the Stable House originally served as stables for horses that carried water from the lakes.

The ground floor features Douglas fir flooring. The living room at the front of the house is separated from the entrance hallway by a black steel-framed glazed partition.

The living room also flows into a formal dining room. Wood paneling lines the walls and ceiling, with an abstract screen and indoor plantings dividing the space from a family room and office.

The master suite connects to the rest of the apartment via an open walkway. “The suite stays permanently integrated with the living room, increasing window openings and, consequently, the natural lighting and ventilation,” says the firm. Bright blue Colortil tile covers the room—including the mattress platform—and sets it apart from the rest of the home.

After: Sharon designed the concrete patio and a new rain garden (which treats all stormwater on site) in consultation with her neighbor, who is a landscape architect. KASE and Sharon worked together to integrate the two spaces into the new design.

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire—which features works by the likes of Monet, Picasso, and O’Keefe—just added Frank Lloyd Wright’s Toufic H. Kalil House to its collection. The home is one of seven Usonian Automatic homes in existence, and now it will be preserved ad infinitum thanks to an anonymous donor.

Renowned architecture firm Olson Kundig occupies three floors of a 19th-century loft building in Seattle’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood. A crucial concern was opening the office up to more natural light; a staircase that cuts through the office’s three levels was added underneath the central skylight, which opens via a hydraulic lift system.

The spacious corridors of the Schiff Residences are clean, well-maintained, and warmly colored—-a convincing hybrid of social housing and home.