Nice Geometry

The roughly 5,000-square-foot Lens House renovation, which was finished in 2012 and just won a 2014 RIBA National Award, required six years, major remedial work on the roof and walls, approval from the planning committee, and even a sign-off from a horticulturalist to guarantee the backyard excavation didn't interfere with a walnut tree. "These things aren’t for people who are in a hurry," says architect Alison Brooks. The focus is the ten-sided trapezoidal office addition. "It wraps itself around the house with a completely different set of rules than the Victorian building," she says.

A skylight floods the loft space with daylight and offers views of the stars at night.

An unadorned spruce wood staircase leads to the upper level.

This loft in Monza, Italy served as both a theater and a bank in its earlier days. Ornamentation and a difficult structure made a second floor very difficult to achieve. Lissoni did it however, though the real feat may well be this black staircase which seems to float in the stark white room.

Bright yellow and purple paints were used to add some vibrancy to the daughter’s desk area, one of the ways the architects tried to honor the personality of each inhabitant's space.

Concrete stairs leading up to a sleeping loft are illuminated with wall sconces.

The triangle is the home’s leitmotiv, appearing in the cantilevered bedroom module and the steps approaching the entrance.