Outdoor

"It only cost about $48,000 to build, which was incredibly cheap," says Turner of the Stealth Barn. "We got the Timber Frame Company to supply the shell, then we clad it and fitted out the interior and windows ourselves. The idea was to take the archetypal black tar-painted agricultural building and make an almost childlike icon of that."

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden.

There's little concern about privacy considering the canopy of trees that surrounds the house. Alexander, and the chickens, take advantage of their sunny Northern Californian clime.

Making use of a sculpted berm, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects built identical 21,500-square-foot dormitory buildings at Haverford College without interior stairwells or elevators, freeing up room for courtyards and more generously sized common spaces.