Project Olympus

The client can enjoy the outdoors day or night via the screened porch and deck.

In the ground floor apartment, "there are picture windows with operable awning [windows] below, which provide the cross ventilation," said Wiedemann.

According to the architects, the screened porch panels (on the left) were site-built by the contractor to have similar dimensions as the Marvin windows (to the right). Dramatic black sashes unite the facade. Thin mull covers between window units blend with the exterior siding, "which afforded a consistency that we were after," said Wiedemann. Native stone on the foundation is similar to old Virginia farmhouses.

This large screened porch is a favorite destination of the homeowner. "She spends a lot of time on the screened porch because it straddles the meadow and the mountains," said Wiedemann. "And it's directly accessible from the living area and the kitchen."

Expansive windows on both sides of the open living area bring the outside in. Marvin doors, the Ultimate Swinging French door, flank the mahogany-wrapped fireplace and provide easy access to the screened porch.

"Although it looks like an inoperable window, these allow for ventilation," Wiedemann said of the glazing lining the kitchen and dining areas. The architects opted for Marvin Casement Venting units in custom-widths.

A view of the back side of the two-story home reveals its dramatic glazing, which provides both levels with far-flung views into the site.

The exterior form and materials of the house echo historic farmhouses in the area, while the garage, clad in red board and batten, evokes old barns. Wiedemann reinterprets the function of a traditional cupola here, which was typically used to aid interior ventilation, by inserting a whole-house fan in this one.

Each villa is composed of a series of spaces, varying from two to three bedrooms, and offers different views out to the ocean. Overlapping timber roofs made from recycled teak planks and built by local craftsman provide shade from the powerful sun.

Designed by José Guedes Cruz, César Marques, and Marco Marinho of the Portugal-based firm Guedes Cruz Architects, The Wall House is laid out in an open-box plan, and is fitted with plenty of glass windows to enhance the synergy between its interior and exterior spaces.

The Khamsa home in Senegal, built with earth bricks and energy independent due to solar panels and a wind turbine, was actually 15 percent cheaper to build than a traditional home. The walls, which are thicker than those used in standard concrete construction, help moderate the interior temperature in a region where the climate swings from dry to humid throughout the year, absorbing humidity and cooling the home during warm weather while moderating temperature and improving indoor air quality.

The concrete wall echoes the curves of the pool’s portholes.

A LEED Platinum status house retrofitted by Kaufmann.