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Candour is a prefab building system and a tool to customize building components within that system—including walls, floors, facades, and roofs—with a proprietary CAD plug-in. Users of the software can draft a design, determine if it’s feasible, and price it all in one day. Designs are built at Candour’s manufacturing facility in Sunshine, Melbourne.

This Swedish prefab cabin by

As Nicolás Tovo and Teresa Sarmiento of La Base embraced modular design as part of their architectural practice, they noticed that prospective clients were wary of prefabricated construction. So the duo teamed up with Place, an Argentine prefab builder, to make a proof of concept just outside the Patagonian resort town of Bariloche.

Along with the sage, citrus trees irrigated by gray water from the house provide the couple with lemons and limes for mixing drinks, among other things.

FormLA Landscaping principal Cassy Aoyagi integrates drought-resistant plants into her Southern California projects.

In leafy northwest Washington, D.C., a two-story addition expands a 1936 home without overwhelming it.

The Solit-Garreau residence's annex was designed as a separate contemporary wing that nevertheless seeks harmony with the original 1936 house.

The below-grade kitchen/dining room opens to a sunken wood porch. Sliding glass doors and an operable awning window from Fleetwood provide natural cross ventilation for cooling. The site is located in a forested area but is “brighter and less sequestered than you’d expect,” says David, thanks to the surrounding Sea Ranch commons.

Floor Plan of Terra Casa by Studio Dashline

Site plan of Morris Island Residence by Monte French Design Studio

The couple added curved cabinetry and a window seat to form a breakfast nook, painted in Farrow & Ball Red Earth. The table is discontinued from Anthropologie, where Kara previously worked as a display coordinator, and the overhead light is the Lambert & Fils Waldorf Double.

The couple took advantage of numerous municipal programs when landscaping the backyard. Mandy recently completed a free course through LADWP, who also promotes resources for the SoCal Turf Replacement Program, to become a certified California Native Plant Landscape: “There is an amazing amount of knowledge and resources for transitioning yards with more native/drought-tolerant plants through LADWP and the Theodore Payne Foundation,” says Mandy.

In the new living room, the floors are covered in pine wood with a Bona Craft Oil finish in Frost, and the walls and ceiling are coated in lime plaster, Mortex by Beal. The handmade hanging chair, made of plaster, is a favorite spot for the couple’s cat, Paka.

The walls, floor, and ceiling are all covered in waterproof lime plaster, Mortex by Beal.