Spaces / Places to live in

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

These initiatives on state ballots will decide questions about rent control, property tax, and urban development.

In the Norton family home in London’s Stoke Newington district, Jamie Norton and his sons, Miller, 3, and Ned, 7, enjoy a meal at a salvaged table and chairs found at a local vintage shop. The ceramics are by Richard Batterham.

Architect Drew Mandel updated a house in Toronto to look modern and cozy. The clients desired a warm material base for the interior so Mandel used American walnut for the flooring, millwork, and staircase. Loire limestone covers the landing below the steps and Calacatta marble clads the kitchen counters and island.

Transforming shipping containers into habitable spaces is a growingly popular subset of prefab. Just off the Delaware River in Pennsylvania, Martha Moseley and Bill Mathesius adapted an unused concrete foundation to create a home made from 11 stacked shipping containers. "We were inspired by the site, and our desire to have something cool and different," says Moseley.

A linear lacquer storage unit with a Corian top helped define the main living areas; now the residents spend more time enjoying the apartment’s northern exposure–one of two main sources of natural light in the floor-through loft.

Settled in the late 1800s in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Snuck Farm is still run by the same family but has now transformed from a traditional farmhouse into a community-oriented organization. The farm’s mission it to promote a sustainable lifestyle and to produce fresh, organic food that benefits the entire community. Louise Hill of Louise Hill Design collaborated with Lloyd Architects studio to design a new barn which combines public, private and work spaces.

On Vashon Island, about 20 miles southwest of Seattle, architect Seth Grizzle designed a 440-square-foot multiuse structure for his clients Bill and Ruth True.

When the Casali family gave Michael Krus and Prishram Jain of TACT Architecture free rein to work with unconventional materials, the architects responded by creating a geometric 4,300-square-foot smart home encased in aluminum panels by Agway Metals. The front facade features Cor-Ten steel fabricated by Praxy Cladding.

Douglas fir walls and beams extend to the exterior of a weekend house near Golden, British Columbia. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Bohlin Grauman Miller Architects, it was designed for an active family that likes to hit the slopes. A chalet-like pitched roof emphasizes its cabin feel.