Discover new design ideas every day. Sign up for Dwell’s newsletter
SubscribeSign In
Collection by Aileen Kwun

These Contemporary Homes Defy Convention

These surreal, unconventional homes, featured in a new book from Rizzoli titled This Is Not A House, reimagine contemporary living with fanciful twists on form and typology.

View 12 Photos
Japanese firm Mamm Design renovated this maisonette apartment in Amsterdam. Home to a family of four, the dwelling combines a series of bright, open spaces. The kitchen and bathroom, for example, are placed in this freestanding tower topped by a ladder-accessible mezzanine.
Japanese firm Mamm Design renovated this maisonette apartment in Amsterdam. Home to a family of four, the dwelling combines a series of bright, open spaces. The kitchen and bathroom, for example, are placed in this freestanding tower topped by a ladder-accessible mezzanine.
Dramatic arches characterize this enigmatic California beach house that's elevated six feet above the sand to guard from major storms. Called the Vault House, it was designed by architecture firm Johnston Marklee. As principal Mark Lee explains: “The envelope was so strict that the design process was more subtractive than additive; we carved away a solid mass to create the rooms. We were reluctant to broadcast the content right away, preferring to mask the complexity and reveal it a little at a time.”
Dramatic arches characterize this enigmatic California beach house that's elevated six feet above the sand to guard from major storms. Called the Vault House, it was designed by architecture firm Johnston Marklee. As principal Mark Lee explains: “The envelope was so strict that the design process was more subtractive than additive; we carved away a solid mass to create the rooms. We were reluctant to broadcast the content right away, preferring to mask the complexity and reveal it a little at a time.”
A playful twist on the concept of a pitched roof, the Just K house designed by AMUNT in Tubingen, Germany, features a monochromatic, blue-gray facade with strikingly skewed geometric forms. An exterior staircase leads to a separate entrance at the rear of the building, allowing the structure to be used as two separate units.
A playful twist on the concept of a pitched roof, the Just K house designed by AMUNT in Tubingen, Germany, features a monochromatic, blue-gray facade with strikingly skewed geometric forms. An exterior staircase leads to a separate entrance at the rear of the building, allowing the structure to be used as two separate units.
Architect Andrew Maynard designed this home in Melbourne, Australia. Called the Hill House, its form is defined by a cantilevered box that juts over an Astroturf-clad hill. A three-foot-wide corridor opens up to an expansive, open courtyard that draws sunlight into the property.
Architect Andrew Maynard designed this home in Melbourne, Australia. Called the Hill House, its form is defined by a cantilevered box that juts over an Astroturf-clad hill. A three-foot-wide corridor opens up to an expansive, open courtyard that draws sunlight into the property.
A series of open, street-facing gardens make up this five-story, 700-square-foot home in Tokyo, Japan. Called Garden & House, it was designed by Ryue Nishizawa, and serves as part of a study of new urban lifestyles for the non-nuclear family.
A series of open, street-facing gardens make up this five-story, 700-square-foot home in Tokyo, Japan. Called Garden & House, it was designed by Ryue Nishizawa, and serves as part of a study of new urban lifestyles for the non-nuclear family.
Located on a sharply sloped site in Pyeongchang-dong, a suburb of Seoul, South Korea, this home designed by Hyo Man Kim of Iroje KHM Architecture unfolds like an origami flower. Inside, secluded outdoor spaces lend sunlit interiors and privacy to the two-family dwelling housed within its faceted, asymmetrical exterior.
Located on a sharply sloped site in Pyeongchang-dong, a suburb of Seoul, South Korea, this home designed by Hyo Man Kim of Iroje KHM Architecture unfolds like an origami flower. Inside, secluded outdoor spaces lend sunlit interiors and privacy to the two-family dwelling housed within its faceted, asymmetrical exterior.
A series of vertically oriented, cedar slats both filters light and brings serene, poetic dimensionality to this hexagonal home in Toyoto, Japan, designed by Katsutoshi Sasaki. Its minimal, all-white interior is a contrast to its dark wooden exterior.
A series of vertically oriented, cedar slats both filters light and brings serene, poetic dimensionality to this hexagonal home in Toyoto, Japan, designed by Katsutoshi Sasaki. Its minimal, all-white interior is a contrast to its dark wooden exterior.
A rooftop pool extends to voyeuristic indoor views in this suburban vacation home designed by Wiel Arets in Marabella, Spain. Called the Jellyfish House, it's built almost entirely from concrete and glass.
A rooftop pool extends to voyeuristic indoor views in this suburban vacation home designed by Wiel Arets in Marabella, Spain. Called the Jellyfish House, it's built almost entirely from concrete and glass.
A series of diagonal slices characterize this heptagonal house in California. Designed by Michael Maltzan, it's home to artists Lari Pittman and and Roy Dowell. While the seven-sided exterior features few openings, the interior abounds with skylights and courtyards.
A series of diagonal slices characterize this heptagonal house in California. Designed by Michael Maltzan, it's home to artists Lari Pittman and and Roy Dowell. While the seven-sided exterior features few openings, the interior abounds with skylights and courtyards.
Placed beneath a series of circular skylights, the sunken bathtub in this Stuttgart, Germany home designed by Matthias Bauer of MBA/S Associates is the stuff of dreams.
Placed beneath a series of circular skylights, the sunken bathtub in this Stuttgart, Germany home designed by Matthias Bauer of MBA/S Associates is the stuff of dreams.
A series of square cut-outs at varying angles creates similar-yet-unexpected geometric voids that connect each of the rooms in this vacation home on Japan's Boso Peninsula. Designed by Yuusuke Karasawa, the home's complex interior belies its orderly cube exterior facade.
A series of square cut-outs at varying angles creates similar-yet-unexpected geometric voids that connect each of the rooms in this vacation home on Japan's Boso Peninsula. Designed by Yuusuke Karasawa, the home's complex interior belies its orderly cube exterior facade.
These are just a few of the adventurous, typology-defying homes featured in This Is Not A House, edited by Dan Rubinstein and the editors of MARK—Another Architecture, out this month from Rizzoli Books.
These are just a few of the adventurous, typology-defying homes featured in This Is Not A House, edited by Dan Rubinstein and the editors of MARK—Another Architecture, out this month from Rizzoli Books.