Whole house

“Durability drove the selection of metal panels,” Schaer says of the home’s industrial exterior. Manufactured by AEP SPAN from corrugated cladding, it looks like zinc but costs significantly less. It also contrasts nicely with the natural siding and trim. “All of the wood inside and out is Douglas Fir, the predominant wood species in the northwest,” Schaer explains.

The two volumes converge at an exterior courtyard. On the gabled side, skylights bring light into the artist studio; on the cube side, a garden occupies the flat roof. The team used eco-friendly Wet-flash on the roof to draw away moisture from the outside, while allowing a permeable escape for water vapor from the inside. During the estimation and design phases, Dovetail worked closely with Heliotrope to cost engineer and rework elements in order to stay within the client’s budget. The metal roof of the original design was discarded in favor of a simpler and more economical black composite roof.

In Portland, Oregon, Jeff Kovel of Skylab Architecture designed a house for Kaja and Kristopher Taft using HOMB triangular modules he developed with Method Homes. HOMB also features a super-insulated building skin and a highly efficient mechanical system. Kovel designed the living room’s sofa as well.

A Bensen Radius dining table and Hudson chairs by Emeco stand between the kitchen and the living room.

A supposedly impossible site was the perfect plot for Hale (pictured) and Edmonds, who were searching for some sort of break that would afford them the chance to build their own home. Stilting the house over the steep hill gives them direct access to nature while still being located just a ten-minute drive from downtown Seattle.

Named after its rooftop photovoltaic panels, the Solar Studio is the first completed build in NODE’s customizable Trillium Series.

Built on a tight budget of $120,000, a retirement home in the mountains delivers unexpected contemporary design to a rural township.

The open living/dining area gives a good impression of Tas’s catholic approach to decorating, which includes mixing Panton chairs with antiques and homemade pieces.

The original fireplace was kept, as was the interior clerestory windows that divide the main living area from the hall and master suite. The floors were replaced with red oak to align with preserved red oak flooring in the bedroom.

The L-shaped lot—and the decision to create a private courtyard and patio—made the kitchen and dining space the natural hub of the ground floor. Sweet installed full-length cabinetry on the western wall for storage, and included a wood niche for convenience.

Mill Valley, California Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

When Austin-based firm Matt Fajkus Architecture was tasked with renovating this classic midcentury home, they sought to open up the interior—not only by unifying the common areas into an open-plan layout, but also by literally raising the home's roof. This strategy increased the ceiling height on three sides of the home, allowing for the insertion of clerestory windows to create a bright and airy open living space. "The raised ceiling maintains the original pitched roof geometry to stay harmonious with the existing gabled roof in the private zone," explain the architects in a statement.

“We pulled apart one volume and staggered it along the buildable area of the property,” says architect Matthew Ahlberg of Portland firm Barrett Made. The home is clad in unfinished cedar, meant to weather over time.

The glass box entry was added in 1964. The home is a series of light-filled moments and lovely views of the surrounding landscape.