An eight-foot-high sliding glass door leads to the backyard's ipe deck, ideal for informal gatherings. The bench cushions are custom from Studio Collins Weir and the tables and chairs are from Design Within Reach.

Water flow simulation and testing

The bed is from Design Within Reach.

Bharathi Research Station (Antarctica) Resembling a space station from a vintage ‘60s sci-fi film, this incredible creation by Germany’s BOF Architects inhabits another extreme environment, a coastal hillside on the bottom of the globe. Built to house researchers from India, this structure is easily removable to lessen environmental impact. Photo by BOF Architects

Completed in 2013, the roughly 1,500-square-foot cabin provides an open living area framed by white trusses and concrete floors. The dining table was acquired by the owner from a local inn, and is surrounded by the Eames molded plastic Eiffel side chairs from Design Within Reach. The kitchen features a Grohe faucet, a wood bowl from a shop in Harbert, and an Ikea vase.

A Design Research catalog from the 1960s.

Textured Stripe Pillows by Tamasyn Gambell, $120–$180 from dwr.com

With serious depth, the Havana Sleeper is ideal for afternoon naps, so imagine how comfortable it’d be when fully reclined. As a bonus, there’s a sizable storage compartment in the back, so you can keep extra sheets and a quilt at hand.

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

The deck is furnished with pieces from Design Within Reach.

Archtober kicked off Building of the Day, a 31-day tour that highlights impressive architecture from all five boroughs, with the Collaborative Research Center at Rockefeller University. The modern biomedical research center features an airy seven-story atrium designed by Mitchell | Giurgola Architects.

Discovering new ways to turn agricultural waste into materials is a key area of interest to Dr. Mielewski and her team. For example, they're uncovering ways to use the stems, seeds, and peels Heinz discards when producing ketchup.

One of our favorite areas was the design library swatch wall with removable color swatches displaying the full range of customizable options and the light cloud filled with pendant fixtures. Photo by Sharon Risedorph Photography, San Francisco.

Knoll debuted a new marble-topped outdoor table by Daniel Stromborg at this year's ICFF (paired with chairs Don Chadwick chairs the young designer worked on when he was part of Chadwick's studio!).

The dining test lab (shown) features 70 of their bestselling and most iconic chairs alongside tables that can be used to test-drive the seats in situ. Photo by Sharon Risedorph Photography, San Francisco.

DWR’s new 20,000-square-foot store at the heart of the Design District in San Francisco’s Portrero Hill neighborhood is one of their largest locations to date. The 30 full-room vignettes throughout the store allow shoppers to visualize and interact with the furniture. Full product lines are mixed in with the vignettes as well, to help people find one specific item. Photo by Sharon Risedorph Photography, San Francisco

3D printed prototype drain to circulate rain water through fountain

Holiday 2008 gift wrapping from Design Within Reach.

Black and white kitchen cabinets painted with a triangular pattern add a whimsical touch to this funky kitchen.

In 1966, the Danish design magazine Mobilia dedicated their whole issue to Design Research.

Here, a rendering of the Solar Shuttle designed by SolarLab Research and Design.

In the dining area of the kitchen, Design Within Reach’s Salt chairs surround a vintage Milo Baughman table. The Lenin portraits on the wall behind Jen and Jonas were purchased from Steven Sclaroff and form an ironic counterpoint to the family’s assembled Americana.

Finn chaise by Norm Architects for Design Within Reach, $1,865 Humidity-resistant teak is an obvious choice for outdoor seating, and we love its silvery patina. This version comes with Sunbrella cushions.

Flocks Pouf by Christien Meindertsma for Design Within Reach

The collection of essays places the foundation in context with historical ways of organizing knowledge while anticipating new methods and systems for handling information.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

The Owenses’ home features offerings from Design Within Reach.

LEM Piston stool by Shin and Tomoko Azumi for Design Within Reach, $750 The classic LEM—shown in a lacquered wood version—is tricked out with all the bells and whistles we like to see in a bar stool. It swivels to make sliding in and out easy. The sleek seat toggles between counter height (26 inches) and bar height (31 inches). Plus, the footrest is on the same vertical plane as the deep seat’s edge—a must for balance.

The concrete wall mimics the slope of the hill outside as a reference to early Maori structures that were dug into the land. The simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The ceramic works on the built-in seat at right are by Raewyn Atkinson and Robyn Lewis.

After living on and studying a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark, architect Jesper Brask cleared a stand of pine trees and, from the timber, built a getaway open to its surroundings. The house, which Brask shares with his wife, Lene, and sons, Kristian, Jens, and Niels, is used mainly in summer, when the weather is optimal for throwing open the glass doors.

Dr. Deborah Mielewski helms plastics research at Ford and established the automaker's biomaterials department in 2001. Her work involves finding new ways to find natural substitutes for petroleum-based materials. Her team has been instrumantal in introducing and developing soy-based polyurethane foam, nylon carpeting made from post-consumer waste, plastic reinforced with wheat straw, fabrics made from recycled denim, and more. "When my mentors retired and I became the leader of plastics research, I have to admit, I felt a little uncomfortable with the role," Mielewski says. "I viewed myself as an environmentalist, and knew that most environmentalists detested plastic. It ends up in the ocean, filling landfills and never going away. Yet, it is an important material for modern life. I thought to myself that if I could make an impact on making plastics better for the environment that I would really be doing something valuable."

Mami and Goo the Kishu dog return from a frolic in the forest, which the couple, along with Hideaki, has thinned and trimmed back over many weekends. It’s an idyllic escape and a world away from the concrete expanse of Tokyo.

In Seattle's rapidly developing South Lake Union neighborhood, the Art Stable is a classic example of urban infill. Built on the site of a former horse stable, the seven-story mixed-use building carries its history into the future with highly adaptable live/work units.

Japanese showers are usually set low down so the bather can sit on a stool and scrub, then pour cedar buckets of hot water over their heads for a refreshing rinse. This homeowner in Venice, California mounted a handheld shower head on the wall for added flexibility. The drain is under the removable cedar floor slats, keeping the room design uncluttered. Wood tubs are cleaned with a simple rinse and last for decades, as the antiseptic properties of cedar guard against mold and rot. This ofuro was designed by Santiago Ortiz and fabricated by Bartok Design.