Tom Givone's current weekend abode, nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, is—so far—his capstone project, a synthesis of personal taste, material experimentation, and historically sensitive restoration: a living laboratory for how to bring the vernacular past into the present.

Joining an august panel that includes Michael Bierut of Pentagram, landscape architect Thomas Balsley, FASLA, Susan Chin, FAIA, of Design Trust for Public Space, will be landscape architect Claire Fellman, ASLA, of Snøhetta, the firm behind the design for the Times Square reconstruction, to be completed in 2015. The talk, Reimagining New York City's Terra Firma, will focus squarely on the city's changing landscape, and possibility in the built environment. (AIA CEU)

A tiny outbuilding offers a cozy living space inside a simple shell.

As the facade of a Bates Masi-designed home in Water Mill, New York, rises from eight to 14 feet high, the mahogany planks subtly widen. “It was quite a demand to make of the contractor,” architect Paul Masi says. “But the design was so much about traveling through the site and weaving [the house] together with the deck.”

Tanya Wexler and Amy Zimmerman linger in the breezeway designed to draw eyes, and footsteps, from the driveway through the house to the gently sloping backyard and swimming pool beyond.

In the kitchen, the cabinetry is walnut veneer with a weathered finish applied by cabinetmaker David Rogers. “The process involved sanding and rubbing in stain as well as adding a clear finish,” project architect Eero Puurunen says.

A 17-foot-tall freestanding play structure that designer Sharon Davis designed for her family in upstate New York can only be entered by climbing taut netting and entering through a trap door. Descending requires sliding down two structural-columns-turned-fire-poles.

The wood-frame residence and studio are clad in vertical cedar siding—back then, a daring competitor to clapboard—instead of concrete to save costs. The effect is equally seamless, however: “If you drive by it fast enough,” Charles Gwathmey once said, “you still might mistake it for a concrete house.” Photo by Norman McGrath.

Nicknamed the Floating Farmhouse, this 200-year-old home inspired one former copywriter to delve into architecture as a living. Inside, renovator and owner Tom Givone mixes vintage and industrial decor. Photo by Mark Mahaney.

The great room in the 2,800-square-foot house that architect Drew Lang designed for his family in the Hudson Woods development north of New York City features generous amounts of white oak, which he says is his favorite material.

The Langs use an outbuilding as a rec room of sorts. "We call that the Grace Studio," Lang says. "It's designed so a car can pull in there, but we use it as more of a rec room and work space."

A yellow Pedestal filing cabinet by USM is tucked under a built-in desk in the guest bedroom. The leather-back chair was designed by Michael Robbins, a furniture designer based in New York's Hudson Valley.

The master bathroom features a cedar screen and quartzite tiles by Walker Zanger.

White oak makes a return appearance on the ceiling in the master bedroom.

The home is embedded in a hillside with five feet of soil above it. In addition to blending the structure into the landscape, the surrounding earth provides natural insulation.

Davis worked with contractor Ted Timmer to construct the playhouse on her family’s 30-acre property.

Sliding doors partition a cozy screening room, where the resident can enjoy films and television in the comfort of custom designed furniture.

SPAN Architecture recast this two-level space in New York City—previously a photography studio—as a loft-like residence that is rich in materials. A blackened steel staircase, executed by general contractor Richard Kaleta, leads to the private quarters on the duplex's second floor. The walkway is composed of custom etched glass, stretched across an open atrium to below.

An onyx "hearth" and a French limestone banquet form the perimeter of the warm living room. The carpet is from Tai Ping.

The polycarbonate interior is bounded by an exterior band of reclaimed white-cedar siding, open to the sky.

John Milich fabricated the slide in the freestanding treehouse.

Like a Murphy bed, the dining table tucks into the wall when not in use.

Adrian Jones and Allison Silverman sit at their reclaimed wood dining table. Eco-mindedness is a matter-of-fact part of everyday life for the couple and the designer, Garrick Jones. “Sustainability comes from flexibility and planning for the long term,” Garrick says. “This is not a glammed-up loft.”

The house's L shape permits a considerable courtyard, and plenty of space for lounging behind the rain screen. The stairs sit at the intersection of the two volumes and lead down into the more social of the two: the dining room, living room, and music room.

Seagram Building, New York, New York (1958)With this sleek, black, glass structure of bronze, Travertine and pink granite, separated from the city streets by an expansive plaza, Mies van der Rohe created the reigning model for modernist skyscrapers in the mid-20th century.

Wrapped in Anne Sacks tile, the master bathroom is outfitted with fixtures by Kohler.

Envisioned as "an apartment within an apartment," the master suite is secluded from the rest of the home, accessible via the steel-and-glass catwalk. The owner's sanctuary features a built-in bed and credenza by City.

A red print by Cris Gianakos accents a well-lit stairwell leading to a laundry area, library, and rec room on the full basement floor.

New Yorkers, architects, and international travellers alike will immediately recognize Bierut's most prominent work: the New York Times logo on the paper's eponymous building. The teardrop shape of the black forms don't block views and sunlight while the logo appears opaque from street level.

On Wednesday, October 8, Dwell toasts AKA at its Central Park location. This event is invitation only.

The Dutch's view from outside.

Consider this lively bathroom that sits within a recently completed waterfront home in Bridgehampton, New York. Situated on two-and-a-half acres of land with 360-degree views of the nearby bay and ocean, it's covered with brightly colored floor-to-ceiling tiles that reflect the shades of the neighboring water. One step through the sliding glass doors and you’ll find yourself on an open terrace.

The restoration of the “Plan of the City of New York” map from 1770 as shown on the New York Times' website.

"I think an architect’s job is to celebrate what people really care about and simplify and streamline the rest.” —Page Goolrick

“When I first thought of moving to Harlem, I looked at a map,” says Ryall. “The island’s about 210 blocks long, I’m near 110th Street—I thought, ‘It’s right in the center of Manhattan.’”