A Seattle family tasked Atmosphere Design Build with creating a sustainable dwelling in Nevada City, California, the matriarch's hometown and a historic mining community. The firm's material-driven approach channels the pioneer spirit of the gold rush, without compromising comfort or high-efficiency standards.

In this glass-enclosed master bedroom, a LC4 armchair faces the master bed. The moveable frame adjusts along the base, allowing the sitter to switch from upright to full recline, or lounge at a number of other sitting angles.

Simpatico Homes founder Seth Krubiner has lived in the prefab company’s nearly net-zero prototype since it was customized and lifted onsite in 2011.

Components for low-cost prefab homes designed by Habitat for Humanity and the firm Minarc for South Central Los Angeles were trucked in and assembled over three days. Photos by Art Gray.

Rice surfs the net at the built-in desk.

Eujin: Pasolini and Fassbinder Retrospectives at BAM/PFA Come September, my second home will be at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive Theatre. Reason? Film auteurs Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Werner Fassbinder are each being honored with career retrospectives. Pasolini starts from September 20-October 31 with Accattone (1961) and Fassbinder joins in on October 4-29 with Love Is Colder Than Death (1969). Bonus: Some films are newly restored 35mm prints!

Most impressive of all, a solar array on the roof empowers the residents to produce more energy than they consume on-site.

The green roof, wood cladding, and low profile help to integrate the home with its lush, natural surroundings.

Multiple Hytte cabins can be clustered together to create a village layout.

A curving skylight illuminates the minimalist kitchen of a dwelling in Bondi Beach, Australia, that was renovated by Andrew Burges Architects.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

The built-in bench that borders the cantilevered bed features two storage drawers and a hatch that accesses an additional storage compartment.

The crisp white kitchen features appliances built into the cabinetry and marble countertops.

San Francisco’s modernists were faced with the issue of building within a firmly established stylistic tradition—think bay windows and gingerbread. Henry Hill’s 1947 renovation of a 1908 Victorian tucked away on an alley in historic Russian Hill provides a remarkable response to the dilemma.

The kitchen and convertible desk area of the Kugelschiff display a luminous, white-painted ceiling and walls, and white ash cabinetry and flooring.

For architect Stephen Chung, the design of his Wayland, Massachusetts, home was all about blending into the natural environment. The first floor is a serene composition of white and wood. The demand for a domestic office space inspired him to build up, adding a second floor for him to "experiment." In a departure from the Cape Cod aesthetic that rules his block, he was able to give the addition a modernist take, while also literally reflecting the existing landscape of the neighborhood. The entire 1,100-square-foot adjunct that encompasses his second story office-studio, master suite, and fort for his two young sons is swathed in mirrored siding and plate-glass windows.

Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, and Pierre Jeanneret designed the LC4 Villa Church lounge for Cassina.

The dwelling is raised on three marine-grade, aluminum-alloy flotation tubes, each with five sealed compartments for extra safety.

Mike Kurokawa and Paul Fishman set out for the beach from their house in the Puna region of Hawaii. A bridge leads from street level to the upper floor of the house, which is situated in a natural depression, or kipuka.

Homeowner Jay Longtin served as the general contractor and performed the majority of the remodel work, aside from the outdoor floors, concrete, and pool, which were done by Architectural Blue.

A view of the installation at the House for Contemporary Art in Belgium.

Numen's Net, occupied by gallery attendees.

Bathroom

Marita is an avid reader, clocking about a book a day, so she built this bookcase for her family’s collection and painted it a bright plum shade.

For the latest in audio technology, check out our list of the best-designed speakers on the market.

At a net-zero home in San Francisco, the house's green roof is more of a brown roof: a desert-like array of native and non-native succulents that require minimal irrigation. The soil area is maintained with motorcycle tires (including one from a Harley hog), which control erosion. Composting takes place here as well.

See Arch restored the exterior fireplace wall and painted it a deep blue hue to match the repainted blue timber cladding.

The sunken living room allows for delineation of space while keeping an open-plan environment

A decorative cinder block wall edges the property and provides a sense of enclosure without hemming in the yard too tightly.

Metal shingles cut from scraps of sheet metal mix with new material as well as odds and ends, such as a road sign Baker bought at the Alameda Flea market. Baker designed stainless steel clips that allow any tile to be easily moved or replaced without the use of tools. Planter box panels add functionality to the facade and can be swapped out or relocated throughout the year.

The three arms of the Apfel House stretch out to catch the best views of Ranco Lake and the Andes Mountains.