See Google Glass, designed by Isabelle Olsson, onstage at Dwell on Design.

A PK 22 Easy Chair by Poul Kjaerholm for Fritz Hansen adds a dash of yellow to the breakfast room.

It might not make you popular with your contractor, but for a more streamlined look, Chris recommends forgoing trim. "It lends a clean look with less visual clutter," the architect says. In their house, the doors, lights, cabinetry, and even wall sockets (all 22 by Bocci) are installed without trim. This allows the planar surfaces to recede and do their jobs without unnecessarily distracting the eye.

Abutting a costal reserve, the property has uninterrupted views of the Snowy River and surrounding wetlands

Bocci's 22 Series offers stealthy electrical, cable, USB, and phone outlets.

Over 50 miles outside of Chicago, one of Mies's most famous commissions, the Farnsworth House, lies. The one-room weekend retreat, built of steel and glass, is representative of the International Style. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

Built for the pavilion, the Barcelona chair became an instant classic. It has been produced by Knoll since 1953.

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

Mary and Kundan Bhullar built a shipshape country escape that sits lightly on the land in the Aravalli hills near Gurgaon, India.

The Armadillo is parked on a 1,000-square-foot lot that gives the couple ample outdoor space.

Q&A With Google Glass Design Isabelle Olsson We chat with Isabelle Olsson, Google Glass Designer, about new possibilities, women in design, and that one piece of technology that everyone is buzzing about.

The Joseph Joseph Index Plus replaces that clunky counter-space-hogging knife block and thick, heavy cutting board by combining the knife and cutting board storage into one slim design. It's also great for reducing the chance of cross-contamination when working in close quarters with its four color coded cutting boards and matching knives.

Mies Van der Rohe: Glass windows and skyscraper staples etch out this architecture great’s portrait.

The 3,200-square-foot house evokes Mies van der Rohe's modernist aesthetic, in a stacked, three-dimensional form. Dirk Lohan of Lohan Anderson, the grandson of the iconic architect, designed the house to be a perfect cube.

Barcelona chair/ Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1929). $5,365.

Karsh’s portrait of Mies van der Rohe in his Chicago apartment.

“Every time you challenge a basic assumption, there needs to be some method of expressing the fact that there’s new logic at work.”—Omer Arbel, creative director at Bocci

PeaceBOMB Bracelets by Article 22 "A22PeaceBomb3" $38.00 for three A special product with a special story. PeaceBOMB bracelets are crafted from the reclaimed metal of Vietnam-era bombs dropped on Laos during the United States' conflict in Indochina. Developed through a social enterprise that supports sustainable development through design thinking, its collaborators include Naphia spoon makers, Helvetas’s Rural Income Through Sustainable Energy Project and ARTICLE 22. These bracelets not only represent an opportunity for artisan families to generate income, but also tell a story about their makers and the legacies of a shared history. Buy the bombs back!"

In the dining room, Mies van der Rohe chairs surround a custom-made cherry table. Black-and-white photographs of Sasseen's children and grandchildren are arranged systematically on the back wall.

Residents are allowed a small swath to plant gardens. "A lot of credit is due to the landscape architect," says Barlow, and "Mies's floor-to-ceiling windows make the spaces feel open, while at the same time the canopy of trees makes you feel protected. It's a private, quiet, green oasis within spitting distance of the freeway, and you'd never know it."

The same location in 2012, four years later.

Another intersection in Los Angeles, 2008.

Though Detroit is often associated with urban decay, it too has seen its share of development in the past five years. This image was taken in 2007.

An empty building in Detroit, 2009.

In 2013, a residential conversion has emerged across from a different, new residential building.

A street corner on Kent Street in Brooklyn, New York, 2007.

The same block in 2013.

Six years later, a fresh bike lane runs down the street opposite the new headquarters for the LA Police Department.

The view down Spring street to City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, 2007. All images by Google Maps Street View.

Formerly known as the Android Market, Google Play is a an Android phone-exclusive digital application that allows users to browse and download various types of media, such as music, books, movies, television shows, and apps published through Google. Here, Gison's design on the Android phone.

A balancing act, an earlier concept.