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.

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.

When unfolded, the WorldBed measures 25-inches wide by 75-inches long by three-inches thick.

When compressed, a WorldBed measures 25-inches wide by 25-inches long by one-inch thick.

Bialetti's new Aeternum saute pans come in eight-inch, 10.25-inch, and 12-inch diameters. The 12-inch version comes with a lid.

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

Seated on a George Nelson bench, feline resident Miu Miu gazes through the east picture window at the ongoing construction. Sharing the bench is a quarter-inch-to-one-inch-scale model of the house and addition.

This is the painted model of Broadacre City, showing the amount of undeveloped land between residences. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York).

Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Broadacre City Model as an example of low-density development over a large area. It toured the country for several years in the 1930s and provides a counterpoint to his skyscrapers. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York). Photo by Roy E. Petersen.

Lisbet measures in at four-and-a-half inches in height and three inches in diameter.

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

Numen's Net, occupied by gallery attendees.

With the doors flung wide open, the Deams' outdoor space truly functions as an adjunct living room at the core of the home. The feeling of an outdoor room is reinforced by the linearity and evenness of the concrete patio surface, which was constructed with Stepstone's Narrow Modular Pavers. "I actually discovered them at Dwell on Design in 2006," Lara says. The three-inch-wide pavers are available in multiple lengths and in 12 different shades.

The Wee Woolly is the smallest Woolly Pocket, measuring in at just 12 inches wide, six inches long, and six inches high.

24-inch-wide gas cooktop by Haier, $900 This scaled-down cooktop—which features four gas burners offering a range of BTU levels—is part of Haier’s collection of appliances focused on small spaces and urban living.

"24-inch electric cooktop and oven designed for micro-living from @boschappliances, available in April."

Reclaimed and recycled cypress beams measure 16 inches tall, six inches wide and are 36 feet long. Courtesy Architects and Artisans.

The pagoda-like Henrik is a skinny two-and-a-half inches in diameter but stands six inches tall.

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.

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 Robern 36-inch wall-mount vanity by Kohler

Husk is no under-the-radar cafe: It was crowned Bon Appetit's best new restaurant in America in 2011 when it opened. Chef Sean Brock's other Charleston restaurant, McCrady's, skews slightly more towards molecular gastronomy while Husk serves up less challenging takes on Southern fare.

36-inch Majestic range by ILVE in zinc yellow, $8,670 With ILVE’s custom color program, the Italian brand’s hoods and ranges—including this model with griddle and rotisserie—are available in a palette of 200 hues.

Rather than a one-off custom piece, Baker designed the daybed as a prototype and worked with Ohio Design on its fabrication.

The Catch lamp is based on a butterfly net.

“These are homes that are truly sustainable—they don’t create any waste in fabrication, and there’s no waste onsite.” —Tryggvi Thorsteinsson, Minarc. Photos by Art Gray.

“There’s no drilling or chopping,” says Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir, cofounder of Minarc. “It’s a very elegant way to build.” Photos by Art Gray.

Outside of Eurocucina, Salone attendees take a grassy respite from the day's acres and acres of high-design delights.

7-inch soup bowl, made exclusively for Husk by Chip Burr and Fiorenzo Berardozzi in Charleston, SC.

Wood envelops the home’s second story. The floor is made of Brazilian pine salvaged from a warehouse. The walls are also recycled boards, sourced from the ceiling of a conventillo, or tenement, in the La Boca neighborhood, and sliced into 12-inch-wide planks. The ceiling is made of ipe from the NET workshop. In the family room, cushions knit by Teresa’s mother, Griselda Sposari, sit on a Lennon armchair by NET.

NET was founded by renowned architect Alejandro Sticotti in 1990. The firm prefers to use South American hardwoods that, in addition to being durable, anchor their products in their Argentine origins. For instance, the Silla ska chair (seen here) is made from lenga, a patagonian wood that resembles American cherry. The satin black floor lamp is also from NET.

Bullitt Center (Seattle, Washington: 2013) Denis Hayes, chief executive of the Bullitt Foundation, said that if the Bullit Center, his organization’s ambitious experiment in creating a sustainable and “living” office building, is still the greenest space of its kind in a decade, it will have been a failure. That’s not bragging, that’s merely an insight into the scope and ambition of this revolutionary structure, a testing ground for water and energy self sufficiency (via rainwater collection, composting, and a large solar array) aiming to be a case study for radical change in how we build. Based on stats released on Earth Day in April, the building’s first anniversary, the structure is currently using 75 percent less energy than a similar structure and is on its way to a net zero energy certification. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider