Seoul architect Byoung-soo Cho designed the sofas in his urban dream house to resemble building blocks.

A 24-by24-foot Cor-ten-clad pavilion tops the three-story addition.

In the kitchen area and throughout the home, Mads Odgård, shown here, and Mette Lyng Hansen mixed Odgård’s pieces, such as the Odgård kettle for Raadvad and custom table, with Ikea basics and the Workshop pendant lamp by Louis Poulsen.

Seoul, population 26,100,000. The densely populated South Korean capital is the world's most high-tech megacity, with wireless access available nearly everywhere in the city limits for a small fee.

Incheon International, Seoul

Clad in copper panels that Holl had fabricated by the Kansas City, Missouri, company Zahner, the house is daylit by a host of rectangular skylights (inspired by the musical staff) punched through the roofs and the pool’s floor.

The Cobb Haus, a wood-sided, 700-square-foot cabin in Cobb, California, features a large wood deck surrounded by towering trees.

Graphic and pastel textiles adorn a collection of modern chairs and sofas in the downstairs sitting room. Warm-gray floorboards extend throughout the whole lower level for a fresh, modern look.

"The design for the Hanwha HQ media facade aims to avoid an overstated impact," says UNStudio founder Ben Van Berkel. "In the evenings, as the mass of the building becomes less apparent, the facade lighting integrates with the night sky, displaying gently shifting constellations of light."

A detail of the towers' facade.

From urban-dwellers to empty-nesters, many are now embracing the movement toward smaller, more sensible living. Bosch's new line of 24" kitchen appliances is designed to help them save space without downsizing on style.

Bosch's compact kitchen line, which includes an electric and gas cooktop, wall oven, and refrigerator, as well as an 18" dishwasher, is particularly well-suited for city apartments and secondary hangouts, like basements and guesthouses.

UNStudio's proposal for the Hanwha headquarters in Seoul features a responsive facade that will be used to control the indoor climate during the day, and come alive as a dynamic light show during the night.

Big Man on Campus Built on Kolon Engineering and Construction's grounds, the E+ Home is the neighborhood's green building star. From this angle you can see the permeable pavers and sustainable landscaping, like water catchment pools and living walls, that make this place a paragon of green housing.

Photovoltaic Cells, of which Hanwha is one of the world’s largest producers, are built into the facade where they can receive optimal energy and harvest the most solar energy possible.

In place of the previous opaque panelling and dark glass, UNStudio will install insulated glass and aluminum framing to increase the amount of natural light and reduce overall energy consumption.

Roofreader Though they may look like architecture school run amok, the steep pitches and cants of the roof have everything to do with the home’s ecological agenda. By creating a series of green roofs, maximizing daylighting and water catchment, and optimizing the positions of light tubes and building-integrated photovoltaic panels, the roof is a canny mix of passive solar design and state-of-the-art technology.

Together, Bosch's sleek 24" kitchen and laundry suites address the trend toward smaller living by extending modern, European-style design to even the closest quarters.

The E+ Green Home, a concept house located an hour outside Seoul, not only points the way to a greener South Korea, it may well be the most sustainable house in the country. Read more: dwell.com/slideshows/...

Joining the kitchen line, Bosch recently unveiled an efficient 24" laundry pair. The units can be stacked vertically, further reducing their footprint in the home.

Nothing but WOW ❤️❤️❤️

Four Box House perches on a rugged mountain-side in northern Seoul’s Pyeongchandong district, making for spectacular views.

The spruce cladding that wraps around the Vilde tiny house model patinas and eventually turns a silvery-gray tone that blends into the Scandinavian landscape.

Architect Minwook Choi’s 710-square-foot Seroro House rises from a tiny urban lot in Seoul that had long been neglected because of its challenging size.

Green machines The E+ Home uses 95 different green technologies. Here’s our guide.

The nearly floor-to-ceiling windows also wrap around a corner of the room.

To deck out their vacation-rental property, Nicolas Potts and Emma Pilkington Mead crafted a cushy, rose-hued space. In the kitchenette, a comfortable upholstered daybed sits above the breakfast nook.

Hailing from Seoul, Jeonghwa Seo studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

The 24-foot RV is six foot shorter than Living Vehicles next smallest model, and sets a new standard in the luxury travel market.

An en-suite bathroom is accessible along the opposite side of the bedroom.

The wet areas open to views of native trees above allow the morning light to flood in

“I’m so tired of beige, limewash, and earth colors,” Emma says. The couple used Garden Plum paint from Behr Marquee for the cabinetry and Kelp Forest tiles from Zia to enliven the kitchen.

In smaller abodes, spiral staircases are a practical way to access the second floor without taking up too much space. This studio apartment designed by Douglas Stephen & Partners was built in 1965 and has undergone an upgrade in recent years. With a compact, playful look, the bright yellow underside of this spiral staircase brings a bit of fun into a split-level in London, England.