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.

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

In our 2011 small spaces issue we checked out the home of a pair of design-savvy Portlanders. And in the cover story we check out a small New York spot remade with 36 commercial doors. Photo by: Nicholas Calcott

We visited a pair of glass pavilions in Sonoma, California, and a 240-square-foot apartment in New York City. Photo by: Matthew Millman

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

Numen's Net, occupied by gallery attendees.

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.

Donna Suh Wageman opened Pot + Pantry in November.

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.

- Tehachapi Mountains, California Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

East St. Paul, Manitoba Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

New York, New York Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

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

The bedroom/studio shares a wall with the bedroom/office. New York, New York Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

High ceilings and clerestory windows fill the public rooms with light. - Tehachapi Mountains, California Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

A Penobscot Bay swing hangs beside the dining table in the porch. - Rockport, Massachusetts Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

The carport screen is dotted with different-size openings, some louvered. - Austin, Texas Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

Available to rent on Airbnb, the two-bedroom prefab house as a prototype for their pre-engineered IT House series and made an appearance in Dwell Magazine’s November 2008 issue.

Another variation on the pattern, designed by architect Tim Bade, appears on the brushed-aluminum guardrail. - Austin, Texas Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

The bed in Olia's studio slides into the space beneath the raised floor in Peter's office. New York, New York Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

Inspired by Russian and Finnish designs, the fireplace harvests hot air by sending it into the basement and radiating it into the room. - Tehachapi Mountains, California Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

Such wood-burning stoves like the cast-iron Venax are popular in Brazil, particularly in the countryside. - Pato Branco, Brazil Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

Once a musty crawl space, the new porch features a custom built-in table and Cane-line Breeze chairs. - Rockport, Massachusetts Dwell Magazine : November / December 2017

Accessed by a ladder with alternating treads, the sleeping loft features custom casework by Kevin P. Clarke Custom Woodwork that holds Kid Robot figurines, Hopi baskets, and an iPhone gramophone by Lawrence LaBianca. Lights by Pablo Designs are perched atop a bed that Baker designed. Peeking out from under the rug (made by Baker’s mother, Emilie) is a salvaged maple floor, which was finished with VOC-free flaxseed oil.

Sticotti cites a mixture of design inspiration from Japan, Scandinavia, and European designers who emigrated to the Unites States. A simplicity and honest expression of materials is evident in this coatrack made from peteribí and lapacho, both South American woods.

Designed and prototyped by David Baker Architects, the building’s siding was made from salvaged maple flooring left over from another project. Inspired by the Japanese and Finnish practice of finishing exterior wood by charring, Baker used a roofing torch to char the boards and screwed them into vertical cedar battens.

The compact 712-square-foot cottage sits on top of a 430-square-foot workshop, where Baker’s firm prototypes and produces custom furnishings for his practice. “Not only is there room for more density on most residential blocks in San Francisco, but, if thoughtfully conceived, it also enriches our communities and makes our cities more resilient,” Baker says.

Chroma, Royal Opera House, London, England. Premiere November 2006. Photo by Richard Davies.