+Farm is based in upstate New York, where land can be cheap but new housing prohibitively expensive: when a resident breaks ground on a waterfront site, their taxes can dramatically increase. What if new housing didn't need to technically break ground? "Our thought," says +Farm Director William Haskas, was "let's discuss ideas for a new type of dwelling....one that could potential help the people that actually live in the area."

Before the Moumings built their house, they camped out on their six acres while preparing the land for farming, planting grass and clover in place of soybean stubble. As the house arose from its foundation, soil-fixing plants grew from seed. Now the couple can focus on growing food.

A still from Ant Farm's television critique "Media Burn."

Perfect for urbanists with green thumbs, Opcom's modular hydroponic farm comes equipped with sensors and a panoramic camera for tracking temperature, humidity, and water quality. Users can tinker with these variables from their smartphone or tablet.

The Barn - what a great place to hang out! Horses and goats allowed. Truly a one-of-a-kind opportunity

The two structures are in constant dialogue. Not only are their forms in sympathy, but as they're set at right angles to one another, they are rarely out of view.

Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Villa Savoye, Poissy. 1928-31. Model, 1932. Wood, aluminum, and plastic. 16 x 34 x 32” (40.6 x 86.4 x 81.3 cm). Model maker: Theodore Conrad. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / FLC

Le Corbusier raised Villa Savoye on pilotis (stilts) to provide “distant views of the horizon.” Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret). (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Villa Savoye, Poissy. 1928–31. Photograph. 2012. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/FLC. Photo © Richard Pare

An early work on paper by Le Corbusier shows his fascination with landscapes. (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret). (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Blue mountains. 1910. Pencil, watercolor, black ink on paper. 6 3/8 x 7 11/16” (16.2 x 19.5 cm) Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / FLC

Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret). (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Assembly, Chandigarh. 1961-64. Model of the roof structure, 1964. Plaster and painted wood. 31 7/8 x 45 1/16 x 45 1/2 (81 x 114.5 x 115.5 cm). The Museum of Modern Art. Gift of Barbara Jakobson and the Architecture & Design Purchase Fund, 2010. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/FLC

Le Corbusier conceived his urban plan for Rio de Janiero while viewing the city during a plane ride. 1929. Aerial perspective with Guanabara Bay, the center and the beaches. (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret) (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Charcoal and pastel on paper. 29 15/16 x 31 11/16” (76 x 80.5 cm). Foundation Le Corbusier, Paris. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/FLC

Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Palace of the League of Nations, Geneva. 1927. Axonometric view from the west. Gelatin print on paper with ink, airbrush and collage additions. 53 3/8” x 57 7/8” (135.5 x 147 cm). Institut fur Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur, ETH Zurich

Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) was a leader in Purism, a movement toward clear forms indicative of the modern age. (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Nature morte (Still life). 1920. Oil on canvas. 31 7/8 x 39 1/4” (80.9 x 99.7 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Van Gogh Purchase Fund, 1937. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / FLC

A rendering shows the Museum of Modern Art's 53rd Street entrance as it would appear after an overhaul of the museum's midtown campus. Image courtesy of Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret). (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut, Ronchamp. 1950–55. Photograph. 2012. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/FLC. Photo © Richard Pare

Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Palace of the Soviets, Moscow. 1931-32. Model, 1932. Wood, paint, metal, plastic, and glass. 14 x 33 1/2 x 67” (35.6 x 85.1 x 170.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Special Purchase Fund, 1941. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / FLC

The home Le Corbusier (Charles-Édouard Jeanneret) built for his parents and his first work as an independent architect. (French, born Switzerland. 1887-1965). Villa Jeanneret-Perret, La Chaux-de-Fonds. 1912. Photograph. 2012. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris/FLC. Photo © Richard Pare

Mobile Nap Turner made much of the barn’s furniture from OSB, but the mobile daybed on wheels is a standout piece and allows the user to catch the sun or shade as the mood strikes.

Round Bales in the Field

In undertaking a gut renovation of a town house in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood, husband and wife Jesper Meyer and Rimjhim Dey drew upon design elements from their respective roots in Denmark and India to create a home that’s wholly serene and accented with subtle pops of bright color. American white-oak planks, finished with lye and pigmented with whitening oil from Danish company Junckers, line the staircase and floors throughout; the dining area is furnished with Ant chairs by Arne Jacobsen and a PH50 pendant by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen.

Carl Turner and Mary Martin pose on the porch of the Stealth Barn, a multipurpose structure that plays as a guest cottage, office space, and escape from whatever may be cooking at Ochre Barn.

Nodding to the bay windows so common in San Francisco, the AetherSF shop's second in the stack of three shipping containers cantilevers out over the entry not only to provide a bit of shelter from a rainy night, but also to permit an expansive view of the neighborhood from the second floor lounge.

Last night, January 23rd, Dwell and Aether Apparel teamed up for the Dwell Conversation Prefab's Progress. We were joined by a two architects, a metal fabricator, and a prefab entrepreneur to talk about how prefabricated architecture can solve the problems presented by difficult sites.

Douglas Burnham, principal of Envelope A+D, and designer of the AetherSF shop describes how the trio of shipping containers are connected by just four bolts, making them entirely mobile. Because the buildings at the Proxy are intended to be temporary—San Francisco has designated the lot for mixed-income housing when it has the capacity to build—Burnham and his colleagues faced a difficult site not in terms of topography, but in terms of time.

Seth Krubiner (plaid shirt) and Benjamin Parco (black blazer) describe how they used prefab tools to build a pair of Bay Area Houses. Krubiner is a founder of Simpatico Homes and lives in the firm's prototype house in Emeryville, California. A hybrid site-built and modular system, Simpatico Homes build as much as they can in the factory but as Krubiner argued, certain elements (like the garage) are better done on-site. Parco designed a panelized prefab system for a house high in the Berkeley Hills, too high for a big truck and a crane to move a modular solution to the site.

At just nine feet wide, AetherSF succeeds by being a vertical store. A customized dry-cleaner's conveyor belt hoists tons of jackets tens of feet into the sky, essentially suspending the shop's inventory.

Rather an informal talk, Deputy Editor Aaron Britt (in the tie) moderated a talk about prefab design with (from left) architect Benjamin Parco, Seth Krubiner of Simpatico Homes, architect Douglas Burnham, and metalworker Chris French. Here French describes how his long experience doing custom metalwork allowed him to avoid a trial-and-error approach to the Aether interior.

If brining is your thing, check out this savory display.

Locals adore Atwater Village Farm because owner, Patrick O’ Donnel, has curated the very best local and artisinal foods and put them under one roof. If pickling strikes your fancy, there is a whole refrigerator full of mason jar goodness. The produce tastes as beautiful as it looks, and the baked goods beckon, "You had me at giant pretzel."

Iron Street Farm Located on seven acres in the city's Southside Bridgeport neighborhood, Iron Street Farm, on the street of the same name, has turned an industrial site into a community center and agricultural hotbed producing greens for some of the city's top chefs. Growing Power, a Milwaukee nonprofit founded by a former Procter & Gamble exec, led the reclaimation project.

Farm House, 2008. "Doing a small house is like doing a portrait of your client," says Jarmund. "In one case it’s an old abandoned farmhouse for a pair of historians. In another, it’s a guy who wants a house out of James Bond."

Sunset from the Front Porch

Field at Dusk

Looking across the fields from the entrance

The Museum of Modern Art added their first app to their collection, Björk's Biophilia app that interacts with the listener.