The “mid-ground” between the three structures serves as a community hub. Dick takes advantage of the site’s shared bicycle storage and its proximity to a popular bike lane.

Architect Douglas Stockman says the building's charcoal-and-orange exterior coloring was "intended to reflect the dynamic character of the neighborhood." Here, it provides a festive backdrop to the residents' semi-annual Finn Lofts community party.

This is the 90-seat community/screening room.

Design Citation of Merit: The Arboretum (formerly the Garden Grove Community Church), a drive-in church designed by Richard Neutra in 1960 Restoration Team: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange (owner), LPA Inc. (architect), Cannon Building (general contractor) Davis Partners/Hager Pacific Properties (construction managers) and Lamprecht archiTEXTural (consulting architect) Photo courtesy Eichler Network

Designed while Kahn was working on the Yale Art Gallery, this minimalistic structure appears to bring Roman design to New Jersey's capital. A cruciform of four square buildings, topped with triangular forms, adds a dramatic, sweeping entrance to a simple visit to the pool.

The Donning Community Building, constructed in 2006.

The site we negotiated with Port Blakely Communities. zHome is the community to the left of the photo with the concrete pumper and the larger podium and framed community is the YWCA Family Village.

“As an architect, I’m interested in making social hubs and creating communities that people feel connected to tribally," Bestor says.

In the development, single-family residences, duplexes, and triplexes are centered on a internal street. Parking is located at the rear of the houses, in order to avoid hindering community interaction.

Deakin University Regional Community Health Hub (designinc: 2013) An angular expansion of a rural campus in Waurn Ponds, Australia, this new academic space reflects the local environment with its use of native materials. The glass exterior, which recalls the hull of a ship, presents a forward-thinking profile.

Over the past 15 years, Groundswell Community Mural Project has developed hundreds of murals around New York City that give voice to otherwise underrepresented ideas and perspectives, and beautify neighborhoods that are rarely the focus of public art initiatives. Here's one example.

The Mason's Bees Community Center by Rural Studio

Designed by TEN Arquitectos, this casita will be built in the Willis Avenue Community Garden in the Bronx. The idea is that it will serve as a model to be adapted for community gardens elsewhere in New York City. Rendering courtesy of TEN Arquitectos.

Blackbirds, with its community- and pedestrian-friendly design, is a “first step” toward creating senior housing within an urban context.

“We wanted to build a place where people could feel respect for the environment.”—Ryue Nishizawa, architect

Eagle Round House by Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative Kunkel’s group designed the 1,300-square-foot Eagle Round House, a modified round living room with a central gathering space that encourages community while maintaining flexibility. Clad with straw bale and structurally insulated panels, this design-in-the-round structure also incorporate east-facing windows, so tribal members could rise and greet the sun each morning, a vital cultural imperative.

The Mutual Housing Association Site Office, used by the original architects and engineers for nearly a decade, was later renovated into a home after a brief stint as the community’s arts building. In 2000, after architects Cory Buckner and Nick Roberts moved in, it was established as Historic-Cultural Monument number 680 by the city of Los Angeles.

Portland Community College (PCC) Newberg Center; Newberg, Oregon Hennebery Eddy Architects The first zero-net-energy higher education building in Oregon, this center houses classrooms, administrative offices, and common areas for students and faculty. To become zero-net-energy, the architects took advantage of the placid Northwest climate and focused on passive strategies such as orienting the building along an east–west axis.

Confining The Miner and A Major to just one side of the loft allowed the roommates to leave the kitchen, dining, and living areas wide open. This makes it great for parties. “We wanted it to be fun, community-oriented, and playful—like the Situtationist’s credo where work is play,” says Ionescu. “It’s an experiment. It works because we are all friends. I don’t think strangers could live in this manner.”

The homepage of Pictory, designed and curated by Miner and created with "community editorial."

For the Buhl Community Park adjacent to the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, Cochran collaborated with artist Ned Kahn on a cloud-generating sculpture, which adds a dynamic element to the space.

Dubbed The River, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa’s design for Grace Farms traverses a 43-foot elevation with gently sloped walkways. The duo’s last U.S. building was the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, completed in 2007.

German photographer Thomas Demand captured Farm 56, an image of a pile of building plans, which will be showcased as part of Grace Farms’s public art program.

“There’s onsite bike sharing, an electric vehicle charging station, and a common area that invites interaction between residents,” Soheil says.

In San Diego, brothers Nima and Soheil Nakhshab built Sofia Lofts, a multigenerational micro-community with 16 units ranging from 600 to 1,000 square feet designed to accommodate tenants of all ages and abilities.

Hennebery Eddy Architects for the Portland Community College (PCC) Newberg Center. Photo via Inhabitat

With its community market initiative, PPS reinvents the public square on an international level.

SANAA worked with landscape architecture firm OLIN to ensure that the structure, located on an 80-acre property that includes 16 acres of native wetlands, would respond well to the surrounding landscape. A Douglas fir canopy runs the length of the building.

Adds Soheil: “Whether they’re retirees or students or young couples, the idea was to create an environment they’ll never want to leave."

The Jiko ya jamii (Community Cooker) is a large-scale oven that uses trash as fuel to power a communal cooking facility in Kibera, Nairobi. Photo courtesy of Community Cooker–Jiko Ya Jamii.

A site plan for the Peace Villages shows the placement of the cabanas and various other amenities and community areas.

Floating Community Lifeboats in Bangladesh provide space for solar-powered schools, libraries, clinics and community centers in response to rising waters and extreme density. Photo courtesy of Abir Abdullah/Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha.

The village offers a community feel for a fraction of the price of traditional homeownership. The state-of-the-art homes are a refreshing upgrade from cramped city apartments.

Mork-Ulnes Architects designed a retreat where the couple could reconnect with nature and foster a meaningful connection with the surrounding community.