ICON developed its Vulcan I 3D printer over a period of about two years. The gantry-style printer on rails is mobile and weighs about 2,000 pounds.

“The Low Poly Pokémon project started as a challenge,” says their designer Flowalistik. “I wanted to try to transform the low-quality graphics the first Pokémon video games had into a 3D model." The resulting forms can be printed in a wide range of materials—it depends on your local 3D printer—though the plastic seen here is most common.

To pick a site for the buildings, Matt used his drone to scan the site and then Daybreak created a 3D model to test out options for placement.

The Tinbeerwah house and studio keep a low profile among the site’s eucalyptus trees.

"It was rundown, dark, and divided," recalls Masaaki of his first impression of the warehouse, the ground floor of a multistory apartment building. But after some thought, Masaaki, a Japanese-born architect, and Esther, an artist from Minorca, realized that owning the combined 2,700 square feet would allow them to headquarter Mas-aqui, the architecture and design firm they were planning to start, on-site. They bought the property and within months transformed it into a bright, modern live/work space.

The dining area features a PH5 pendant by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, a T12 table by Hay, and Møller Model 77 side chairs. A 1960s rocking chair by Vladimir Kagan sets off the living area.

NOEM, a Barcelona–based architecture firm, created a metal-clad house for a young client just outside Madrid. It’s raised 12 feet off the ground to offer better views of the landscape, lending it "the futuristic feeling that it just landed," says Pol Guiu, one of NOEM’s cofounders.

The impression of a 3D relief was overwhelming with this pattern.

Sleeping nooks that look like the grooves in a block of cheese.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

"Shane enjoys both cooking and entertaining so we maximized the counter space to make meal prep and hosting easy," Priftaj says. "It was also very important that the kitchen include a gas grill so he could quickly and conveniently grill without having to climb up five flights of stairs to use the bbq on the patio." Priftaj selected high-gloss acrylic white cabinets from bulthaup's b3 line with an aluminum backsplash and b3 prism drawer system to keep things tidy. A Wolf hood and gas cooktop with chargrill give Carslake the flexibility he desired for indoor grilling. The counters are polished white quartz.

Made from ABS plastic, a common 3D printing material, the Bristol Chair capitalizes on the complexity possible with additive manufacturing. "When talking to designers," says Bitonti, "I try to impress that [3D printing] has its own unique materials and process... they try to design for injection molding but they need sensibilities and knowledge appropriate to this medium. Additive processes are their own thing with their own advantages."

Site work in progress.

A passage between the walls for hide and seek.

The eco-friendly phone in question is the Fairphone: produced by an Amsterdam-based organization, it's made with metals sourced from small-scale miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That way, the phone's production avoids exploitative mining practices. The phone itself is also designed to be long-lasting, cutting back on waste, and many of its modular parts can be easily replaced by users. For the launch of the Fairphone 2, the second iteration of their eponymous product, the Dutch organization partnered with designer Alan Nguyen and 3D Hubs for a similarly eco-friendly way to produce the smart phone's accessories.

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.

The countertops in the kitchen are a mix of quartz surfaces and custom and salvaged stainless steel. "We use the kitchen all of the time, it turned out really nice," says Melissa. "It's very open, certainly one of the central focuses of the house, and is fun for entertaining."

The living room, dining room and kitchen are in one open space. The flooring is bamboo. The cabinetry is a mix of bamboo, walnut, and maple, and was fabricated by City Cabinetmakers out of San Francisco.

Future site view. Overgrown 21+ acre forested site.

The first room of the project, currently a three meter-high, 180-kilogram sample, is on track to be completed this summer, and the entire site is open to the public to view the progress and welcome ideas. Photo courtesy of DUS Architects.