Roost, a restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina, taps into the local Slow Food community. Atlanta firm Johnson Studio used sustainable and locally sourced materials like limestone and oak in the 252-seat restaurant's design. Movable walls in the bar area open to a lively square where live bands frequently perform.

Inside the sleeping cabin, a fireplace built of local granite marks the midpoint between two bedrooms and a bathroom. The floors and walls are wrapped in warm-hued Douglas fir.

Modern Dining: You won’t get stuck on the wrong end of the communal table with this handy list. Illustration by Dan Williams

Ceramics by Keiichi Tanaka. Functional beauty is the ethos behind the Japanese ceramist’s work. Side dishes in playful silhouettes are grounded by earthy, tactile glazes.

A Chilean home’s dramatic stained-pine exterior references local vernacular architecture.

Eclectic, the new Tom Dixon-designed restaurant in Paris.

This "local prefab" home on the Isle of Skye is made mostly from materials sourced in northern Scotland. The timber-framed model, meant to evoke the simple agrarian barns of the area, can be constructed on-site in as little as a day and is designed for affordability.

Talk about high-profile openings: Aalto’s discerning eye was responsible for the iconic look of this Finnish legend, from the birch veneers and club chairs to the Savoy Vases. Fitting for the times, it boasted a state-of-the-art filtration system to pump out cigar smoke.

Restaurant “Sēnīte” Architect—Linards Skuja; engineers—Andris Bite, G. Grīnbergs, R. Ozoliņš. Built in 1967 on Vidzeme highway. Photo courtesy The Museum of Architecture of Latvia

While the space veers minimalist, the dinnerware features traditional flourishes.

FWD configured and fabricated many of the home's components in their own fabrication studio.

Thomas Chapman, Local Studio Architect Thomas Chapman is inspired by the conviction that South Africans must "reknit" historically segregated communities using public space. To stifle popular demonstrations, the apartheid-era government restricted where assembly halls could be built, a legacy that has left the nation a paucity of community hubs. Local Studio recasts disused infrastructure in Johannesburg, such as a former German consulate building, as affordable housing, cultural centers, and parks.

Black and white kitchen cabinets painted with a triangular pattern add a whimsical touch to this funky kitchen.

Architect Alfredo Vanotti sourced the home's stone exterior from the woods behind the property. “I believe that mountain architecture is an emblematic example of sustainable architecture,” he says.

The idea behind Endémico is "luxury camping." Set on 40 acres of gorgeous, unspoiled terrain, there are 20 bungalows and a shared pool for guests to take a dip in. The Encuentro Guadalupe winery offers guests access to local wines as well as a peek at how they are processed through winemaking courses. Encuentro's restaurant will feature dishes that incorporate local flavors as well as a cooking school where people can learn how to prepare creative meals with the guidance of talented young chefs.

Last year’s winner in the bar/lounge category was Upstairs @ Ace Hotel, designed by Killefer Flammang Architects and Commune Design.

Bo Nuage, designed by J. Marx Atelier & BASE Planning and Engineering, took top honors in the cafe/bar category.

Pioneered by Design Partnership, the South African restaurant chain Hungry Lion has been making inroads into the rest of the African continent, opening this flagship store in Angola after a significant revamp of the company's corporate image.

Inside, a large planting feature designed by Michael Hellgreen of Vertical Garden Design clads the kitchen block. "The idea behind the vertical garden was to bring a natural element to the space, since the overall look was very minimal," architect Duarte Caldas says.

"A lot of people were skeptical about the idea, even though it wasn't the first time I pulled off something crazy," Cadena says. "I just trusted my intuition and the philosophy of the chef."

In order to bring a Turkish spirit into the space, Autoban created textured blue ceramic tiles inspired by Marmara marble to line the interior. Traditional Iznik tiles, handmade by Turkish craftsmen in Istanbul, are also integrated into the design.

Warren Platner designed the American Restaurant in Kansas City in 1974 as part of a complex of modern buildings commissioned by the Hall family of Hallmark Cards. He described the bentwood, brass and lipstick-red interior as “like a huge lace Valentine.”

Designed by Jensen & Skovdin, the Juvet's first-generation cabins are built on stilts in order to impact the environment as little as possible. Despite the modernist aesthetic, the buildings were built by local craftsmen using traditional materials and techniques.

Local workers built the Kerns Micro House prototype in a nearby workshop out of locally sourced fir.

The hexagonal symbol for 'local.'

Local Transport We passed a lot of local people on ponies, which made me think about all of the people who have ridden through these mountains for thousands of years. The ponies had bells on so you could hear them approaching. For this particular photograph, I saw a perfect opportunity to frame the riders as they approached a bend in the trail with the Himalayan mountains in the background.

For bedrooms that have windows, it can be challenging to place the bed so that it doesn't obstruct views. At this home with clerestory windows, the platform bed in the master bedroom can sit comfortably below the window while still allowing in daylight. The wood bed frame, crafted by a local woodworker, gives the illusion of a taller ceiling because it’s so low.

Hella Jongerius designed this beautiful seven-part porcelain dinner service set for Royal Tichelaar Makkum, a Dutch company that has been producing ceramics for over four centuries. Each piece in the collection is unique, with very slight glaze distinctions.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

Bestia, by Studio Unltd and Osvaldo Maiozzi, was one of three winners in the restaurant category.

The décor at the newly opened MAR Restaurant (December 2012) reflects the historic harbor of Reykjavik. Black treated wood panels conjure up the old harbor houses and pendant lights hang from fishing nets. Local designers Hafsteinn Júlíusson and Karitas Sveinsdóttir of design studio HAF did the interiors, while ceramic designer Guðný Hafsteins created the tableware and graphic designer Siggi Odds contributed with some elements of the décor. Photo by: Tiffany Orvet

Next door is the restaurant Forettabarrinn. The name means “starters bar” which corresponds with the small tapas-style dishes they serve. Like Netagerðin, the restaurant is also set up as a space to both enjoy what’s on offer or to get work done, or perhaps a bit of both. Photo by: Tiffany Orvet

Project: Maritime Parc, Jersey City Stephanie Goto approaches restaurant design as a dining landscape that supports the chef’s vision—even details as small as divots on a plate can “signify an opportunity for an activity,” she says. At Maritime Parc, her blue-gray palette complements the seafood-centric menu, while a slatted wood ceiling calls yachts to mind. “We design down to the tabletop," says Goto. "It’s about setting a stage that evokes a feeling that may be enhanced by the food and wine. The food dances with the environment.”