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

Site work in progress.

Future site view. Overgrown 21+ acre forested site.

Collage of site photos overlaid on top of previous owner's site plan. Site was unoccupied when purchased.

OPA wanted to free themselves from logic imposed by a grid and considered various inefficient configurations of shipping containers. They settled on a combination of options, seen in the trikselion shape here. The Presidio, San Francisco, California. Mobile exhibition pavilion for the For-Site Foundation. © Tim Griffith.

site design group, ltd. The award-winning landscape firm behind sites such as Mary Bartelme Park took over the penthouse of the historic Crane Company Building, designed by Holabird & Roche in 1912, and turned it into a playful, open workspace.

For more informartion on the project, visit gracefarms.org.

The site of much permit-wrangling.

A wider look at the building's siting.

A collage of images showing the site and scenes from the design and site preparation process.

Menlo Residence Site Plan A Ipe Deck (rear) B Gravel C Concrete Pavers D House E Driveway F Ipe Deck (front) G Ipe Fence and Gate

"The idea behind the building is for a grounded, timber element extending along the Western side of the block, which creates a screen for the rest of the site," Blue says. He specified farmed timber, engineered wood for framing, high levels of insulation, and an evacuated tube solar hot water system to help the house become more green. A layout that facilitates cross ventilation helps reduce the need for air conditioning in the summer.

Ginn will also place an acoustic, light, and fiber installation in the center of the gallery floor. Both works are site-specific.

Bricks are made of rock, gravel, clay, and silt from an old quarry near the building site.

The house's stained-cedar cladding makes a stark but pleasing contrast to the natural foliage of the site.

In Southern Norway, the Summer House by Jarmund/Vigsnæs AS Arkitekter MNAL is designed to blend in with its rocky site. Existing stone walls and a new wood exterior help achieve visual uniformity.

Inspired by medieval monasteries, Kahn's masterful example of symmetry reinforces Jonas Salk's initial instinct; he famously met with the architect for consultative purposes but their conversation so impressed Salk that he knew he had found the right architect. The two rows of buildings are like curtains framing the ocean, and a simple dividing line offers as much serenity and contemplation as the horizon rising above the sea.

Charles and Ray on the steel frames of their home while it was under construction in 1949.

The front facade nestles into its hillside site.

The building's perimeter echoes the irregular trapezoidal site.

Iowa Utilities Board, Office of the Consumer Advocate (Des Moines, Iowa: 2011) There are apt metaphors to be made about this government office building, erected on the site of a former landfill, yet built in such a way that nearly 90 percent of construction waste was recycled. Designed by BNIM architects, the structure’s two wings were made from white Thermomass precast concrete, and gaps that might lower energy efficiency were meticulously removed. The result is a sleek profile that achieves a 75 percent reduction in energy usage compared to a similar code-compliant building. Photo by BNIM

The site plan. “They wanted a house that could be shared with family and friends for extended periods of time, and that downsized and deaccessioned their life.” —Andrew Heid, architect

Willson Residence Site Plan

Butterfly House Floor Plan A Entrance B Dining Room C Living Room D Kitchen E Bathroom F Master Bedroom G Bedroom H Office I Terrace J Garage K Cisterns L Pavers

“Eichlers aren’t very big—that’s why so much emphasis was on the outside. The house had to look like it extended out.” —Bernard Trainor, landscape designer

A wooden boardwalk twists through the verdant site.

The modules are then trucked to their respective construction sites.

The layout of the site appears as a free form drawing in concrete.

Counterpart, a site-specific commission by Tom Price in the chapel.

Malapa Hominid Fossil Site Cover and Visitors' Platform (Krynauw Nel Associates: Guateng, South Africa) This sophisticated, polygonal lookout by the renowned South African architect Krynauw Nel is located on one of the richest veins of early human fossils in existence.

Here's the first module as it arrived at the site early in the morning.