Asked to find an ecologically sustainable building solution, blaanc turned to a vernacular building technique that still thrives in certain pockets of rural Portugal, rammed earth.

The 925-square-foot house Maggie Treanor calls home blends into the landscape somewhat; with a galvanized steel shed roof and siding, it looks like a high-design little brother to the barns on the surrounding farms.

On one side of the house, a white central staircase leads to a split-level landing the Robertsons call "the reading room." "We needed a place to hang out and for the kids to read," explains owner Vivi Nguyen-Robertson. Awaiting the birth of the couple's son, she relaxes in a built-in reading nook in the library.

The outdoor room is backed by a gabion wall made of stone. Rainwater runs off the roofs into a channel before being funneled through pipes concealed within it to an underground concrete tank.

Many prefab architects and suppliers specialize in either modular or panelized construction. Minneapolis architect Charlie Lazor has worked with both mediums. This lake house in rural Ontario, Canada, is an example of one of his modular projects. It was built in a Wisconsin factory about 400 miles away.

@amyraegerber: #dwelloutdoor

The living-dining area is outfitted with a Karlstad sofa from Ikea and a fireplace from European Home.

Two linked 1,000-square-foot pavilions are greater than a sum of their parts. The simply detailed, taut, flat-roofed home’s two wings form a T-shape. One wing runs north to south, parallel to a pool, and contains the open-plan living spaces. Photo by Matthew Millman.

The Food Zone Fine-tuning your cooking and dining areas pays off in more ways than just saving resources. As in other functional zones, their success starts with awareness: Where exactly does your food come from? Where exactly does your trash go after you haul it to the curb? Playing an active role in your family’s food cycle can be eye-opening, and it often helps spark an interest in improving other house zones.

The cabinets are from Ikea, the range is by GE, and the Jenn-Air refrigerator is tucked unobtrusively into the pantry wall. The troweled concrete floor was poured in place by the builder, Peter Knudsen.

Large sliding glass doors suspend the living room within the landscape for family gatherings or larger events.

The relationship between interior and exterior becomes crucial in the articulation of the residence.

A bothouse in Georgian Bay, Ontario, by Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Ltd. is clad in black-stained resawn cedar.

The first floor consists of two long and narrow structures that intersect in an open kitchen, providing distinct programmatic areas and settling into the tree-lined landscape, allowing yards to surround and permeate each room.

A food-service area with a bar is a defining feature.

Maximizing daylight is only one of the sustainable design strategies used in the Low/Rise residence.

During the winter, the north-facing hill behind the home transforms into a prime tobogganing slope. With hiking and snow shoe trails, and a pond for swimming and ice skating, the house provides year-round recreation for residents Jeff and Kara’s kids. Jeff explains that he and Kara are eventually planning to do more landscaping, but want to sit with the house for a few more years to better understand what the family’s long-term needs and hobbies will be.

The Japanese-style bathroom, which is clad in teak, features a matching tub and sink by Bath in Wood.

The room also features built-in bookcases fabricated by Earthbound Industries and a vintage Sesann sofa by Gianfranco Frattini for Cassina.

Built-ins reduce the need for furniture.

A matching desk also folds up and away.

In the master bathroom, Godmorgon vanities from Ikea stand next to a dual-flush Aquia toilet from Toto. A Tolomeo Wall Spot lamp, designed by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina for Artemide, hangs above the mirror.

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.

Crittenden Frum prepares food in the galley-style kitchen, which is outfitted with a Cascade Taupe Vintage countertop from Marble Trend.

In this sustainable home in Silicon Valley, the primary suite opens to a deck and fern garden with large, sliding glass doors.

Twitter House Floor Plan A Laundry Room B Kitchen C Living-Dining Room D Half Bathroom E Shower F Guest Room-Study G Master Bathroom H Master Bedroom

Through an integral relationship between use, form, and material, the Low/Rise House responds sensitively to site, nature, and neighborhood, creating a new type of suburban living – both urban and rural.

The Casa Cuatro sits above a 180-foot cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The locally quarried stone makes the house blend in with the landscape and acts as a thermal-mass wall, absorbing heat during the day and releasing it through the evening.

Universities and street-smart organizations are collaborating to help meet urban communities' need for livable and affordable dwellings. In one example, the Georgia Tech School of Architecture teamed with Resource Furniture and Architecture for Humanity for a juried competition in which student entrants designed interiors for Net Zero Energy House prototypes. Principles will discuss the first-place entry onstage.

Resident Ty Milford peruses a book by the George Nelson–inspired built-ins fabricated by Big Branch Woodworking

Amy requested a quiet, sunny reading nook with a view; In Situ obliged with a built-in bench housing her collection of books.

The house was built on piers (save for the lower-level bedroom) so that little of the natural landscape would be disturbed.

Having purchased the land from a friend who also has a house in the community, Schneider had a better sense of what she wanted—and what she didn't—her site. "From the experience at the neighbor's house," Foster says, "she knew she didn't want the house to have its back to the morning sun so we created a deck and somewhere to sit outside that faces east." Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

The bed was custom-made by Roen Furniture, and the Melampo Mini wall lights are by Adrien Gardere for Artemide.

The main house is constructed from structural insulated panels from Vermont Timber Frames and clad in charred cedar. The roof panels are by Agway Metals.

Alex enjoys a sun-filled breakfast at the built-in dining table and bench, one of many space-saving designs.