The winners of the 2011 Swiss Design Prize were shown in the U.S. for the first time at Dwell on Design. A pair of knitted vessels by Senior Design Factory caught the eye of these passersby.

Delivering a modern look, concrete serves as a long-lasting, hardwearing material.

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.

Heidi Wegener is the director of the Swiss Design Awards.

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

Onstage, Design Prize Switzerland representatives Michel Charlot, Beat Karrer (of FluidSolids), and Rolf Senti (of Bagno Sasso Mobili/Swiss Eco Tap) will explain their surprising concepts and how good design can benefit our environment. Pictured, a FluidSolids stool.

More from the Swiss Design Prize booth.

Jaime: Tree Museum in Switzerland Open since 2010 on the grounds of the Enea Garden Design headquarters in Switzerland, the Tree Museum is a unique and rather poetic concept: a collection of 50 specimen trees, many older than 100 years old, in an open-air museum-like setting designed by architect Chad Oppenheim. Blocks of sandstone set off the sculptural tress, and give the whole place a Zen-like atmosphere. Would love to see it in person some day!

Bet you didn't know that Pritzker-Prize winning architect Peter Zumthor studied at Pratt as an exchange student in 1966! Pictured here is one of the architect's most celebrated works, the spa at Therme Vals in Switzerland.

The Peter Zumthor-designed St. Benedict Chapel in Switzerland.

Swissnex’s Sophie Lamparter will appear onstage with Design Prize Switzerland curator Michel Hueter to share more about contemporary Swiss practitioners and their unique perspectives. Dadadum’s Cresta chair will also be on view in a rare U.S. exhibition on our show floor.

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.

The library is a collection of art, architecture, design, and photography materials. The essays analyze the system and methods to make the library a publicly accessible resource for interdisciplinary discussion. The art library collection started when it was donated as gift from book collector Daniel Rohner.

Remarkable Swiss Waterfront Villa: Just five minutes outside of Lugano, architect and interior designer Mischa Groh meticulously constructed Villa Cigno. With spectacular views of the lake and Mount San Salvitore, this newly built home is a contemporary masterpiece. Presented by Fontana Sotheby's International Realty.

The concrete wall mimics the slope of the hill outside as a reference to early Maori structures that were dug into the land. The simple kitchen has strandboard cabinetry and an MDF island that conceals a fireplace at one end. The ceramic works on the built-in seat at right are by Raewyn Atkinson and Robyn Lewis.

After living on and studying a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark, architect Jesper Brask cleared a stand of pine trees and, from the timber, built a getaway open to its surroundings. The house, which Brask shares with his wife, Lene, and sons, Kristian, Jens, and Niels, is used mainly in summer, when the weather is optimal for throwing open the glass doors.

For 12 years, the Design Prize Switzerland jury has recognized local talent working to advance the design field in their country. Curator Michel Hueter will join us onstage to discuss some of this year’s pieces, which range from running shoes to textiles to furniture and include Etage by Moritz Schmid.

The HTC Touch Diamond phone designed by Claude Zellweger. It won a 2009 Swiss Design Award.

The stairwell leads to the main dining room and kitchen, where gray plaster and oiled larch wood joinery create a softer environment. The custom dining table, built by GRG Carpenteria, is surrounded by a set of Philippe Stark Toy armchairs.

Mami and Goo the Kishu dog return from a frolic in the forest, which the couple, along with Hideaki, has thinned and trimmed back over many weekends. It’s an idyllic escape and a world away from the concrete expanse of Tokyo.

In Seattle's rapidly developing South Lake Union neighborhood, the Art Stable is a classic example of urban infill. Built on the site of a former horse stable, the seven-story mixed-use building carries its history into the future with highly adaptable live/work units.

The renovation of this old stone structure by Wespi de Meuron Romeo architects was, at times, as much archeology as architecture. The small square in front of the building, the only in the village of Scaiano, dates the building, a former brandy distillery fortified with both spiritis and stone walls. After reinforcing the roof and replacing the wood beam floors with concrete, the team started to dig in.

This alternative view of the kitchen and dining area, outfitted with KWC ONO and Sanitär Tröesch, exemplifies how reinforncing the walls and cutting through some of the stone brought significant light into the interior.

Like the stübli, the top-floor bedroom is meant to be moody. Tuckey designed the bed, the brass wall light is by John Glew Architects, and the chair is another piece inherited from the previous owners, a couple who lived there for decades.

The former cellar, now an entrance with a built-in raw steel fireplace, welcomes guests. Plaster outlines the new staircase, where an old stonewall was cut out to provide a passageway to the upper level.

The end goal, a vacation home with a view of the nearby lake, led Jérôme de Meuron to cut through a wall and ceiling to open up the space. "We tried to preserves as much as possible," he says. The addition of the large upper story window adds daylight without altering the street-level character of the stone home.

Despite the raw materials and rocky walls, the upstairs terrace feels positively weightless, offering spectacular views of Lago Maggiore.

Parts of the interior still maintain an earthy, subterranean atmosphere. Catacombs are hidden below the finished rooms above. The stairs lead to an outdoor area designed for communal interaction.

Dramatic floor lighting on this glass wall, custom fit within the curve of a carved-out stone wall, provides simple beauty in material contrast. "In such small spaces, it's often better to integrate the furniture and fixtures into the room," says de Meuron.

A new coat of glazing (and a bit of a modern paint job on the exterior) brings a clawfoot bathtub back to life.

Custom case work and a polished wall give the bathroom a warm yet minimal look.

A nod to the family’s time in Switzerland, this chalet-like screened porch blends modern Swiss design sensibilities and the traditional architectural style of the Georgian Bay region. AKB explains,“The gabled form was inspired by the Long House, one of the earliest forms of permanent wood structures used in Ontario, which was used by both the First Nations and European settlers to shelter themselves in the harsh winter weather.” A Design Within Reach lounge chair complements the family’s recycled furniture pieces from their original home.

Tina Roth Eisenberg runs a successful graphic design company, but is perhaps better known as the author behind the design-centric blog, SwissMiss. The self described Swiss designer gone NYC covers everything from typography to eyebrow dances, curating a specific cross-section of humor, design and inspiration.

Japanese showers are usually set low down so the bather can sit on a stool and scrub, then pour cedar buckets of hot water over their heads for a refreshing rinse. This homeowner in Venice, California mounted a handheld shower head on the wall for added flexibility. The drain is under the removable cedar floor slats, keeping the room design uncluttered. Wood tubs are cleaned with a simple rinse and last for decades, as the antiseptic properties of cedar guard against mold and rot. This ofuro was designed by Santiago Ortiz and fabricated by Bartok Design.

Choosing a kitchen or bathroom countertop can be nerve-wracking, and we understand why—they can be one of the most expensive aspects of a renovation, with the added responsibility of impacting the aesthetics of a space. Read on as we work our way through the pros and cons of seven of the most common countertop materials.

Tanya, Chris, Jackson, and Zeke spend much of their day outside.