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

Architect Alex Gil and his wife, Claudia DeSimio, affixed a 750-square-foot addition to the roof of a 19th-century Williamsburg townhouse, transforming their cramped third-floor apartment into a modern duplex. The original fireplace remains, but has been stripped down to exposed brick, as have the surrounding walls, creating an almost wainscot-like design of exposed brick with flat white drywall above.

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.

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!

The duplex’s lower level, formerly a railroad apartment, was conjoined with its neighbor and reconfigured to meet the rooftop addition.

Lightroom 1.0, a photography studio, is a freestanding structure on the property. “Together, they represent an autobiography of my career,” Carpenter says.

Both the sitting and standing versions of DESK 01, a collaboration between Artifox and IdeaPaint, are outfitted with dry erase surfaces for recording sudden bursts of creativity.

Style: "#1"

John Berggruen Gallery, Art Basel 2010. From the Series "Art Fares"

Helly Nahmad, Art Basel 2010. From the Series "Art Fares"

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.

Haasbauer-Wallrath, Helene

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.

After - exterior and new cedar fence

Carpenter describes the FSC-certified cypress structure as part sculpture, part architecture, and part landscape.

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.

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.

Walter Gropius's office, with furniture created by the students, was divided into two areas within one square space: a workspace and a communication space. The space designed for communicating (shown) allowed students to speak to Gropius eye-to-eye rather than across a desk. The current room is a reproduction of his original office.

The interior shot here shows the simple, efficient cabinets, small table, and bench.

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.

A streamlined bench with built-in drawers for storage in the modular one-room house. Note Le Corbusier's now-iconic choice of bold, primary hues overhead. The original Le Cabanon served as Le Corbusier's holiday home in Cap-Martin, France, where it overlooks the Bay of Monaco.

Max_Hetzler, Gallery at Art Basel Miami.From the Series "Art Fares"

Matthew_Marks Gallery at Art Basel Miami, 2009.

Gagosian Gallery, Art Basel Miami 2009. From the Series "Art Fares"

Here, an LC furniture display, including a stool that is now part of the Cassina collection.

The exterior of the Le Cabanon replica is a 1:1 of the original, measuring 13' x 15'1" x 10'1".

The entrance to the exhibit. Cassina Showroom, Miami, Florida.

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.