Local studio Byben has created an accessory dwelling unit in southern California called Offset ADU, which features ipe-wood cladding and curved elements that "soften the feel and look" of the building.

The project is located in the rear yard of a family home in Los Angeles' Mar Vista neighbourhood. It was designed for a couple with two young kids who sought more living space, as well as a space for entertaining guests.

The accessory dwelling unit (ADU) replaces a one-car garage that had been doing double duty as a home office and a place for storing a car and bikes.

The clients debated between replacing the garage with a standalone ADU or an extension to their house.

"I convinced them that the ADU was the best route because the size can be defined, which helps controlling the budget, whereas doing an addition on a house can get out of hand quickly," Byben founder Ben Warwas told Dezeen.

To make way for the ADU, the garage was partly razed, with the foundation and two walls kept in place.

Utilising these existing elements, Byben created a two-storey, 890-square-foot (83-square-metre) dwelling with design elements that cleverly respond to site constraints.

In plan, the building is roughly rectangular, with large portions carved away to form setbacks and openings. The upper level cantilevers over a recessed entryway at ground level.

A large portion of the upper level was cut away due to power lines, and in its place, the architect created a terrace.

"The second level is offset to accommodate the present zoning envelope and the power lines in the rear of the property," said the studio.

"This offset provided a roof deck on the second level, more space for some existing trees and bike storage, and a covered front entrance to the ADU."

The two facades visible from the home are wrapped in an ipe-wood rainscreen, which was selected for performance and aesthetic reasons. The remaining two facades have stucco cladding with ipe accents.

Certain edges of the wood siding are curved rather than straight – a technique to help "soften the feel and look of the ADU", said Warwas. Curved elements are also found inside.

Within the dwelling, a large room on the ground level holds a kitchen, dining space and lounge area, as well as a small bathroom and laundry room.

The ground space opens onto a deck, providing an opportunity for indoor-outdoor living.

Upstairs, one finds an office that doubles as a bedroom.

A notable feature in the upper area is a tall, U-shaped window that extends into a cove above the ceiling line. A mirror in the cove provides "an infinite-height feeling".

The two levels are connected by a slender, skylit stairwell that is painted bright yellow and lined with white oak slats.

Warwas said he wanted the experience of going up and down the stairs to feel like a "surreal transition".

"Stairs are such a unique opportunity to have a new feeling as you travel through space," Warwas said.

"That is also why the skylight is in there – the natural light with the yellow work together."

The interior decor was overseen by Emily and Jason Potter, who are the founders of DEN, a showroom in Los Angeles that specialises in vintage 20th-century furniture.

The project also involved landscape interventions. A driveway leading to the old garage was mostly removed, and a gate was installed between the front and rear yards.

"This really transforms the experience of a yard," said the architect, noting that the clients use the backyard more frequently now.

"There are still some changes to the house that are in the works, but for now, the ADU has brought completeness to their property that they did not have before."

Other ADU projects in the US include an Austin dwelling by Specht Novak that is devoid of windows and a small building by Mork-Ulnes that balances on a hillside in northern California.

The photography is by Taiyo Watanabe.

Project credits:

Architectural designer: Byben
Designer: Ben Warwas
Interior designers: DEN (Emily and Jason Potter)
Contractor: Manchen Construction

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Architectural studio Heliotrope took a "site-sensitive approach" while designing a vacation house in the Pacific Northwest, resulting in a bow tie-shaped plan and knotty cedar cladding.

The house is located on San Juan Island in the Salish Sea, situated about 90 miles (145 kilometers) from Seattle. Part of Washington State, the island is reached by boat or seaplane.

The clients are from Seattle and have friends with homes on the island. They wanted a family vacation home that would be suitable for entertaining guests and could shift to more frequent use as the clients age.

Respecting the context and minimising energy consumption were key concerns for the clients.

"They shared the firm's interest in a site-sensitive approach to the design, as well as a commitment to net-zero energy," said Seattle-based studio Heliotrope.

The site posed challenges, as the house is located on a rocky shoreline exposed to rain and wind that travels down the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the Pacific Ocean.

Moreover, the property has rocky outcrops that made "siting the home a bit of a puzzle", the team said.

The studio conceived a sculptural house with a bow-tie-shaped footprint, allowing the building to be tucked into the rocky site, informed by the famed Sea Ranch development in northern California, known for its "windswept building forms and weathered materials".

Facades are clad in cedar with a semi-transparent stain, giving the wood a bleached appearance. Cedar is known for being highly resistant to insects and rot.

The team used tight-knot cedar, which has small- to medium-sized knots that give the wood a more rustic appearance than "clear" cedar.

Within the 2,474-square-foot (230-square-metre) house, there is a clear separation between public and private areas.

One side of the plan holds the social zone – a kitchen, dining area and living room. The other contains a primary suite and guest suites on the ground level, and a loft and reading nook on the upper level.

Interior finishes include an abundance of warm-toned wood, which helps create a cosy atmosphere.

Pre-finished engineered oak was used for the flooring, and cedar was used for certain walls and ceilings. Glazed-brick tile is found behind a wood stove in the living area.

Large windows offer immersive views of the landscape.

The architects focused on providing views of the water to the south and a rocky outcrop to the north. The house was kept mostly opaque on the east and western sides, which face neighbouring homes.

Along the front elevation, a terrace sits within a gap formed between the house and rocky mound. The outdoor space is protected from the wind, which is "an important feature on such an exposed site".

Elements that help reduce energy consumption include an airtight building envelope, and a high-efficiency heating system with heat-recovery ventilation. An 8kW solar array helps generate power for the home, which is also tied into the island's electric grid.

Other projects by Heliotrope include a sensitive extension to a 1930s home that was originally built by a Norwegian ship captain and a house for art collectors clad in dark metal and white stucco.

The photography is by Sean Airhart.

Project credits:

Architect: Heliotrope
Heliotrope design team: Joe Herrin (principal in charge), Chris Wong (project manager), Rachel Belcher (designer)
Interiors: Heliotrope with owners
Contractor: DME Construction
Landscape: Garden Artisan Landscapes
Structural engineer: Swenson Say Faget
Mechanical engineer: Beyond Efficiency
Geotechnical engineer: Stratum Group

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US architecture studio Grzywinski + Pons has completed a 31-storey residential building in downtown Seattle that features a light olive-coloured facade and glazed boxes that pop out from the tower's edges.

The Kaye – which contains luxury rental apartments – is located in Belltown, one of Seattle's densest neighbourhoods.

The architects were committed to honouring the area's heritage while creating a tower that responds to modern tastes and needs. The tower is named after a recording studio, Kaye-Smith Productions, that formerly occupied the urban site.

The area "embodies the tension of the Emerald City's past and future", according to the project team, as it contains a mix of architecture, from new glass high-rises to historic homes and old industrial buildings.

For instance, on the same block as the Kaye is a Georgian Revival structure and Tudor Revival-style home, both of which date to the 1920s and feature masonry and cast stone.

"We wanted to design a building that celebrated the best qualities of its early-20th-century neighbors while creating new homes for those experiencing Seattle's exciting future," said New York City-based Grzywinski + Pons, with global firm Perkins Eastman serving as architect of record.

The team conceived a rectangular, 31-storey tower that sits atop a multi-storey podium. The plinth is meant to feel solid, while the tower was designed to look "diaphanous as it rises".

"The base is a celebration of tectonic weight, while the top is a study in light and reflection," the team said.

Facades consist of windows and light olive-coloured panels, set within a grid of mullions and spandrels that lend texture to the facade.

The grid loosens up in the upper portion of the tower to strengthen the sense of verticality – one of several moves to make the facade feel rigorous but not monotonous.

"In an otherwise rigorous facade, we explored syncopation – the curated interruption of organized elements of mass and envelope," the team said.

A series of glazed boxes was added to the edges of the tower, further breaking up the grid.

"The most tectonic formal move was the creation of projected volumes, or sky lounges, in some units," the team said. "These projections afford some units 270-degree views."

For the base of the building, great attention was paid to creating a human-scale plinth that responds to its surroundings.

"We designed the podium to be oriented toward the street and conversant with our mid-rise neighbours," the team said.

To address the human scale aspect, the team "treated the mass as something to be eroded".

"Through subtractive massing, we created setbacks and voids at strategic locations, inviting connections from the street into the building's core."

The podium is clad in light olive-coloured concrete panels and glazed Roman brick. Arches above the windows were informed by neighbouring historic buildings.

Along the ground level, the team created a colonnade that offers shelter from Seattle's infamous rain while also "diffusing the barrier between private interior and public sidewalk".

Behind the colonnade is the building's ground-level lobby, which was envisioned as a "great hall".

The double-height space features stone flooring and a monumental onyx-clad staircase, which leads to a mezzanine level with tenant amenities, such as a co-working space.

In addition to the lobby, the podium's ground floor contains commercial space, bike storage and a mail room. The upper floors of the podium hold three-bedroom apartments geared toward families.

Beyond the podium, the architects also designed "hospitality-grade" public areas in the tower, on floors seven and 32.

In all of these communal areas, the team left structural elements exposed and introduced elements to soften the atmosphere, such as wooden tambour panels, generous rugs and poofy sofas. Colours such as pale pink and sea foam green add to the effect.

"In the public spaces, we softened the structural expressionism with a palette of warm, inviting and resilient materials," the team said.

Within the residences, the team added built-in furniture, such as bookshelves and a marble-topped kitchen island. Lighting and window treatments are meant to add warmth and utility.

Overall, the architects hope the tower is a distinctive addition to the ever-changing Belltown neighbourhood.

"It is our hope that Kaye will be a protagonist in a neighborhood defined by its layers," the team said.

"By synthesising the masonic language of the 1920s with a diaphanous tower, we have sought to create an architecture that respects the gravity of its heritage neighbours."

Other projects in downtown Seattle include a glazed tower by Hewitt that took cues from an offset stack of magazines, and a convention centre by LMN Architects that has a six-storey atrium and a large wooden staircase.

The photography is by Nicholas Worley.

Project credits:

Architecture and interiors: Grzywinski + Pons
Grzywinski + Pons team: : Matthew Grzywinski, Amador Pons
Architect of record: Perkins Eastman
General contractor: Skanska
Owner/develeoper: Skanska Commercial Development
Structural engineer: KPFF
Landscape: GGLO
Electrical: IMEG
Lighting: Grzywinski + Pons/IMEG
MEP: Robison/Apollo
Civil: KPFF
Procurement: Objeckts

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American studio SPF Architects has included an aluminium skin and an upper volume that "appears to float" over the ground level at completed the Bronze and Black House in California.

Located in Beverly Hills, the home was built on a property that stretches between the ends of two separate cul-de-sacs.

"It became imperative to connect the two for easier site access, firefighting and potential escape routes," said Zoltan Pali, founder of SPF Architects, which is also known as SPF:a.

"These principles created the site diagram and ultimately the buildings' forms."

In plan, the home consists of two offset bars arranged on a linear spine running north to south.

The volumes were "deliberately offset to provide intuitive access from either end of the property" while also optimising access and egress in case of an emergency.

One bar has two levels and serves as the main residence. The other bar is a single-level guest house, which doubles as a studio. The volumes total 10,000 square feet (929 square metres).

The upper portion of the main residence cantilevers over the site, adding a dramatic touch to the home while creating shaded areas below.

"The upper, heavier mass appears to float over the lower, lighter parts of the house, creating the covered outdoor spaces and the structure's unique geometry," said Pali.

The upper floor holds private spaces, while the lower level contains the communal zone. Envisioned as "one continuous environment", the ground level has areas for cooking, dining and lounging.

"Generous exterior terraces wrap each programmatic element, capitalizing on 360-degree vistas and promoting seamless indoor-outdoor living," the team said.

In contrast to the elevated main home, the guest house reads as a rectilinear form anchored to the ground.

To unite the two structures, the team used the same materials on the exterior – smooth, black aluminium panels and anodised bronze aluminium slats.

"Materiality reinforces the project's cohesive identity," the team said.

The cladding materials were chosen for their aesthetic value and performance capabilities.

"The panels and slats are installed as a ventilated rainscreen facade system, making the building more water-resistant, more energy-efficient and more fire-resistant," said Pali.

Inside the dwellings, one finds earthy finishes such as white oak wall panelling and large-aggregate terrazzo flooring.

The project also entailed landscape interventions that help tie everything together, with California studio Korn Randolph serving as the landscape architect.

"The landscape, pool included, follows the logic of the site diagram, interweaving architecture and terrain into one holistic, experiential composition," the team said.

Other projects by SPF Architects include the Obama Sports Complex in Los Angeles, which is made of pre-engineered metal structures, and a three-winged residence that sprawls across a hilltop in LA's Bel Air neighbourhood.

The photography is by Mike Kelley.

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A pair of white towers anchor a mixed-used project called Central Station, which was designed by US firm Multistudio to serve as "a model for multimodal development" in Phoenix.

Envisioned as "a new civic landmark", the project is located near an urban park and the downtown campus for Arizona State University. The 2.6-acre (one-hectare) site formerly held a nondescript transit facility.

A key aspiration was to turn the utilitarian site into "a shaded, pedestrian-focused gateway for the city's center".

The project was designed by Multistudio, a multidisciplinary practice with several US offices, including one in Phoenix. The desert metropolis is experiencing significant growth in both its downtown core and public transit network.

Totalling approximately one million square feet (92,903 square metres), the Central Station development features two residential building – one rises 33 levels and contains market-rate rental apartments, while the other is 22 levels and holds student housing.

The buildings emerge from a "porous ground plane" with shops, restaurants and outdoor seating. The development also incorporates bus and light-rail stops, and a transit centre is located in the bottom two levels of the 22-storey tower.

"The project's ground plane is conceived not as a fortified solid podium, but as an open civic plaza," said Multistudio.

"This ground-level porosity creates a fine-grained, textured urban fabric, positioning Central Station as a model for multimodal development in the fifth largest city in the United States."

The residential buildings sit perpendicular to each other and frame the plaza. The taller sits atop a podium structure containing tenant amenities, retail space and two floors of office space.

They have concrete structural frames and facades with a mix of glazing, panels and fins. The exterior insulation and finishing system cladding (EIFS) was prefabricated.

The specific design of each facade was driven by sun exposure.

Along the east and west elevations, where sunlight is most intense, the team used narrow windows and "self-inflected shading panels", which taper in depth from one to 12 inches (25 to 305 millimetres).

The glazing is more expansive along the north and south elevations, although shading strategies were still incorporated. Every fourth level, the team extended the floor slabs outward to form shelves that provide shade and support vertical fins.

Facade elements are coloured white to reduce solar gain while also giving the buildings a distinctive look in Phoenix, also known as the Valley of the Sun.

"The towers' crisp white skin sets them apart within the earth-toned palette of Phoenix," the team said.

"Against the muted browns and reds of the Valley, the white facades read as both contemporary and timeless, carrying forward a regional tradition of using light colours to cool and protect in arid climates."

The site's overall layout was heavily influenced by its transit components.

The light-rail stops are found along the edges of the site, while bus bays are located at the centre. Storefronts, residential lobbies and pathways are wrapped around the bays in a way that ensures "visibility, activation and safety".

"Rather than conceal transit, the project foregrounds it, making riders part of the site's social life," the team said.

The Central Station development is the result of a public-private partnership. The City of Phoenix owns the land and transit facilities, while private partners lease the property and funded the project.

Phoenix has been working for decades to revitalise its downtown core, with the initiative getting a major boost when ASU established a campus there in 2006. Similarly, the car-dominated city has been working to expand its public transit system. Its light-rail system began operating in 2008.

"Other projects in downtown Phoenix include a large student dorm by Solomon Cordwell Buenz and wrapped in sandstone and metal louvres, and the conversion of a 1920s church into an event venue with a large open-air courtyard hidden behind historic walls.

The photography is by Bryan Tarnowski unless stated. 

Project credits:

Architecture: Multistudio
Multistudio team: Steve Valev, John Dimmel, Shawn Croissant, Krista Shepherd, Betsy Lynch, Kelly Hatch
General contractor: Layton Construction
Landscape: Floor & Assoc.
Structural engineer: MBJ
Civil engineer: Dibble
Mechanical: Henderson Engineers
Electrical: DP Electric
Lighting: Derek Porter/Multistudio
Code: CCI
Concrete: Suntec
Glass/windows: Walters & Wolf
EIFS: MKB
Geotech: Speedie & Associates
Traffic: CivTech
Owners/developers: Medistar Corporation, GMH Communities, CBRE Investment Management, City of Phoenix

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Earthen walls and exterior fins evoking a cactus's skeleton were used by US studio Kendle Design Collaborative to tie the Desert Fairway Residence in Arizona to its natural setting.

Located in Paradise Valley, an affluent enclave of Phoenix, the home sits along a golf course, on a cacti-dotted site with views of rugged mountains.

It was designed by local studio Kendle Design Collaborative to embody contrasting elements – solid and void, interior and exterior, light and shadow – that come together to create a sense of "perfect balance".

Totalling 7,195 square feet (668 square metres), the home consists of low, rectilinear forms that stretch across the desert site. The building "slowly reveals itself as it emerges from its lush surroundings", the team said.

While most of the home has low, flat roofs, the centre portion is topped with a large, metal roof that angles upward.

For exterior walls, the team used a mix of metal, concrete masonry and rammed earth. The front facade is lined with slender fins that recall the ribs of a cactus.

There is an exterior foyer with earthen walls and a metal canopy overhead that creates specifically designed shadows.

"An organically patterned metal sunshade cast playful spots of light and shadow along these walls, while a vertical trellis screens the interior space," the team said.

Inside the dwelling, one finds bright rooms and a fluid layout. The central portion holds the public spaces, while bedrooms are found in the side wings.

A gallery wall defines the great room and provides "a vital buffer against the intense Arizona sun, creating a protective shield for the interior".

Interior finishes are meant to blend with the desert landscape and include natural stone, warm-toned wood and burnished concrete blocks. Certain accent walls are made of rammed earth.

"Rammed earth is deeply valued for its aesthetic appeal, sustainability and connection to place," the team said.

"The material's rich, earthy tones and organic texture provide a sense of grounding and timelessness, with each wall becoming a work of art."

The rear of the home features a terrace and a slender swimming pool. The latter helps to cool the outdoor living area and provide a pleasing sensory experience.

"A narrow pool reflects the blue Arizona sky while simultaneously cascading down textured walls to compose a soothing harmony of sound and visual delight," the team said.

The front terrace is also designed for hanging out, as it provides the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

"The space is made cosy with a linear fire feature, providing warmth on cooler nights while enhancing the atmosphere," the team said.

"The lighting accentuates the dynamic forms and ribbed design of the architecture, casting shadows and highlighting the sculptural qualities of the residence."

Other projects by Kendle Design Collaborative include a standalone "flex" addition to an Arizona home featuring stucco and weathering steel, and a "zen-like" Phoenix residence that features a mix of curved and rectilinear forms.

The photography is by Ema Peter.

Project credits:

Architecture: Kendle Design Collaborative
Lead architects: Brent Kendle, Cathleen Kebert
Interior designer: Holly Wright Design
Landscape architect: GBtwo Landscape Architecture
Lighting designer: Creative Designs in Lighting
General contractor: RJ Gurley Construction

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Bright colours and curvy pathways are found at a supportive housing complex in Los Angeles' East Compton neighbourhood, which was designed by US studio Kadre Architects to "strike a balance between a serious and playful feel".

The project involved transforming a neglected motel in East Compton – a community that lies just outside the city of Compton – into a 40-unit housing complex for tenants who were formerly unhoused.

The design is meant to be suitable for people who have experienced trauma, and for people of varying ages.

"This community will be home to a mix of adults and families, so we needed to strike a balance between a serious and playful feel for the place," said Los Angeles-based Kadre Architects founder Nerin Kadribegovic.

The site consists of two buildings – one with two levels, the other with three – arranged in an L-shape around a park-like courtyard. The site totals 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres).

The building's facades were painted a creamy white, with accent colours – like concrete grey, yellow and green – used in certain areas.

A grid of custom, perforated-metal panels were placed on the exterior to provide shade and privacy.

"These panels help create arcade-like walkways that criss-cross the exterior of the property at each level, creating a liminal space between private dwellings and the communal courtyard below," the team said.

Kadre Architects said that when designing for people who have experienced trauma, one has to consider their comfort level with communal spaces and engaging with neighbours.

The in-between spaces allow for "concealed participation in community life" and help ease the process of integration into what was designed to be a residential community, the team said.

The site's courtyard – envisioned as a "unifying central park" – was formerly a concrete parking lot riddled by dumpsters. It presented a significant opportunity for the design team, due to its centrality and connection to each unit.

"The site had an inefficient, downright dreadful parking lot which was ripe to leverage for a courtyard-driven campus, full of playful and meditative moments," said Kadribegovic.

The lot was transformed into a welcoming outdoor space with seating, a play mound and a dedicated dog area.

Vivid yellow pathways wind through the site and connect to the living units, which have matching yellow doors. The pathways were informed by aerial photographs of amusement parks, taken by American photographer Alex MacLean.

Rain gardens capture stormwater, and a canopy structure helps shade the park and mitigate the heat island effect.

"Trees, grasses and colourful wildflowers are interspersed throughout, juxtaposed with the brightly painted hardscape and pathways to feed life into the space," the team said.

Inside the complex, one finds 36 studio units, along with four one-bedroom apartments geared toward families.

Each unit comes equipped with a kitchenette, a bathroom and built-in closets. Each is furnished with a bed, nightstand, television, coffee and dining table, and other essentials.

"Each unit has at least one operable window that's used for ventilation and egress," the team added.

The former motel lobby was converted into a space with offices and support services. Walls made of translucent polycarbonate panels enable natural light to flow through the interior.

"The panels also provide a silhouetted background, which enliven the halls while providing visual privacy for case-management meetings," the team said.

The building is designed to be fully electric, which required extensive trenching through the city to bring more power to the site. Electric elements include heat pumps, magnetic induction stoves and rooftop solar panels.

The project was backed by California's Project Homekey initiative, which helps fund the rapid creation of temporary or permanent housing for the homeless. The projects often involve old hotels and motels.

Established in 2022, Kadre Architects has converted a number of motels into supportive housing in Southern California.

In LA's Westlake neighbourhood, the studio converted a dilapidated motel into a homeless shelter featuring a blue-and-white graphic facade. In a desert city outside of LA, the firm transformed two rundown motels into supportive housing with shading devices and an array of bright colours.

The photography is by Paul Vu.

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American architecture studio Donaldson + Partners took cues from gemstones to design Fractal-Facade House in southern California, which features sculptural walls and a V-shaped floor plan.

The house sits atop a two-acre (0.8-hectare) site in the Trousdale neighbourhood of Beverly Hills. Perched on a hill, the residence looks toward downtown Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean.

Donaldson + Partners, based in LA and Santa Barbara, designed the project for a client who works in the financial industry and splits their time between the US East and West coasts.

The client envisioned the house "as not only a home, but an incubator for big conversations and intimate salons".

Working closely with the client, studio founder Robin Donaldson began to draw inspiration from gemstones.

"What if the gemstone – with its precise mathematical beauty, its seemingly infinite, fractal possibilities contained within a finite object – could be the conceptual and visual driver for the design?" said Donaldson.

In turn, he and his team conceived a V-shaped home with folds in the exterior facade, giving the building a sculptural look.

"The gemstone motif appears as sharply faceted panels that introduce sculptural depth and angular precision," the team said.

For the cladding, the client was initially interested in French stone, but decided to go for a more local option – glass-fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) panels made in San Francisco. Pieces of natural shell were integrated into the orange-hued panels, resulting in a more natural, stone-like appearance.

Encompassing a total of 21,000 square feet (1951 square metres), the home has one level and a basement.

Local regulations prevented the house from rising higher than 14 feet (4.3 metres), in order to preserve views for neighbours. The lower height enables the home to feel more embedded in the landscape.

The dwelling is accessed via a long alleé, which was made possible by the owner acquiring an adjacent property. The home appears gradually as one approaches.

"The structure initially appears deceptively discreet, an articulated roof cantilevering over a carefully scaled form," the team said.

The primary entrance sits at a central point, which branches into two wings.

The upper level contains a mix of public and private spaces, which hug a courtyard and swimming pool in the rear.

The public zone features an expansive living room, dining area and kitchen, the latter of which can be closed off for parties.

The basement level is organised around a sunken courtyard and holds a 24-seat cinema, a bar, a spa and a gym.

The interior design was overseen by Nicole Hollis and Joan Behnke, who brought in rich textures, neutral colours and restrained furnishings.

"The client's art collection – which includes work by Helen Frankenthaler and Jenny Yuskavage – appears throughout, bringing playfulness and seriousness in equal measure," the team said.

The home also features fractal-informed sculptures, which were created in collaboration with the artistic practice Based Upon.

Donaldson + Partners – formerly known as Shubin Donaldson – was founded in 1991. Architect Robin Donaldson has deep roots in California, as he studied architecture at  SCI-Arc and worked at Morphosis prior to starting his own practice.

Other projects by his studio include a home in Montecito, California, that is submerged in the landscape and features large, parabolic arches made of concrete.

The photography is by Fernando Guerra.

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US studios KoningEizenberg Architecture and NAC Architecture have used concrete and metal to construct a public high school in California, responding to environmental concerns and the school's nontraditional learning style.

Located in Malibu, the school sits on a 5.7-acre (2.3-hectare) site between the Pacific Coast and Santa Monica Mountains. A middle school and a nature preserve are nearby, replacing a nondescript school building from the 1950

The public school serves approximately 525 students, along with teachers and support staff.

Wildfire safety was a top concern, as Malibu was hit hard by the 2018 Woolsey Fire in 2108, which killed three people, destroyed over 1,600 structures and prompted the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people. The entire city is now designated a "very high fire hazard severity zone".

And while the school was not directly affected by the deadly 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, which tore through coastal Malibu, the project showcases the ongoing concern over wildfires in the region.

With this in mind, KoningEizenberg Architecture and NAC Architecture prioritised resistant materials such as concrete and metal, clearly visible on the facade and structure.

"The design team worked closely with the local fire department to create a building constructed entirely of non-combustible materials: concrete shear walls and floors, steel columns and beams, and metal and cement panel cladding," the team said.

The project also entailed the creation of a new access route for fire trucks, which encircles the building, and the integration of fuel modification zones.

"The school can even serve as a community wildfire shelter."

The architects were also tasked with accommodating a progressive educational approach, called project-based learning, which emphasises interdisciplinary learning and real-world projects that are personally meaningful to students.

This approach was adopted by the school district following more than two dozen meetings with teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders.

In response, the studios conceived a "hillside laboratory, where learning extends far beyond the classroom walls".

The building emerges from the landscape and blurs the boundaries between "indoor and outdoor, academic and social, traditional and innovative", the team said.

Roughly H-shaped in plan, the school consists of two-storey structures wrapped in metal, including weathered copper that echoes the colours found in the surrounding terrain.

Windows bring in natural light and create a sense of openness and visibility.

"Large windows offer glimpses into active learning spaces, making education visible and celebrated," the studio said.

The buildings are topped with overhanging canopies that provide shade and hold photovoltaic panels. The panels help generate power for the school, which claims net-zero-energy usage.

To further reduce energy consumption, the team incorporated a radiant heating-and-cooling system and a high-performance heat-recovery chiller. The school features passive strategies, too, including operable windows, ample daylighting and exterior sun louvres.

In terms of water conservation, the school has a reclaimed water system, permeable paving and drought-resistant vegetation. The project also entailed the restoration of two acres of sensitive habitat, which serves as an outdoor classroom.

"Environmental responsibility permeates every aspect of the project," the team said.

The interior layout departs from the traditional approach of organising spaces by academic departments. Instead, learning areas are organised into "collaborative sets" with a mix of classrooms, studios and labs.

Moreover, faculty workrooms and administrative offices are distributed throughout the school rather than being cordoned off.

"This decompartmentalisation encourages the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking that real-world projects demand," the team said.

"The school's design actively challenges conventional power dynamics and social hierarchies that can make traditional schools feel isolating."

At the heart of the school is a double-height commons area, where students can "dine, collaborate, study privately or display their work".

Overall, the school's design responds to and respects it context, while presenting a model for how "student-centered design can shape the future of public education".

"Malibu High School reimagines what a public high school can be," the team said.

Other projects in Malibu include a fire-resistant concrete home that architect Lorcan O'Herlihy designed to replace a 1980s house that had been destroyed by the Woolsey Fire, and a bohemian-style beachfront cottage that serves as a retreat for interior designer Kelly Wearstler and her family.

The photography is by Paul Vu of Here and Now Agency.

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Prefabricated wooden elements were used to create the "orderly" square-shaped Casa SI by Chilean studio Iragüen Viñuela Arquitecto, which is perched on a hilly site near the Pacific Ocean.

Serving as a primary residence for a couple relocating from northern Chile, Casa SI sits within the hilly outskirts of Algarrobo, a coastal resort town. It was built on a gently sloping site within a rural subdivision, where there is limited planning and regulations.

Santiago-based Iragüen Viñuela Arquitecto sought to create a home with its "own atmosphere", and one that would capitalise on views of the natural terrain.

"Positioned at the edge of the subdivision and oriented outward, the house benefits from expansive views – toward a lush ravine to the south and the ocean on the western horizon," the studio said.

The project also enabled the architects to explore the potential of prefabricated timber construction and create a design that was "rational yet warm".

"Beyond its structural grid and efficiency, we were particularly interested in the expressive potential of timber," the team said.

The resulting design consists of two volumes – a single-storey main dwelling that has been completed, and a two-storey guest house that is planned for the future.

Lifted above the ground, the square-shaped main dwelling measures 13 by 13 metres. It was constructed using timber elements – made of radiata pine – that were prefabricated and assembled on-site.

The frame is composed of glued-laminated elements, while partitions were made using pressure-treated timber. The cladding is painted pine siding.

"This approach, which required meticulous coordination with the supplier, significantly reduced construction time and minimised interpretation errors, as the structural components arrived on-site like a giant puzzle," the team said.

A one-by-one-metre grid governed the placement of structural components and other elements. For instance, perimeter doors and windows adhere to a strict one-metre module, and secondary beams are spaced exactly 50 centimetres apart.

The system corresponded to the prefab construction method the team selected, and "resulted in an orderly, easy-to-build structure that also offers spatial richness and variety".

Within the structure, the grid gives way to more freely dimensioned spaces.

Small rooms – containing bedrooms and service functions – were placed in the corners of the square plan. The central portion is a large, open space that holds the kitchen, dining area and living room.

Two visual axes – north/south and east/west – intersect in the central space. Large stretches of glass offer views in all directions.

"From this central point, one can visually grasp the cardinal points, the full depth of the house, the site and the surrounding landscape," the team said.

The ocean sits to the south and is visible from the home. While the architects could have used a linear layout oriented toward the coast, they opted "for a centralised organisation that gives prominence to all landscape views".

"We recognised that, since the site is not in a first-row coastal position, ocean views might become obstructed over time by new developments," the studio said.

"Moreover, the other landscape views had inherent and more permanent value."

To the east of the dwelling is a wooden deck, which acts as both an entrance and a scenic overlook. There is a xerophytic garden with drought-resistant plants and a large pine tree – one of three mature trees that contributed to the project's composition.

Another deck is found on the western side of the house, while the southern elevation overlooks a swimming pool tucked into the sloped site. The team took care in designing the connective elements and pathways.

"A network of paths and outdoor staircases interconnects these elements, creating a circuit that encourages full engagement with the site and its natural surroundings," the team said.

The architects added that the design makes the most of coastal breezes and cross-ventilation. It also enables natural light to flow in from multiple directions at different times in the day.

The use of a timber-based prefabrication method allowed the architects to create a home that is efficient and orderly, yet not sterile.

"The rhythm of exposed beams and columns, the presence of diagonal bracing, the slenderness of structural elements, and the material's natural texture all contribute to a distinctive architectural language," the team said.

Other projects by Iragüen Viñuela Arquitecto include a two-storey ski cabin in Chile with a gabled roof and wooden cladding. Tucked into a cluster of trees, it was constructed atop the foundation of a former building project that had not been completed.

The photography is by Pablo Casals Aguirre.

Project credits: 

Architecture: Iragüen Viñuela Arquitecto
Team: Daniel Iragüen, Claudio Viñuela, Gustavo Schweitzer, Vicente de la Maza, María José Çaldumbide, Alexa Napp,Victor Cárcamo
Structural engineering: Roberto Stocker Lagos
Structure provider: Timber Ingenieria
Sanitary: Marcelo Santibañez
Gas: Manuel Gonzalez Ponce
Topography: Enrique Osorio
Contractor: Mario Cuevas

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American studio CLB Architects has completed a holiday house near a ski resort that features a mix of earthy and industrial materials and focuses on "essentials rather than excess".

The Caju House was built for a young family from Miami, who set out to create a "serene retreat" at the base of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming.

They purchased one of the last underdeveloped lots in Teton Village, a site with rugged topography and immersive views of the mountains and Snake River Valley.

They tapped local firm CLB Architects to create a tranquil home that offered a strong connection to the environment.

"With roots in Brazil and a deep appreciation for the outdoors, they envisioned an intimate and welcoming house where their family and occasional guests could connect and unwind," the team said.

"Their brief emphasised living simply – a home designed for the essentials rather than excess – grounded in practicality and natural materiality."

For the gently sloping site, the architects conceived a dwelling composed of two bars – one long, one short – that form an L-shape plan.

The long bar is topped with a gabled roof and contains two levels, while the shorter one has a flat roof and one level.

The short bar extends toward the hillside and is partly supported by columns, enabling it to touch down lightly on the earth.

The massing responds to the specific site conditions.

"The heavily wooded and boulder-strewn lot required a sensitive design approach, minimising tree removal and site disturbance," the team said.

"The resulting structure is both embedded in and hovering above the landscape."

Exterior walls are clad in Corten steel, a material that influenced the house's name. Caju – cashew – is a Brazilian fruit with an orange shell, similar in colour to the weathering-steel facades.

Carved-out sections within the exterior are lined with larch, which helps "highlight the home's sculptural form".

"Materiality is at the core of the project's identity, with a palette restricted to steel, wood and concrete," the team said.

"These durable and humble materials were chosen for their ability to age gracefully and for their inherent beauty."

Within the 3,250-square-foot (302-square-metre) home, one finds cosy rooms and large windows.

The ground level contains a garage, mudroom, laundry room and gym. Upstairs, where the views are best, the team placed the communal spaces, a primary bedroom and three additional bedrooms.

The floors are linked by a staircase set within a perforated stainless steel structure, which allows light to filter through.

For the interior finishes, the team used a mix of earthy and industrial materials.

The same larch used outdoors continues inside, where it clads walls and ceilings. It was also used to create built-in furniture, helping establish a "holistic interior environment".

The wood is paired with concrete floors and stainless-steel accents, which lend a "refined edge" to the material palette.

Several outdoor spaces strengthen the connection to the environment, including a recessed balcony off the kitchen and a rear deck made of metal grating.

A cutout in the deck makes room for a pair of aspen trees, which are rooted below and grow up through the opening.

CLB Architects has completed numerous projects in Wyoming, including a three-part, wood-clad residence with a creek running underneath and a house near the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort that took cues from Swiss chalets and vernacular design.

The photography is by Matthew Millman.

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Boston architecture studio Payette has completed an academic building in central Pennsylvania called ECoRE, which features a sculptural form and facades wrapped in reddish brick and metal fins.

The Engineering Collaborative Research and Education Building, called ECoRE for short, is located on the university's campus in the town of State College.

It sits within a new engineering precinct that was master planned by Payette.

In addition to the master plan, the studio has designed two buildings for the precinct – the Engineering Design and Innovation Building, completed in 2023, and the ECoRe facility.

The latter serves as the main hub for the College of Engineering.

Totalling 280,000 square feet (26,013 square meters), the building has five levels above grade and one below.

The building features a range of functions, including high-tech laboratories, classrooms, offices, and social spaces. There is also a library and cafe.

The subterranean level holds speciality research spaces, such as anechoic chambers, wind tunnels, flight simulators and a roto-craft ice-testing facility.

Roughly L-shaped in plan, the building is shaped with various cuts and folds, resulting in a dynamic appearance.

The structural frame is a combination of steel and concrete.

Facades are mostly clad in iron-spot brick, although the southeast side, which faces the main campus, is glazed and lined with copper-anodised aluminium fins.

"With its folded form and articulated facade, the ECoRE Building defines the arrival to the new engineering campus," the team said.

The southeast elevation overlooks a plaza and serves as the main entrance. Inside, there is an area called the Vertical Commons – a multi-level atrium surrounded by spaces for studying and gathering.

"Anchoring the project is the Vertical Commons, a dynamic study hall that showcases the precinct's social energy and establishes a vibrant new identity for the College of Engineering," said Payette.

The building accommodates five engineering departments and was designed to foster collaboration among the different fields.

"The ECoRE Building realigns research into thematic groupings and emphasizes shared use and space optimisation – an approach that will reshape the college's culture for decades," the team said.

Because spaces had differing height requirements – for instance, labs needed to be taller than offices – the team used a "skip-stop" strategy for the layout.

Interior finishes include white oak wall panels, concrete flooring and metal railings.

Other projects by Payette include a Boston academic building wrapped in ribbons of steel, and a V-shaped building in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with green roofs and a doughnut-shaped terrace.

The photography is by Warren Jagger

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Canadian studio 5468796 Architecture has designed the concrete and stucco-clad Arthur Residence that is closed off from the street but opens up inside, offering a "thoughtful alternative" to the norm.

The project is situated near the downtown district in Regina – the capital of the Canadian province Saskatchewan – in an established neighbourhood where small bungalows are being replaced with conventional houses.

The clients, David and Jane Arthur, brought on Winnipeg-based 5468796 Architecture to help create a private and tranquil house. It was designed to be a "thoughtful alternative" to the prevailing development trend in the area.

"The couple was seeking a modest sanctuary with ample space for privacy and respite from the outside world," the team said.

For a long, slender lot, the team conceived a sculpted box with two levels and a basement. Exterior walls are a mix of concrete and stucco.

As side yards often result in "unconsidered or leftover spaces," the team decided to have the home fill nearly the full width of the lot.

"Fence and wall merge, so that from the sidewalk, the house appears as a solid with a path leading to a single break," the team said.

While the home might appear as a solid mass from the outside, the interior is carved up to allow for courtyards and gardens.

The main level holds the social spaces – a living room, dining area and kitchen – along with a garage in the rear.

The living room sits under a dramatic vaulted ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling glass offers immersive views of pocket gardens.

Smooth plaster walls and concrete floors help reinforce the "sensory qualities of material, space and light that form the essence of the house", the team said.

"The subtle, overall atmosphere sets the stage for unwinding after long hours in pressure-filled careers," the team said.

Upstairs, there are two bedroom suites, each accessed by a separate staircase. A stair above the foyer leads to a guest bedroom, while a stair above the kitchen connects to the primary suite.

The upper level was designed to be a "sheltered refuge, providing discrete lookouts over the neighbourhood and the surrounding tree canopy".

It features curved walls clad in stucco and plaster, along with triangular, wood-framed windows that were crafted by the homeowner.

In the basement level, the team created a two-bedroom apartment with private access from the street level.

"This additional unit promotes more efficient land use and provides the Arthurs with flexibility for either rental income or multigenerational living," the team said.

Other projects by 5468796 Architecture include a Winnipeg house wrapped in a veil made of weathering steel, and the conversion of an early 20th-century pumphouse into an office and restaurant.

The photography is by James Brittain.

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Architecture studio Brooks + Scarpa has created a three-storey Manhattan Beach house that capitalises on views and indoor-outdoor living while avoiding standard tactics used in the area's housing stock.

The residence, called Alma Switch House, sits on a slender, gently sloping lot just a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean in southern California. It was designed by Los Angeles-based Brooks + Scarpa for a couple with three young children.

The house is meant to depart from the norm in Manhattan Beach, where strict ordinances and codes have led to "typical, repeated housing typologies" dominated by solid, blocky forms and tacked-on balconies.

"Most buildings include large balconies pushed to the extreme exterior edges of the buildings to meet the code-required open space," the team said.

"Then, the remaining interior lot area is filled solid with building mass, resulting in bulky, block-like structures full of perimeter balconies."

The architects took an "opposite approach" with the Alma Switch House.

For the 30-by-90-foot site (9 by 27 metres), the team conceived a rectangular, three-storey box with the central portion carved out to form an open-air courtyard.

This approach breaks "the massing of the structure into smaller, more appropriately scaled forms", the team said.

It also allowed for more rooms to be set along the edges of the property, where they are better positioned to "take advantage of ocean and sunset views".

The home totals 3,965 square feet (368 square metres). Stairs and an elevator connect the three levels.

The top floor is the home's main public zone, where the team placed spaces for cooking, dining and lounging. Glazed, oversized doors blur the boundary between inside and out and open onto walkways and inset balconies.

The middle floor contains the primary bedroom and three additional bedrooms, while the ground floor holds a bedroom and a communal space with a kitchen and den. The ground level also contains a three-car garage.

In addition to white stucco, an abundance of glass was used on the exterior to usher in daylight and provide views. Glazing along the courtyard allows adults to observe kids while they play in the courtyard.

To provide privacy, an anodised-aluminium screen was incorporated along the eastern elevation, which faces a busy street. The screen adds visual interest, as it shimmers and creates shadows.

"Bright lighting conditions make the facade go soft and silver in just a few seconds," the team said.

"It's a quick-moving phenomenon that bends light and casts shadows depending on the time of day."

The screen also helps mitigate solar heat gain, helping reduce energy costs. Operable windows facilitate natural ventilation and enable the home to capture ocean breezes.

According to the team, the Alma Switch House is 40 per cent more efficient than a similar structure designed in a conventional way.

Other projects by Brooks + Scarpa include a North Carolina house that has roofs with exaggerated gables and a residential building in Los Angeles that features white siding and a curving aluminium screen.

The firm has won numerous awards, including two of its leaders, Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa, receiving the AIA Gold Medal Award in 2022.

The photography is by Tara Wujcik and Lawrence Scarpa.

Project credits:

Architect: Brooks + Scarpa
Architecture team: Lawrence Scarpa, Jennifer Doublet, Angela Brooks, Micaela Danko, Jeffrey Huber, Iliya Muzychuk, Chinh Nguyen, Fui Srivikorn, Diane Thepkhounphithack, Yimin Wu, and Arty Vartanyan
General contractor: PD Construction, Peter Borrego
Structural engineer: Paniagua
MEP engineer: Antieri & Sotelo Consulting
Civil engineer: Coastal Water Development
Landscape architect: Plan(t) Landscape

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Terracotta screens and lush courtyards feature at Villa Brisana, a house in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that has been overhauled and expanded by Canada's Paul Raff Studio.

Located on the country's northern coast, the house sits within an exclusive enclave known as Dorado Beach. The owners are a family of four.

The home was originally built in 2001 and totalled 3,380 square feet (314 square metres).

For the building's overhaul, Toronto-based Paul Raff Studio set out to create more space, a stronger connection to nature, and better responsiveness to the tropical climate.

A guiding principle was to blend "local, Caribbean traditions with modern ingenuity".

"Materials and construction methods reflect the region's architectural roots," the team said.

The team added a wing to contain an enlarged primary suite, bringing the home's size up to 4,145 square feet (385 square metres). The home is now U-shaped in plan, with an adjoining garage.

Exterior walls are covered in a combination of whitewashed stucco and terracotta clay tiles. The tiles form "solar screens" that range from 18 to 32 feet (5.5 to 9.8 metres) in length.

"Featuring scalloped cut-outs, the screens mitigate sun glare, provide privacy and add intriguing depth," the studio said.

"At night, with interior lights on, the screens cast intricate shadows, giving the home a lantern-like glow."

The interior features a division between public and private areas.

One side contains the communal zone – a kitchen and dining area, along with a living room flanked by a solarium and a kids' playroom. The other side of the dwelling holds the bedrooms.

The renovation project focused on improving flow and functionality within the home.

Walls between the den and kitchen were removed to form a larger space for entertaining. Peaked parts of the roof were exposed to create rooms with high ceilings.

In the living room, a 17-foot-high (five-metre) ceiling allows for tall walls to be used as surfaces for film projections.

A new clerestory in the kitchen brings in soft, natural light and "echoes the verticality of the pitched living room ceiling".

In the backyard, there is a swimming pool that extends alongside the primary bedroom.

There are also a number of lush gardens, some of which occupy space between the terracotta screens and the home's exterior walls.

The house features 11 doors leading to the outdoors, ensuring the connection to nature was "omnipresent".

"We wanted the house to feel like an extension of the landscape," said studio founder Paul Raff.

The project's sustainable elements include the reuse of the original home's structure and passive cooling techniques, such as orienting the home to maximise natural breezes.

Villa Brisana is meant to exemplify "thoughtful, high-quality design" within a tropical setting.

"The renovation elevates the region's architectural standard, setting a benchmark for luxury, sustainability and seamless indoor-outdoor living," the team said.

Other projects by Paul Raff Studio include two homes in Toronto – one with a mirrored staircase that creates a kaleidoscopic effect, and the other featuring flamed basalt stone cladding and an aluminium brise-soleil.

The photography is by Michael Stavaridis.

Project credits:

Architecture and interior design: Paul Raff Studio
Architecture/design team: Paul Raff, Alex Morassut, Steve Socha, Kate Bennett, Kristine Kim
Structural engineer: Doris J Quinõnes Rivera Structural Engineering Consultants
Mechanical engineer: RAP Consulting Engineer
General contractor: VML & Asociados
Steel fabricator: Steelway Group
Landscape consultant: Sigfredo E Faria-Vega
Landscape contractor: PRGD Landscape Designer + Contractor

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The Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre was designed by HCMA Architecture + Design to depart from the "dated model" of typical ice arenas, which tend to be cold, windowless and framed with steel.

The recreational centre is located in the emerging Southgate community in Burnaby, a city near Vancouver.

The 8,547-square-metre building was designed by local firm HCMA Architecture + Design to contain a pair of National Hockey League-sized ice rinks, along with community facilities.

"The facility prioritises the public experience, offering a high-performance ice arena alongside a vibrant, accessible and inclusive community hub," the team said.

The centre was named in honour of Rosemary Brown, a Canadian politician and longtime advocate for social justice and equality.

"The recreation centre embodies her legacy, standing as a place for all Burnaby residents to gather, play and compete," the team said.

A key priority for the project was to reject  "the dated model of freezing cold, windowless, steel-trussed ice arenas, dedicated solely to sport," the team said.

The team conceived a building with an angular form and faceted roof. A large portion of the exterior is clad in standing-seam black metal panels.

L-shaped in plan, the building contains two ice rinks separated by a multi-purpose area referred to as a "lobby".

The rinks are arranged in a non-traditional way due to the site's tight footprint. But the arrangement has benefits, as it creates openness between the different zones and forms a "friendly, animated elevation" along the street, the studio said.

For the structural system, the team used wood at every turn.

"Wood plays an integral role in the character of the centre, symbolising warmth and durability, and also ensuring quick, efficient assembly on the challenging, compact site," HCMA Architecture + Design said.

The lobby features glue-laminated beams and columns, which are visible to passers-by through large windows. Nail-laminated timber was used for the lobby's decking.

A hybrid steel-and-timber system was used for the roof. This system enabled a "complex geometry" and the addition of north-facing clerestories, which usher in natural light.

The ice rinks have walls made of painted drywall and acoustic metal decking. The flooring is a mix of polished concrete and skate-proof rubber, and the ceiling is lined with long-format LED luminaires.

In addition to the two rinks, the centre has viewing areas, multipurpose rooms, concessions, a skate shop and a flexible area for activities like yoga and pilates. There are also numerous changing rooms for the players.

In terms of the colour palette, white and grey are paired with dashes of red, which add a sense of energy.

Accessibility and inclusivity were top priorities, with inclusive design elements extending to "every aspect of the facility", the team said.

These elements include Braille signage, wide circulation paths, high contrast way-finding, and accessible and gender-neutral washrooms and changing rooms.

The ice rinks can also be used for sledge hockey, a form of ice hockey for players with physical disabilities who can't play the stand-up version of the sport.

Paul Fast, a principal at HCMA, said the centre is meant to be more than an ice arena.

"It's a space designed to foster community," said Fast. "The Centre's ambition is to become an essential fixture in Burnaby's Southgate community, supporting the next generation of athletes, weekend warriors and recreation enthusiasts alike."

Other projects by HCMA include a Vancouver school made of mass timber that is serving as a pilot project for the city's public school district, and an all-electric aquatic centre in British Columbia that is designed for people of all abilities.

The photography is by Ema Peter.

Project credits:

Architect: HCMA Architecture + Design
HCMA team: Paul Fast (principal in charge), Darryl Condon (advising partner)
Structural engineering: Fast + Epp
Mechanical engineering: Integral Group
Electrical engineering: Integral Group
Civil engineering: Binnie
Landscape: PWL
Security: 3Si
Building envelope: Morrison Hershfield
Energy modeler: Integral Group
Cost: RTA
Code: Jenson Hughes
Hardware: Tillicum
Vertical transport: Vertek
Acoustic: RWDI
Audio-visual: MC2
Refrigeration: Bradley Group
Geotech: EXP
Wayfinding and signage: hcma
Public art: Jill Anholt
Contractor: Pomerleau

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Charred wood was used by US studio Desai Chia Architecture to blend this home with the landscape, drawing wildlife to the property and enabling the owners to "inconspicuously observe nature".

The house is located on Shelter Island, which sits between the North and South Forks of the Long Island peninsula and is only accessible by ferry.

Tucked into a grove of trees, the Osprey House overlooks Gardiners Bay and sits on the edge of the Mashomack Preserve. It is accessed via a small, dirt road that winds around the preserve.

It was built to serve as a family home for a local builder, who had worked with the architects on earlier projects.

"Our client, Joe Quinn, wanted to build a home for his family here that would foster their love for beach walks, kayaking, and living within nature," said New York-based Desai Chia Architecture.

To design the home, the team took inspiration from the native osprey birds that are ubiquitous in the area – their nests appearing in trees and atop piers and telephone poles.

"Their marine nature, adaptability and high nesting places inspired the home's materiality, organisation and relationship with the coast," the team said.

Rising two levels, the house has a rectangular plan with one slanted side.

Angled roof forms were informed by a careful sunlight analysis. Taking cues from nautical forms, the home extends toward the water in a way that resembles a ship's bow.

The exterior is wrapped in vertical cypress siding that was charred using the Shou Sugi ban technique, producing a colour that is similar to driftwood found on the beach.

The cladding took cues from "bird blind" observation towers in the preserve, which are designed to blend with the surroundings.

"The camouflaging effect minimises visual disruptions for neighbours on the coast and encourages wildlife to occupy the lot, while allowing occupants to inconspicuously observe nature from a perch embedded in the landscape," the team said.

Inside the 3,700-square-foot (344-square-metre) house, the studio created airy rooms and a fluid layout.

The layout follows the local tradition of "upside-down" houses, which place social spaces on the upper floor.

In the Osprey House, the upper level holds an open-concept space for cooking, eating and living, which adjoins a covered terrace.

"This offers the raised gathering spaces expansive open views of the marshland ecosystem, and gentle light from the north and east," the team said.

This upper floor also has a media room and a primary bedroom suite.

The ground level holds three bedrooms, a family room and a covered terrace, along with an entry vestibule and a carport. Tall beach grass on the exterior helps ensure privacy.

The material palette is earthy and restrained.

The same charred cypress used on the exterior is found indoors, where it adds "warmth and texture". White oak was used for flooring and ceiling panel veneers.

A clerestory running along the roof ridge brings in southern light, while expansive glazing on the north facade ushers in "soft, even lighting throughout the day".

Other projects by Desai Chia Architecture include a farm-inspired home in Upstate New York composed of "crisp silhouettes, and a multi-structure dwelling in Connecticut that has courtyards for exhibiting artwork.

The photography is by Jake Balston.

Project credits:

Architect: Desai Chia Architecture
Contractor: Aran Inc
Structural engineer: Condon Engineering
Lighting: Pierce Lighting Studio

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American studio S9 Architecture has converted an early 20th-century slaughterhouse site in Tennessee, USA, into the mixed-use Neuhoff District.

Located in Germantown, a former working-class neighbourhood in Nashville known for its historic warehouses and Victorian-style buildings, the adaptive-reuse development is on a bluff overlooking the Cumberland River.

New York-based firm S9 Architecture set out to transform a 14-acre (5.6-hectare) site into a "vibrant micro-neighbourhood" with space for offices, residences, retail and a hotel.

The centerpiece of the site is a former slaughterhouse complex, which had sat abandoned for decades. The Neuhoff District is named after the meatpacking company that ran the plant.

S9 Architecture, which designed both the project's master plan and the buildings within it, said the goal was to foster a sense of exploration and make the Neuhoff District a "destination within Nashville".

The firm collaborated with the local offices of Smith Gee Studio and HKS, along with the Brooklyn's Future Green Studio.

"The design ethos, starting from the master plan, aimed to create a series of interconnected places to integrate into the existing neighbourhood while encouraging exploration for tenants, residents and visitors," the team said.

The new district is meant to draw a mix of businesses.

"Neuhoff is designed to foster a diverse community of tenants – from corporate workplaces in fields such as construction, design and law to independent retailers, restaurants, cafés, dessert shops and bars," the team said.

The site is being re-developed in three phases.

The first phase, now complete, included the preservation and stabilisation of certain historic structures, while selectively demolishing others.

The slaughterhouse buildings were converted into office and retail spaces, while an office tower and two mid-rise residential buildings were constructed.

A network of landscaped outdoor spaces were also added to the site.

"The renovated slaughterhouse stands as the focal point, with a porous ground floor leading to a river bluff overlook," the team said.

"Surrounding it, the new buildings form a modern industrial village prioritising pedestrian-friendly environments, with shared streets and structured parking relegated to the site periphery."

Many original building elements – such as concrete framing and brick facades – were retained and restored.

While five of the slaughterhouse buildings were saved and repurposed, two were razed due to being structurally unsound. One was replaced with a courtyard, and the other was replaced with a sunken outdoor amphitheater, which occupies a space that formerly was a cellar.

Original stone and concrete walls line the open-air space. A metal bridge passes overhead.

Next to the former slaughterhouse is the 14-storey office tower with a glazed exterior. One side faces the river and has a stepped form, while another side is angled and cantilevers over a road running through the development.

Across the road are the pair of mid-rise buildings, which are clad with brick. The ground level holds retail space, while the upper levels contain a total of 542 rental apartments.

The next phase of the mixed-use project will entail construction of a second tower and the conversion of an industrial building into a boutique hotel. A third phase will include additional low-rise office and residential buildings.

S9 Architecture was founded by Navid Maqami and John R Clifford in 2011. Other projects by the studio include a nonprofit organisation's headquarters in Ohio made of mass timber, and a tall residential building in New York with a wavy, gridded facade.

The photography is by Seth Parker and Christopher Payne.

Project credits:

Design architect and master planning: S9 Architecture
Architect of record: Smith Gee Studio, HKS
Landscape architect: Future Green Studio
Interior designer: S9 Architecture, Husband Wife
Structural engineer: Uzun + Case
Lighting design: Niteo
Signage and wayfinding: Airspace
General contractor: JE Dunn
Steel fabricator: SteelFab, Snake Steel
Facade installation: GS Steel
Glass: Viracon
Glass installation: Momentum Glass
Curtain wall: Old Castle Building Enveloper
Client and developer: New City Properties

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A jagged entry pavilion and a suspended concrete sculpture are among the elements at a vast memorial in rural Brazil designed by local studio GPAA to honour the hundreds who died during a mining dam collapse in 2019.

The memorial is near the city of Brumadinho, in the southern state of Minas Gerais.

It was built on the site where a large mining dam collapsed on January 25, 2019, releasing a torrent of mining waste and mud that engulfed numerous structures. The disaster killed an estimated 272 people.

The victims' families formed an association to pursue justice, and one of the compensations was the creation of a memorial.

Local firm Gustavo Penna Arquitetos & Associados, or GPAA, was chosen to design the memorial – a project that involved close collaboration with the families.

For the undulating rural site, the studio conceived a series of elements that form a process of immersion, reflection and learning.

"Every detail of the Memorial Brumadinho was conceived to carry profound meaning," the studio said.

"The design stems from an ethical commitment to give voice to the memory of the victims and to give new meaning to the space marked by tragedy through a symbolic and sensitive interpretation."

The experience begins at an entry pavilion with a jagged form.

"The entrance pavilion, with its twisted and fragmented shape, symbolises the shock of the rupture and the overwhelming force of the mud," the team said.

The pavilion has a green roof and walls made of concrete mixed with pigment from mining tailings.

The interior contains a cluster of crystals that evoke the "jewels", the term used by families to describe the victims of the dam collapse. Every year at the time of the tragedy – January 25 at 12:28 pm – a ray of light enters the space and illuminates the crystals.

After leaving the entrance pavilion, visitors travel along a 230-metre pathway that was carved into the site and terminates at a reflection pond. The path is lined with tall walls that restrict outward views.

"The cleft-like morphology induces introspection, as once inside it, the only visible horizon is the framed view at its end," the team said of the path.

"Its direct and striking perspective guides the gaze of those who walk through it and alludes to the void left by what happened."

The walls are engraved with the names of victims and feature floral elements that light up.

At a central point on the path, visitors pass underneath a tilted, square-shaped sculpture measuring 11 by 11 metres. Its angled position is meant to symbolise "the rationality that was brutally betrayed by the rupture".

Visitors continue on to the Memory Room and Testimony Room, conceived by scenographer Júlia Peregrino in collaboration with the families. The space contains the remains of the victims, along with their photos and personal objects.

The pathway ends at a lookout point, where visitors can observe how the landscape was transformed by the dam's collapse.

The site also features winding dirt trails and 272 newly planted ipe trees. The trees – known for their beautiful flowers that bloom on leafless branches – serve as a symbol of resilience.

The team noted that every element of the site was designed to emphasise the impacts of the disaster and invite reflection.

"The Memorial Brumadinho is a place where architecture meets memory," said architect Gustavo Penna.

"It embraces pain and transforms it into resistance against forgetting, giving new meaning to the site of the tragedy."

The Brumadinho Memorial has made the longlist for a 2025 Dezeen Award.

Other memorials around the world include a monument and park in Ethiopia that is dedicated to the 157 victims of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash, and a museum and memorial in India that honours the victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.

The photography is by Pedro Mascaro unless otherwise stated.

Project credits:

Architecture and project management: Gustavo Penna Arquiteto e Associados
Architecture team: Gustavo Penna, Norberto Bambozzi, Laura Penna, Letícia Carneiro, Ricardo Lopes, Priscila Dias, Alice Flores, Fernanda Tolentino, Henrique Neves, Gabriel de Souza, Eduardo Magalhães, Julia Lins, Larissa Freire, Sávio de Oliveira, Gustavo Monteiro, Felipe Franco, Mariana Carvalho, Rafaela Rennó, Caio Vieira, Fernanda Freitas, Matheus Welffort, Manoel Belisário, Naiara Costa, André Silva, Natália Castro, Isabela Tolentino, Taimara Araujo, Diana Penna, Tamiris Bibbó
Acoustics: Metron Acústica
Landscape design: Medra Paisagismo
Visual communication: Greco Design
Lighting: Atiaîa Lighting Design
Columbaria: Evolution Tecnologia Funerária
Concrete structure: Bedê Engenharia de Estruturas
Metal structure: Almeida Oliveira Engenharia
Tailings concrete and masonry: Consultare Consultoria de Revestimentos e Desempenho
Frames: QMD Consultoria
MEP systems: Lumens Engenharia
Automation: Cadari Engenharia
Ambient sound system: Wave Audiovisual
HVAC: Protherm Projetos Termo Acústicos
Waterproofing: Firmino Siqueira Consultores Associados
Wetland system: Inovatec Saneamento e Meio Ambiente
Artificial lake: Poente Engenharia e Consultoria
Earthworks: ATT Geotecnologia
Planning: Reta Engenharia Ltda
Construction management: Vale SA
Construction execution: Construcap CCPS Engenharia e Comércio
Site supervision: Concremat Engenharia e Tecnologia SA
Piling: Engenharia e Construções
LEED certification consultancy: Ares Eficiência Energética e Sustentabilidade

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A mix of earthy and industrial materials form the Alta North Residence, which was designed by US firm Prospect Studio to embrace its rural Wyoming setting and embody a sense of unity "between people and the landscape they inhabit".

Built on the edge of a national forest, the house is located in Alta, a remote community on the state's western border. It sits about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Jackson, the popular ski town.

Designed to be "both visually arresting and deeply rooted in its surroundings", the house serves as a natural retreat for a family of five from Missouri. The dwelling totals 4,136 square feet (384 square metres).

The project involved a close collaboration between the client and the Wyoming architecture firm Prospect Studio, which was co-founded by John Carney, a former partner of Carney Logan Burke (now CLB Architects).

"The client, enamored with Phillip Johnson's signature approach to transparency, called and asked how to create a warm, welcoming glass house in the midst of an unforgiving Wyoming climate," the studio said.

"This intellectual query sparked interest from our team and set the stage for a collaborative design process that defied convention."

The studio started the design process by exploring iterations of glass structures suited to the region's climate, which includes heavy winter snowfall. It closely considered how the home would sit on the land and relate to nearby wetlands.

The project began in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when construction costs surged and "posed significant challenges to the budget and timeline".

These conditions forced the team to be resourceful at every turn, from sourcing materials to optimising interior space.

Ultimately, for the main house, the team conceived a low-lying, bent bar with a flat, overhanging roof. Set off to the side is a box-shaped garage.

A wooden boardwalk runs between the two structures and serves as an "organising datum".

The layout mimics the gentle curves of a nearby creek while also alluding to the area's historic homesteads, made up of multiple buildings.

Exterior walls are a mix of concrete, Corten steel, reclaimed timber and Capolavoro stone. Soffits are lined with cedar.

"Cladding selections were chosen for their increased durability, lower maintenance and natural colour palette," the team said.

A recessed entrance provides shelter during inclement weather. Inside, there is a central living space flanked by two wings. One wing contains a primary suite, while the other encompasses a "train-car" bunk room, three guest suites and a cosy den.

Similar to the exterior, the interior features a mix of earthy and industrial finishes, ranging from walnut, cedar and stone to concrete and metal. Floor-to-ceiling glass offers immersive views of the landscape.

The main living area has an open-plan kitchen, dining area and lounge space. Curtain walls line two sides of the room – an element inspired by collages made by Mies van der Rohe in the 1930s, while designing a house in Jackson that was never built.

The social area is separated from the wings by board-formed concrete dividers. Functional elements were integrated into the dividers, such as a kitchen pantry, fireplace and pocket bar.

In the primary suite, there is a live-edge walnut desk and lounge seating oriented toward views of the wetlands. A pass-through closet leads to the bathroom, where the team incorporated a vanity set against a large window.

The home has a simple outdoor patio with a fire pit, along with a rooftop "viewing terrace" atop the garage that is fitted with lounge furniture and a hot tub.

Overall, the project serves as an example of a "destination home that epitomises personal style, complements its environment, and is materially and economically resourceful".

"Alta North is a statement of unity between creativity and context, between people and the landscape they inhabit," the team said.

Other projects in Wyoming in include a dwelling in Alta by Lever Architecture that is wrapped in weathering steel and accoya wood, and a Teton Village house by CLB Architects that takes cues from Swiss chalets and the local vernacular.

The photography is by Tom Harris.

Project credits:

Architect: Prospect Studio
Architecture team: Carl Kohut (project architect), Matt Thackray (principal)
Interior design: Laurie Demetrio Interiors
General contractor: New West Building Company
Landscape architect: BYLA
MEP: Energy 1
Structural engineer: KL&A
Civil engineer: Nelson Engineering
Lighting designer: Adaptive Lighting

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Fluted terracotta siding and stepped terraces cover the exterior of a Portland building by Hacker Architects, which was designed for a group of seniors who banded together to create their own age-in-place housing.

Encompassing 34,000 square feet (3,159 square metres), the Ellen Browning Building was designed for a group of longtime friends who were in or approaching their senior years and wanted to remain close as they continued ageing.

The group came together to fund the design and construction of their own condo building, which would function as a type of co-housing, with local studio Hacker Architects overseeing the design.

"By developing their own residential building, the friends would be able to balance togetherness with the independence of urban living," said the architectural studio.

For the location, they chose a vibrant commercial district in south east Portland, in a walkable area with amenities and healthcare services. Selecting this specific location was part of their overall strategy to age in place.

The building itself was designed to maximise "the urban experience for occupants and neighbours alike".

Roughly rectangular in plan, the building has four above-grade levels, which are connected by stairs and elevators. There also is a small, underground parking garage.

The ground level is mixed-use, while the central two floors contain residential units.

The top floor holds the communal zone, including spaces for swimming, cooking, dining, reading, playing games, watching movies and other activities.

"Clustering all of the shared spaces on one level ensures there's plenty of room to be by oneself or with others regardless of activity," the team said.

There are a total of 10 residential units, ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 square feet (93 to 372 square metres). The residences are a mix of condos and rentals.

Three of the units are located on the ground floor and are set aside for renters, guests or future on-site caregivers.

The ground level also contains retail space and a public art gallery, which "adds dynamism to the cityscape, reflecting their collective interest in creating a building that contributes to the vitality of the neighbourhood".

Facades were clad in fluted, cream-coloured terracotta panels that form an "urban canvas for daylight".

"The textured exterior translates the ever-changing quality of light to visually animate the building and the neighbourhood through color and shadow," the team said.

To break down the scale of the building, the studio used stepped massing, resulting in terraced patios.

Metal railings and trellises accommodate the growth of a flowering vine called star jasmine, which eventually will cover portions of the exterior.

"The terraces, which feature verdant, leafy privacy screens,  function as vertical front yards where residents can engage with their friends and enjoy the outdoors and the urban setting," the team said.

The building has a post-tensioned concrete frame, and its top floor was built using cross-laminated timber (CLT) decking and glue-laminated beams.

Prefabrication of both the CLT elements and terracotta facade panels helped shorten the project's construction time and reduce costs.

The interior features a simple palette of finishes, including gypsum board walls and white oak flooring and ceilings. Each resident chose their kitchen and casework materials from a set of standardised offerings.

Beyond the ground-level gallery, artwork was sprinkled throughout the building.

"Art is integrated throughout common areas, and includes a custom chandelier, a digital art display wall and outdoor sculpture, among other pieces," the team said.

Overall, the project aims to help ensure the residents can live together and "preserve their relationships during their last years".

"Developing their own building ensures that this group of friends and their tight-knit extended family and social network will continue," said the studio.

"At a time when social connections are increasingly strained, this project helps to preserve social sustainability in a physical environment that is supportive and engaging for its occupants and those who experience it."

Other housing for the elderly includes a London project by Witherford Watson Mann that aims to "set a new benchmark" for senior housing and a housing block in New York by Studio Libeskind that features an off-kilter facade and irregularly shaped windows.

The photography is by Jeremy Bittermann.

Project credits:

Architect: Hacker Architects
Hacker project team: Corey Martin (design principal and principal-in-charge), Scott Mannhard (principal project manager), Matt Sugarbaker (principal technical), Vijayeta Davda (project architect), Emily Knudsen-Leland (interior designer), Emily Hays, Lewis Williams, Sam Yerke, Rashmi Vasavada, Whitney Dienes, Keri Hayenga, Keri Woltz, Joe Swank (design team)
Interior design: Garrison Hullinger Interior Design
Landscape architecture: Szabo
Owner's rep: UD+P (Urban Development Partners)
Contractor: Truebeck Construction
Structural engineering: DCI
Basis-of-design MEP and fire protection: PAE
Lighting: O-
Civil engineering: Vega
Specifications: Michael Thrailkill Associates
Design-build mechanical: Hunter Davisson

The post Hacker Architects designs stepped senior housing to "balance togetherness with independence" appeared first on Dezeen.

Wood is paired with mirrored panels on the exterior of a research building for biotech company Adimab, which was designed by Sylvia Richards Practice for Architecture to blend with its forested setting and preserve a wetland.

Located in Lebanon, New Hampshire, the building is part of the headquarters for Adimab, a biotech company that develops antibodies for infectious and autoimmune diseases.

Since its founding in 2007, the company has grown considerably and become a global leader in its field, resulting in the need for more space.

"The need for more lab and support functions has grown in lockstep with additions to its workforce, now totalling over 140 employees," said local studio Sylvia Richards Practice for Architecture.

The company set out to accommodate this growth – and to continue attracting top-tier talent – by adding its first purpose-built research facility to its wooded campus.

For the new facility, Richards's studio conceived a 27,000-square-foot (2,508-square-metre) building that respects the landscape, which includes an adjacent wetland.

Rectangular in plan, the building has three levels. Going vertical rather than spreading out enabled the architects to provide ample square footage while maintaining a compact footprint.

Its campus sits within New Hampshire's Upper Valley, a region known for its verdant landscapes and quaint towns. Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school, is located in the area. Boston is about two hours away by car.

The other structures on campus are existing buildings that Adimab purchased and retrofitted over the years. Sylvia Richards Practice for Architecture led all of the prior design work.

One of Adimab's cofounders, the scientist Tillman Gerngross, is the husband of studio founder Sylvia Richards.

For the structural system, the team used mass timber, including cross-laminated timber (CLT) for shear walls and decking and a glue-laminated post-and-beam system. Wooden elements were left exposed.

"The building components are elemental and expressed as parts of a whole and plainly visible," the team said.

Facades are clad in a rain screen made of Atlantic cedar, which the studio says was sustainably harvested. The screen is mostly composed of vertical boards, although some were placed at an angle, adding visual interest.

The exterior also features bronze screening and large windows framed with white oak and aluminium.

"The rendering of the exterior materials is crisp and light – accentuating architectural materiality and tectonics," the studio said.

Its base level is wrapped in mirrored panels, which upend "conventions of weight and mass".

"The treatment disconnects the building from the ground, allowing the upper two stories to float lightly above the landscape while it reflects the surrounding nature in its mirror," the team said.

"The effect is supernatural and surreal, challenging the basic tenets of what a building is and how it relates to its surroundings."

The project required the construction of an employee parking lot, which had to be placed away from the wetland.

To connect the lot to the new building, the team created a sinuous, 182-foot-long (55-metre) ramp that winds through the woods. Steel, including Corten steel, was used to construct the walkway.

"Evoking the monumental and raw forms of artist Richard Serra, the ramp provides an elevated, winding path through the woods that employees pass through upon entering the workplace," the studio said.

Inside, one finds a mix of laboratories, meeting rooms, lounges and office areas with open seating. A focal point is an open stair made of black steel and white oak.

"One could imagine this intervention as heavy, reflecting the physical weight of such a monolithic material, yet the resulting assembly is surprisingly warm and light," the team said of the stair.

In addition to the mass timber, the material palette includes carpeting and wall coverings made of natural wool.

Labs are often inward-facing and have limited natural light, but in this building, the labs have large windows that "connect scientists to the woodland setting".

Other recent mass-timber projects in the US include a theatre by Mecanoo at the Jacob's Pillow performing arts campus in Massachusetts, and a headquarters building for a nonprofit in Cleveland, Ohio, designed by S9 Architecture.

The photography is by Timothy Downing of Design & Co.

Project credits:

Architecture and interiors: Sylvia Richards Practice for Architecture
Architecture team: Sylvia Richards (principal and project designer), Christopher Smith (project architect)
Structural engineers: WSP USA
HVAC: LN Consulting
Civil engineering: Singletree Engineering
Energy consultant: Energysmiths, Energy Balance
Timber frame consultant: Florian Back
Acoustics and vibration control: Acentech
Horticulture: Susan Howard
Construction management: ReArch
Mass timber structural system: Bensonwood
Production and supply of mass timber: Nordic Structures
Mechanical systems: ARC Mechanical
Electrical systems: MEI Electrical
Bridge, stair structures, steel panels: Milk Metals
Interior and exterior wood windows and doors: Duratherm
Interior and exterior woodworking: AP Timberline
Insulation and air sealing: Murphy's Cell-Tech
Client: Adimab

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A retired mother enlisted the help of her daughter, a principal at Best Practice Architecture, to convert a neglected home into a wooden shingle-clad "multigenerational home base" with a basement level that can serve as its own apartment.

The house, called Lil Shingle, involved the renovation of a 1950s house in Seattle's Mt Baker neighbourhood, which lies along Lake Washington.

Built into a sloped site, the two-storey house was in poor condition and was nicknamed Slanty Shanty by its former owners.

The house was purchased by a newly retired mother with three adult daughters, who desired a modest home with dedicated space for visitors. She envisioned a "warm and welcoming space" with a strong connection to the outdoors.

To fulfil her vision, she turned to local studio Best Practice Architecture, where her middle daughter is a principal. Her other two daughters – both of whom work in creative fields – also contributed to the design, making the project "a true family affair".

At first, Best Practice did not envision a full overhaul of the house.

It had served as a rental property for decades, with its upper level holding an apartment and garage, and its basement level containing another apartment and garage.

The architects' initial design called for "a few big moves and a handful of small, strategic layout changes".

But soon after construction work began, the team discovered significant problems.

"The project team found the wall framing, floor framing and roof structure were failing, leaving only the existing basement foundation walls to be salvaged," the studio said.

While the house needed to be rebuilt, the architects opted to stick with their original design scheme, meaning that many of the original elements were retained.

"Though effectively an entirely new house, traces of the old remain, including the footprint, the roof pitch, the overall layout, and most of the existing window and door openings," the team said.

"Best Practice and the owner prioritised strategic structural changes, preserving the idiosyncrasies that made the house special."

The 2,617-square-foot (243-square-metre) house is mostly rectangular in plan. The existing concrete foundation was preserved, and the wood framing was reconstructed.

Facades – originally covered in brick and basic siding – were re-clad with scalloped cedar shingles, which create "a friendly expression that befits the small home".

Doors are a rich shade of baby blue, adding a dash of colour to the exterior.

On the ground level, the team added a small volume – a 52-square-foot (4.8-square-metre) mud room, which forms a "practical buffer at the entry for coats and muddy boots".

"The goal of the project was never to maximise lot coverage or square footage, but to thoughtfully enhance what was already there, embracing the unique charm of the original 1950s home," the team said.

The most significant change to the interior layout involved relocating the staircase, which formerly bisected the home. The staircase was rotated 90 degrees and moved to the southern end of the dwelling, which opened up the public zone and enhanced "flow and connectivity".

In addition to the mud room, the ground level holds the public area and the primary bedroom suite.

The living room sits under a vaulted ceiling, punctured with a series of skylights. A fireplace with a glazed-brick surround in seafoam green serves as a focal point of the space.

Large sliding glass doors open onto a deck, where the occupants can enjoy indoor-outdoor living and take in views of Lake Washington and the Cascade Mountains.

The primary bedroom features a bathroom wrapped in blue tile, an open closet with white oak cabinetry, and an adjoining laundry area.

The basement level – which functions as an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) – encompasses two bedrooms, a den, a kitchenette, a bathroom, a laundry room and a gym.

"While connected through the new staircase, the lower level can be accessed separately to accommodate multi-generational living or future rental income," the team said.

The furnishings and art were curated by Best Practice and the client's eldest daughter, who is a photographer. It also features custom stained-glass windows designed by the owner's youngest daughter and her partner.

"A true family collaboration, the house serves as a multigenerational home base that honours its past and embraces a new chapter of family gatherings and lifelong memories," the team said.

Other projects by Best Practice include a weekend retreat for an artist in rural Washington and a quaint dwelling in Seattle that was adapted from a former houseboat.

The photography is by Rafael Soldi Photography.

Project credits:

Architect: Best Practice Architecture
Contractor: Bellan Construction
Engineer: Smith Lubke Structural Design
Landscape design: Cambium Landscape
Cabinets: Shopworks
Stained glass: Unique Art Glass

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Living units have been arranged around a central courtyard in Barrington 1503, a residential project by California studio LOHA that was designed to skilfully address the "complexities of communal living".

For a rectangular site in West Los Angeles, the studio designed a complex that consists of four distinct but connected volumes totalling 24,200 square feet (2,248 square metres).

Facades are clad in charcoal-coloured aluminium panels and raked plaster.

The four-level complex offers 79 private bedrooms – spread across 18 apartments – along with shared spaces for cooking, dining and lounging.

According to LOHA, the project introduces "much-needed density" to a neighbourhood that is filled with college students and new residents. The University of California, Los Angeles campus and Santa Monica College are located in the area. A more typical development would have accommodated far fewer residents, said LOHA.

Communal living projects offer an "essential and viable alternative" to the traditional housing models in Los Angeles.

"Los Angeles faces dramatic increases in the cost of living, further exacerbated by the overwhelming prevalence of single-residence homes," said LOHA.

"The co-living model is growing rapidly, driven by increasing demand for affordable housing and a stronger sense of connection among residents."

Barrington 1503 was designed to offer a mix of social and private spaces, with layered transitions between the two realms.

"At the heart of Barrington 1503's design is the concept of a spatial social gradient," the team said.

"As underscored by the Covid-19 pandemic, the success of co-living depends on skillfully balancing shared community spaces with well-defined private areas."

The building reads as a cube that was carved up to form the four volumes, which vary in size and shape. The volumes are set around a central courtyard that is open to the sky and ushers in sunlight.

Dappled light falls upon the site's network of exterior corridors and stairs, which are lined with white railings and connect the four volumes. These circulation elements facilitate both movement and social interaction.

"These pathways are more than just thoroughfares," the team said. "They are spaces of connection, allowing for chance encounters and fostering an organic sense of community."

Each of the building's 18 apartments contains a kitchen, living space, and either four or five bedrooms. There are between two and four bathrooms in each unit. All units come furnished.

The bedrooms range in size, from approximately 104 to 130 square feet (9.6 to 12 metres). Each comes with a full-sized bed, although a queen-sized bed could fit in most of the rooms, according to LOHA.

While the units will likely be attractive to students, the building is open to all types of residents.

The units stray from the typical rental apartment in a couple of ways.

First, they come with more bedrooms than are commonly found in a conventional apartment in America. Second, a tenant rents an individual room and is then paired up with roommates. In a more conventional context, tenants band together to rent a full apartment, rather than renting individual rooms.

The architects used various tactics to distinguish between public and private realms in the apartments.

In the living rooms, sliding doors and windows open toward the inner courtyard, providing a connection to the building's social life. In contrast, bedroom windows were placed along perimeter walls and look out toward the city.

Interior finishes include plywood cabinetry and wooden floors. The team used colour tones to signal transitions between public and private zones.

"A soothing sage green coats the kitchens and living areas, evoking lightness and tranquility, while the hallway walls darken as they lead to the bedrooms – subtly signaling a transition into more restful, intimate spaces," the team said.

Overall, the complex's design is meant to serve as a model for future co-living projects.

"The project thoughtfully addresses the complexities of communal living, providing an environment that supports both interaction and solitude in equal measure," the studio said.

"Barrington1503 not only embraces the promise of co-living but brings it to life with architectural precision, creating a model for 21st-century urban housing that is as functional as it is inspiring."

Other co-living projects in America include a complex near Hollywood by Bittoni Architects that is clad in white stucco and contains 23 bedrooms, and a pale pink building in Massachusetts that contains 30 units and a host of shared amenities.

The photography is by Eric Staudenmaier.

Project credits:

Architect: Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects (LOHA)
LOHA team: Lorcan O'Herlihy (principal-in-charge), Brian Adolph (project director), Nicholas Muraglia (team lead), Kenji Hattori-Forth (project team)
Client: Rize Alliance

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Mass timber framing and live-edge cedar siding are among the elements used by the founders of Brooklyn studio nArchitects to create a lake house for themselves in the Hudson Valley.

Located near the town of Rhinebeck in Dutchess County, CLT House sits on an eight-acre (3.2-hectare) lakefront site and emerges from a clearing in the woods.

The holiday home was designed by nArchitects founders Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang to serve as a nature retreat for themselves and their two teenage children.

Environmental concerns were top of mind when the duo set out to design the house. The two-storey structure is sited 200 feet (61 metres) away from the lake and was designed to have "a light touch and positive impact on its site", the team said.

"The two-storey house was designed with progressive sustainability goals in terms of material and energy use, and a spatial organisation that leverages the opportunities of cross-laminated timber in relation to its natural surroundings," the duo explained.

The house appears as an irregular box – the ground level laid out like a square with askew lines, and the upper floor like a plus sign.

Exterior walls are wrapped in waney-edge boards, also known as live-edge siding, which nArchitects describes as "the oldest exterior wood cladding technique used by early settlers".

"This untreated cedar siding will weather variably over time, depending on its orientation and canopy coverage from trees," the team explained.

The building sits atop a concrete foundation, but the walls, floors and roof were entirely constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT) – a material that is still rarely used in the US but steadily gaining popularity, according to nArchitects.

"CLT is an ecological, efficient and fire-resistive building system that also provides a warm and natural feeling," the duo said.

The panels were installed in 11 days – a short timeframe that helped minimise disturbance to the site and the neighbourhood.

The 2,200-square-foot (204-square-metre) interior is defined by large windows and sliding glass doors that offer immersive views of the lake and forest.

Social areas, including the living, dining and kitchen, are organised as a continuous space on the ground level around a central core.

The second floor holds three bedrooms, a study and a bathroom. Each corner of the plus-shaped upper level is open to below, with mirrored skylights that illuminate different spaces at different times.

"Skylights – clad with mirror panels on the interior – punctuate three of the corners, injecting shafts of real and reflected daylight within, like the hand of a clock rotating around the core throughout the day," the team said.

One wall overlooking the ground floor is filled in with mesh rope, adding a playful touch.

The home's spatial organisation was derived from a scheme created by nArchitects in 2008 for Ordos 100, an unbuilt real estate development in Inner Mongolia curated by artist Ai Weiwei.

Their initial scheme was for a house totalling 10,000 square feet (929 square metres). But for this iteration, nArchitects scaled down the size and increased the sustainable elements.

The new home is defined by its "monolithic use of CLT", with the wooden panels left exposed throughout.

To contrast with the timber, the team added custom metal elements, such as a bright green staircase, and bold finishes, such as speckled black-and-white terrazzo surfaces in the downstairs bathroom.

The house is fitted with renewable energy systems, including geothermal wells paired with a radiant floor system to provide heating and cooling. Solar panels fitted on the roof "generate more than enough electricity for daily usage", according to the studio.

The project also entails landscape interventions aimed at improving the site's biodiversity. Any removed trees were replaced with a more diverse range of species, while invasive aquatic plants were cleared away to improve the flow and quality of the lake water.

Other projects by nArchitects include a nature centre on New York's Jones Beach that produces as much energy as it consumes, and architectural enhancements to Chicago's Navy Pier, including kiosks with undulating steel canopies and a curvilinear wall sheathed in louvres.

The photography is by Michael Moran of OTTO.

Project credits:

Architect: nArchitects
Structural engineer: Silman
MEP engineer: OLA
General contractor: UCE Fine Builders
Civil engineer: TM DePuy Engineering
Metal fabricator: 4th State Metals

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Arkansas studio Marlon Blackwell Architects has completed the headquarters building for the Heartland Whole Health Institute, which features a curved form and facades covered in stonework resembling a giraffe's hide.

The three-storey building is located within the 134-acre (54-hectare) Crystal Bridges Campus in Bentonville, Arkansas.

It serves as the new home of the Heartland Whole Health Institute, founded in 2019 by philanthropist Alice Walton, who is the daughter of the founder of retail giant Walmart.

The nonprofit organisation aims to transform the healthcare system. It works with the health care industry to advocate for a "whole-health approach" to prevent disease, improve health outcomes and sustain wellness.

Designed by local studio Marlon Blackwell Architects, the headquarters building brings together "architecture, art, nature, education and wellness offerings".

Encompassing 85,000 square feet (7,897 square metres), the building was designed to draw upon its context and integrate with the landscape. Irregular in plan, it has a slender, curvilinear form with forms branching off, seen in a street-facing volume at ground level.

The building has two main facade treatments.

The lower portion is covered in giraffe stone, a vernacular style of cladding found in the region. It typically consists of flat-faced field stones of varying sizes that are mortared into place, forming a pattern that resembles a giraffe's hide.

"For this project, it has been developed as a highly durable and insulated masonry cavity wall," the team said, adding that the stones came from quarries in Arkansas and nearby Oklahoma.

The building's upper portion is lined with vertical fins made of pre-weathered brass, which provide shade while also relating to the "textures of the wooded site".

The same brass was also used for wall panels, soffits and trim.

Portions of the ground level are cut away to form dogtrots, which are open-ended passageways found in vernacular-style homes in the region. A dogtrot near the entrance "acts as a threshold to the flexible west lawn and the forest beyond".

Inside, one finds airy spaces and earthy materials, including travertine flooring, wool carpeting and plywood with pecan and walnut veneers. Wood ceilings throughout help tie the rooms together and provide a cohesive feel.

Beyond the materiality, a connection to nature is provided through ample glazing and numerous terraces and other outdoor spaces.

"The openness of the building and direct access to the natural surroundings provide a nurturing environment to actively explore whole health principles," the team said.

It offers a mix of work and social spaces. The ground level holds a cafe, event space and areas for exhibiting artwork.

Upper levels contain offices for the Heartland Whole Health Institute, along with the Alice L Walton Foundation and the Art Bridges Foundation, the latter being an organisation dedicated to improving access to art around the country.

The building has a number of sustainable elements, including the use of local materials, shading devices and a high-performance building envelope.

Marlon Blackwell Architects was informed by the local context, particularly the forests and the karst landscape, a type of topography with caves and springs.

"The curvilinear forms and native stone are inspired by the Ozark forest and karst topography of the region, and respond to the sense of place of the Crystal Bridges Campus," the team said.

The headquarters building marks the third major addition to the campus.

The Alice L Walton School of Medicine, designed by Arkansas firm Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, opened on the campus in July.

The campus is also home to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, designed by Boston-based Safdie Architects. The museum is undergoing an expansion slated to be completed in 2026.

Other projects in Bentonville, Arkansas, include the headquarters for Walmart by Gensler and SWA Group, which features mass-timber buildings and artificial lakes, and a series of angular, asymmetrical buildings by Marlon Blackwell Architects for a private school focused on hands-on learning.

The photography is by Timothy Hursley.

Project credits:

Architect: Marlon Blackwell Architects
Architecture team: Marlon Blackwell (founding partner and design director), Meryati Johari Blackwell (partner and creative director), Josh Matthews, Justin Hershberger, Ryan Camp, Will Ramhold, Stephen Reyenga, Anna Morrison, Ari Sogin, Carley Chastain, Carla Chang Mata, Colby Ritter, Hannah Both, Nick Thorn, Paul Mosley, Sarah Little, Scott Kervin, Spencer Curtis, William Burks, Zach Grewe, Sally Richmond, Garrett Coker, Sloan Aulgur, Jackson Fisher
Acoustics: Threshold Acoustics
Civil: CESO, EDG
Code: Code Solutions Group
Landscape: Michael Boucher Landscape
Lighting: TM Light
MEP: HSA Engineering
Structural and envelope: Studio NYL
President of campus planning, facility management, art and wellness enterprise: Scott Eccleston
Heartland Whole Health Institute leadership: Alice Walton (founder and board chair), Claude Pirtle (interim executive director), John Findley (chief medical officer), Casey Solomons (associate vice president, health care transformation), Sarah Bemis (associate vice president, workforce and policy affairs)

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Swiss architecture studio Karamuk Kuo has designed an extension to the Rice School of Architecture in Texas composed of "linear forms that slip and slide", with facades wrapped in glass and terracotta.

The project – named the William T Cannady Hall for Architecture – is located on the Rice University campus in Houston, along its historic quadrangle ringed by brick buildings.

The project involved designing a large extension to an existing building, known as MD Anderson Hall, which was originally designed in 1947 by Staub & Rather. The building received an update by British architects James Stirling and Michael Willford in the 1980s.

The latest update called for a new building to foster "architectural production, research, and exhibition".

Karamuk Kuo conceived a two-storey addition that is highly contemporary yet draws upon the historic context. The project is the first in America for the Zurich-based firm, which is led by architects Jeannette Kuo and Ünal Karamuk.

Encompassing 22,000 square feet (2,044 square metres), the new building has an irregular, jagged plan that steps around a mature tree and other elements on the site. A connector sits directly over a brick-and-stone arcade and is partially supported by metal pilotis.

The remainder of the extension features an upper level with a cantilever and an external stairway that leads to a courtyard.

"One of the design challenges was integrating Cannady Hall into Rice's landscape of long, narrow brick buildings while preserving an iconic live oak tree on site," the team said.

"Karamuk Kuo embraced this challenge by breaking down the building into linear forms that slip and slide, creating a dynamic relationship between indoors and outdoors."

The building is topped with a distinctive sawtooth roof that "echoes the industrial vocabulary of fabrication spaces".

For the facades, the team used metal panels and vast stretches of glass on the ground level. The upper portion of the building is clad in terracotta battens.

The terracotta is meant to be "both contemporary and historically resonant, respecting Rice University's material legacy while advancing sustainable architecture", the studio said.

Inside, the building contains airy spaces filled with natural light. Double-height voids and interior glazed walls enable sight lines between the upper and lower levels.

The ground level holds a fabrication shop, gallery and pinup spaces, and support areas. Upstairs, one finds open work areas, a model shop and additional exhibition space.

The architects left the steel framework and building systems exposed, enabling students to observe the inner workings of a building. The steel framework was envisioned as a sustainable element, as it can be recycled.

"Its bolted steel frame allows for disassembly and reuse, contributing to its forward-thinking, sustainable ethos," the team said.

In addition to Cannady Hall, the Rice School of Architecture also renovated its existing Anderson Hall – a project overseen by Chicago studio Kwong Von Glinow. The studio designed several new spaces in the building, such as a welcome centre, a faculty and staff lounge, and a forum with circular wooden seating.

Other architecture school buildings in America include a Nebraska building by NADAAA and HDR that features mass timber and translucent panels, and a University of Michigan building by Preston Scott Cohen that has a sawtooth roof and ironspot-brick cladding.

The photography of Cannady Hall is by Iwan Baan, unless otherwise stated. 

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Farm buildings informed the design of Stanfordville House in New York by US studio Desai Chia Architecture, which features charred cedar cladding and a sculptural roofscape.

Situated just beyond the crest of a hill, the Stanfordville House rests within a reclaimed farm totalling 50 acres (20 hectares).

The home was envisioned as "an architectural bridge between its agricultural context and modern family life," said New York studio Desai Chia Architecture.

The holiday home takes its name from its location – Standfordville, a rural hamlet in Upstate New York. The area features rolling hills speckled with barns, trees and wildflowers.

Existing farming facilities in the region served as "vernacular references" for the architects. The design was also shaped by guidance from a feng shui master, whom the clients enlisted early on to provide siting parameters for the house.

"Following his guidance, the home maintains a strong north-south organization, and is oriented to align with particular structures on a distant hill," the architects said.

The main house is composed of a long and short volume, which together form an L shape and encompass 3,555 square feet (330 square metres). There is also a freestanding garage totalling 690 square feet (64 square metres).

The exterior has a mix of wood, concrete and glass. Blackened cedar was primarily used in the upper part of facades and was charred using the traditional Japanese technique known as Shou Sugi Ban.

Lower areas are clad in accoya wood with a light-grey finish, which matches angled, cast-in-place concrete panels that hold up shade structures over patios.

"The lightness of the accoya siding and the colour-matched concrete help to define the darkly clad upper volumes," the team said.

The roofscape lends a sculptural look to the home. The long volume is topped with two shed roofs with opposing slopes, while the other volumes have flat roofs.

To manage rainwater, the team added scuppers and downspouts that were left exposed to "express and celebrate functional, architectural details".

"This low-tech yet effective water management system is one of several visual cues that harken to the agricultural context," the team said.

Within the home, there are light-filled rooms, vaulted ceilings and a restrained colour palette. The dwelling was designed to feel inviting and be spacious enough for visitors.

"The clients' goal was to create a welcoming space for guests and extended family," the architects said.

The ground level holds a guest area, an office, and an open-concept kitchen, dining space and living room, along with the detached garage. The social area opens toward a covered terrace and swimming pool.

Upstairs, one finds two bedrooms and a laundry room.

Large windows offer framed views of the undulating landscape. The exterior concrete panels were angled to direct one's gaze toward the scenery, the studio said.

The project also included landscape interventions.

"To support the hyperlocal ecosystem of pollinators, the site was revegetated with native grasses and wildflowers that also provide a softness that contrasts the home's crisp silhouettes," the team said.

Other projects by Desai Chia include a weekend retreat for gallery owners in Connecticut that features courtyards for exhibiting artwork, and a black gabled house in Upstate New York that merges barn design with "a contemporary sensibility".

The photography is by Paul Warhol.

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Canadian firm StudioAC has completed a residential building called Junction Semi for a family of seven, which features pale wooden cladding, a courtyard and a double-gable roof.

Located on an arterial street in Toronto's West End, the project was designed for three generations of family members – a couple, their three children, and a set of grandparents.

The project's name, Junction Semi, stems from the use of the word "semi" to describe duplex-type buildings in Toronto.

The building contains a pair of two-storey units that sit side by side. The units are separate but share certain spaces, such as a central courtyard.

The project was created on a site that formerly held a religious building. The team preserved aspects of the original building, such as the foundation and certain walls, but added a second floor and carved away areas on the ground level.

"Rather than massing buildings and leaving behind outdoor space, the first assignment was to carve away outdoor space from the existing building," said local practice StudioAC.

"The courtyard situates itself so that it helps to bring light into the deeper parts of the building that would prove dark without."

In addition to the courtyard, the occupants share a foyer in the front of the building, a garage in the rear and a rooftop garden.

Each unit has its own skylit stairwell. Wide stairs lead down to the main level, which sits below grade.

"As the main level is sunken below grade, the massing of the building is actually lower than its neighbouring properties, allowing the project to reference the existing scale of the streetscape," the team said.

In each unit, the ground level has a front and back portion, separated by the courtyard. The front holds an open-plan living room, kitchen and dining area, while the back portion contains a bedroom and the shared garage.

Upstairs, one finds bedrooms, terraces and the rooftop garden.

Natural light was envisioned as a primary feature, so the team opted for a material palette "that celebrates texture over colour".

"The spaces are finished using a monochromatic colour scheme that is muted to act as a canvas for the changing light," the team said.

Exterior facades are clad in pale wooden siding from Maibec. The home is topped with a double-gable roof.

On the street-facing elevation, the team carved out an opening on the upper level to form a terrace with a Japanese maple tree. The terrace abuts a primary bathroom with a soaking tub.

This design element was informed by the client's love of drawing a bath in their former home and hearing the wind passing through a tree. The client had casually mentioned this experience, and it ended up being a catalyst for a "major spatial gesture" in their new home.

StudioAC was founded in 2015 by Jennifer Kudlats and Andrew Hill. The studio's other projects include a country home along Lake Ontario that takes cues from agrarian architecture and a luxury cannabis dispensary in Toronto that has zig-zagging walls made of industrial grating.

The photography is by Felix Michaud.

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Architectural studio BLDUS has created a slender home in an urban alleyway called Brown House, which features a rooftop farm and the use of "healthy" building materials such as cork, bamboo and hemp.

Encompassing 1,600 square feet (149 square metres), the single-family house is located along the newly named Overbeck Alley in Capitol Hill, a historic neighbourhood in Washington DC.

Changes to zoning regulations in 2016 have fostered the development of alley houses in America's capital city, which is facing a housing shortage.

"The house contributes to a broader mission in DC to add residential density wherever possible as a means to alleviate the housing crisis," said local studio BLDUS.

The architects said that alley houses of all styles can enhance the areas in which they are located, as alleys are often forlorn spaces.

"Neglected vacant alley lots are attractors of litter, rot and crime, so even totally conventional alley houses can improve the conditions of an alley for the inhabitants of the block," the team said.

The Brown House was built on a vacant, free-standing sliver of land that measures 18 by 68 feet (5.5 by 21 metres). It was designed for a couple with a Mastiff dog.

Rectangular in plan and form, the slender building rises two levels and has operable square windows and wooden screens.

Balancing privacy and natural light was a key priority for the designers.

The ground level holds a room for for cooking, dining and lounging on one side, and a bedroom and bathroom on the other.

A central, skylit staircase leads to the upper level, where one finds two additional bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The layout is meant to foster "efficient" living and enable occupants to stay in the house long-term.

"Life could be lived entirely on the ground floor if necessary," said the architects.

The team used a "healthy material palette" to create the house, with an emphasis on local availability.

"Materials were sourced as locally as possible and with as light a carbon footprint as possible," the team said.

Facades are clad in cork, which is overlaid with protective slats made of black locust – a type of wood known for its durability. The same type of slats were used to screen-in balconies and create fencing and railings.

The structural walls are made of bamboo. Cellulose and hemp insulation were used to fill cavities in the walls and unvented roof.

Interior finishes include a spray-cork finish on plywood walls, which echoes the cork used on the exterior.

Bamboo structural panels were left exposed and stained with a material called PolyWhey, which is a byproduct of the cheese industry.

Copper was used for rain gutters and rain chains, the latter being a device that directs water from the roof to the ground level.

The materials were meant to give the building character and "facilitate healthy lifestyles".

"Spaces made from healthy materials that are natural, straightforward and recognisable allow people to relate to them at a visceral level more than anonymous painted-drywall spaces, endearing them to their users over time," the studio said.

Despite the site's compact conditions, the team was able to incorporate spaces for spending time outdoors.

These include a fenced-in garden and terrace on the ground level, two screened-in balconies on the upper level, and the rooftop urban farm.

"Rooftop planter beds allow the inhabitants of Brown House to grow the majority of their diet during some periods of the year and supplement them during others," the team said.

"These beds utilise rainfall in the most direct way possible, feeding the plants growing in the beds."

Rainwater that falls on the roof is channelled to the metal rain chains, which run down two sides of the house.

One directs water to the ground-level garden, while the other connects to a cistern. The stored water is used to irrigate plantings.

The architects said the home has attracted birds, which they see as an indication of the building's healthful quality.

"Two different bird nests have already been made in the enclosed exterior spaces of the house during its first spring, a sign of recognition by the birds of the health and safety afforded by the house," the team said.

Other alley houses include a dwelling in Toronto by Williamson Williamson that has a front facade made of rotated bricks, and a compact residence in Seattle that is partly lifted off the ground to make way for parking.

The photography is by Ty Cole.

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Architectural studio GO'C has converted a 1970s houseboat into a contemporary, multi-level residence called Blatto Boat, which features a variety of space-saving strategies and three outdoor decks.

Moored within a marina on the northern end of Lake Union, a freshwater lake in Seattle, the floating residence is tucked into a slender slip in a finger dock, where numerous other houseboats are located.

The project involved converting a decommissioned, 1970s "cruise-a-home" boat into a modern residence for a doctor. The design needed to include all of the basic comforts of home and conform to the boat's "over-water footprint", which was long and narrow at 40 foot by 12 foot (12 metres by 3.7 metres).

Figuring out how to include areas for cooking, sleeping, bathing and working within such a tight space was a challenge. Moreover, the design had to consider elements specific to watercraft, such as hull size and ballasting needs.

"The project became very much a three-dimensional puzzle," said GO'C, a local architectural studio, which worked with a nautical engineer on the project.

"How do you factor in all the elements of a conventional home in a very unconventional space? This became a study of tiny living at its finest and resulted in a design in which all elements are fully considered and integrated much like they would in a ship's cabin."

The team conceived a rectangular, 618-square-foot (57-square-metre) home with a series of outdoor decks. Facades were clad in ebony-stained cedar siding.

Construction work took place on land with the two-storey houseboat then placed into the lake and towed to its final slip location.

The dwelling is entered via a front door that is not always level with the boat dock, as the lake rises and falls about two feet (0.6 metres).

To accommodate the fluctuation, there is a detachable stair that links the main entrance to the dock.

The lower level of the home contains an open-plan kitchen, dining area and living space, along with a bathroom. The team tucked in storage where it could and incorporated elements that serve more than one purpose, such as window sills that double as bookshelves.

"Many elements of the house serve double duty in this way," the team said.

The kitchen's L-shape layout helped maximise space for storage and food prep – important considerations given that the owner prioritises cooking at home. A moveable island can be used as a counter, a dining table or a work desk.

The kitchen cabinetry merges with a built-in sleeper sofa and nightstand. A sliding glass door provides access to an outdoor deck.

On the upper level, there is compact bedroom, with built-in closets and bedside tables. Similar to the lower level, a sliding door opens onto a deck.

Ladders connect this deck to the lower-level deck, along with a third deck up above, where there are planters for gardening and views of the Seattle skyline.

The home is filled with earthy finishes, such as hemlock-clad ceilings and white oak cabinetry.

Kitchen countertops are made of a resin-infused paper material called Richlite, and the backsplash is covered with ceramic tile.

Throughout the design, the team focused on bringing in daylight without sacrificing privacy – as the home is closely surrounded by other houseboats.

"Clerestory windows are used throughout the main level to allow natural light in without direct views from neighbours," the team said.

"A skylight over the main-level living area allows further light to penetrate into the centre of the home."

There is a long tradition of houseboats in Seattle, a city known for its strong connection to the water. Other floating homes include one by Olson Kundig that draws upon cabin architecture, and one by Vandeventer + Carlander Architects that has windows enabling occupants to easily jump out of the house and into the water.

The photography is by Andrew Pogue. The overhead drone photo is by Peter Bohler. The film is by Peter Bohler and Stanton Stephens.

Project credits:

Architecture and interiors: GO'C
GO'C team: Jon Gentry, Aimée O'Carroll, Max Hunold, Sarah Long
Contractor: Wild Tree Woodworks
Structural engineering: SSF Engineers
Marine engineer: Kraftmar
Custom steel hull: Snow & Company

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Chilean studio Ignacio Correa Arquitecto has completed the House in Three Heights in Chile, which features two timber-clad buildings connected by a slender bridge enclosure with glazed walls.

The house is located on a tree-studded hillside in Zapallar, a coastal town in Chile's Valparaíso region.

The project involved the renovation of a small, existing dwelling built in 2014 and the creation of a multi-height extension that responds to the site's sloped terrain.

The original, 70-square-metre building – which is clad in glass and is roughly triangular in plan – was designed to capture wide views of the landscape, including a bay that merges with the Pacific Ocean. The building sits on the high point of the site.

The remainder of the site extends downward, terminating at a flat area that provides access. The sloped stretch between the existing structure and the property's entry point is where the addition was placed.

The studio set out to create "a sequence of spaces and enclosures that allow the place and its relationships to be recognized".

"This distance between the pre-existence and the access is what the proposal understands as the project area, and at the same time, as the opportunity to appropriate that landscape," said Ignacio Correa Arquitecto, a studio based in Santiago.

The 80-square-metre addition consists of a two-storey structure with an irregular footprint, and a slender bridge enclosure that connects the new building to the old one.

The two-storey building rests atop a concrete plinth, while the bridge is held up by steel supports.

Facades are clad in dark knotty pine, and the same earthy material was used indoors for flooring and walls. Large stretches of glass provide immersive views of the landscape.

In the existing building, the team added 15 square metres. The space now holds a kitchen, dining area, living room and bathroom.

The addition serves as the home's private zone, as it contains two bedrooms, a bathroom, and storage.

Other projects by Ignacio Correa Arquitecto include a small, glazed holiday home in La Estrella that is slightly bent in plan, and a two-storey dwelling in Patagonia that was influenced by the area's challenging weather.

The photography is by Nicolás Saieh.

Project credits:

Architect: Ignacio Correa Arquitecto
Engineer: Alex Pop
Builder: Hugo Borquez
Lightning: During Iluminación

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A wooden boardwalk and pale timber cladding are among the elements used by architectural studio HGA to create History Jackson Hole, a museum in Wyoming, USA, meant to feel both "modern and timeless".

The museum is located on a prominent site in downtown Jackson, which features historic architecture dating to the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains, the town lies within the Jackson Hole valley in northwestern Wyoming, which is well known for its ranching heritage, Indigenous communities and outdoor recreational activities.

The building replaces a former museum – called the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum – that was dark and mostly closed off from the street. The new facility is meant to better engage with the surroundings and offer more space.

Situated on a quarter-acre site, the campus consists of a main museum building, two historic cabins and outdoor space.

The campus was designed to respect the town's architectural language – which includes glass storefronts and wooden boardwalks – while incorporating a contemporary aesthetic.

"There is a nod to the Jackson 'Old West' style, but through an authentic approach that feels both modern and timeless," said American firm HGA, which collaborated on the project with local firm Prospect Studio.

Totalling 13,200 square feet (1,226 square meters), the main building is rectangular in plan and has two stories and a basement level. Its height aligns with the area's low-rise buildings.

Facades are clad in Alaskan yellow cedar. Large windows create an inviting feel and offer visual connections to downtown and an adjacent park called Greenspace.

The front elevation is lined with a wooden boardwalk, which mimics those fronting other buildings in the historic downtown district.

The building contains exhibition space for the museum's collection, which includes 7,200 objects, 19,200 photographs, 8,200 records and 460 oral histories. The exhibition design was led by G&A.

The building also features flexible rooms for meetings and community use, offices, a gift shop, an archive and research centre, and a roof terrace.

Sustainable features include thick insulation, triple-pane windows and low-flow plumbing fixtures.

Throughout the campus, the team used materials that fit with the context, such as timber, stone and warm-toned metal. The use of chinked logs – which involves filling in gaps between logs with a special sealant – draws upon the "authentic Western expressions of timber".

Funded via a public-private partnership, the project involved extensive community engagement, including outreach to local residents and Indigenous communities.

"This stakeholder engagement, in turn, informed various aspects of the design, particularly as it tells the comprehensive narrative of the history of Jackson," the team said.

The overall design strikes a balance between "integrating both the Western character and historic relevance of downtown Jackson, alongside a modern museum reflecting Jackson Hole's present and future," HGA added.

Other projects in Jackson include a temporary art installation by CLB Architects that consisted of cross-laminated timber panels arranged in a circle, and a hotel renovation by Studio Tack that entailed converting run-down structures into a cosy retreat filled with wooden finishes and decor.

The photography is by Albert Vecerka of ESTO. 

Project credits:

Architect: HGA
HGA team: Joan Soranno, John Cook, David Wilson, Roxanne Nelson, Natalie Pullen
Local architect: Prospect Studio
Exhibition designer: G&A
Civil engineer: Nelson Engineering
General contractor: ACM
Owner's representative: Jason Berning Project Management

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Masonry buildings and a rounded "womb-like" meditation room form a Hindu temple complex in southern California, designed by the architecture studio CSA Partners and built over a 15-year period.

The Hindu Temple Antelope Valley Campus is located in Lancaster, which is about 70 miles (113 kilometres) north of Los Angeles. The rural town lies within a desert valley ringed by mountains.

Composed of three main structures, the campus is viewed as "the unifying space of a dozen distinct Hindu immigrant groups".

The project was first conceived about 15 years ago and was completed in multiple phases. CSA Partners, a Chicago-based studio founded by Cyrus Subawalla, oversaw the design, which embodies a merging of historical and contemporary approaches.

"The design of the campus, rooted deeply in history and metaphor, combines historical forms with contemporary building technology to produce distinctively modern interpretations of traditional architecture," the studio said.

The design draws upon India's Temple at Kangra, which is notable for its dedication to the worship of two deities – Vishnu and Shiva. The temple is located in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, and variations of its design can be seen throughout India, the studio said.

For these reasons, the Temple at Kangra was seen as "an ideal design precedent for the diverse needs of the varied Hindu communities of the Antelope Valley".

The campus sits on an arid, flat site adjacent to a park. Its first building, MahaVishnu Temple, was completed in 2014.

Elevated on a plinth, the masonry building is clad in terracotta-hued brick that mimics the colour of the earth. The temple's domes are wrapped in precast concrete panels that also are an orangey hue.

The temple has a primary shrine dedicated to Vishnu, with shrines for other deities found along the perimeter.

The next building, Annapoorna Hall, was dedicated in 2021. It serves as a social hall and includes a commercial kitchen.

"Executed in matching materials, the building is defined by freestanding masonry walls – sliding past one another – into which a glass volume has been inserted," said the studio.

"Experientially, this building thereby creates a second wall defining the exterior courtyard space, forming a side entrance to the temple gate."

The third building, the Shri Amma Meditation Center, was added in 2023.

Viewed as "the final and most overtly metaphorical space on the campus", the rounded, concrete-and-glass structure is tucked into a mound. A paved path leads to the entrance of the 900-square-foot (84-square-metre) building.

"This structure builds on womb-like analogies of personal growth and emergence and is intended to speak to the worship of the Goddess Akhilendeswari, the Hindu goddess of fertility," the team said.

"This building is also the most structurally innovative contribution to the campus, comprised of portal frames and faceted glass, holding together an otherwise curvilinear volume with oriented views of the exterior temple, courtyard and beyond."

Throughout the campus, various strategies were incorporated to meet California's energy performance criteria, such as careful building siting and incorporating elements that reduce solar penetration.

Additional Hindu temples include a large complex in India's Andhra Pradesh by Sameep Padora & Associates that has stepped buildings made of black limestone, and a small temple in West Bengal by Abin Design Studio that features a glazed corner surrounded by a concrete lattice.

The photography is by Jill Weller and Cyrus Subawalla.

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Colorado firm Studio B has completed The Perch, renovating a 1960s house for the studio's founders to make it suitable for modern living while "preserving the spirit of the original structure".

Built in 1968, the house rests on a sloped, high-alpine site in the town of Aspen. Surrounded by a stand of aspen trees, the house offers a "sense of being perched in a treehouse".

The home serves as the personal residence of Scott Lindenau and Susan Okie Lindenau, the founders of Studio B. The Colorado practice has offices in Aspen and Boulder.

When the couple bought the two-storey home – originally designed by Paul Fisher – it was livable but dated. While located in an established neighbourhood, the house was hidden behind overgrown shrubs and trees.

The Lindenaus lived in the house for four years before deciding to embark on a full renovation, as "systems began failing and time took its toll".

The renovation entailed stripping the 2,400-square-foot (223-square-metre) house down to its studs to address structural issues and to bring the house up to modern standards. New mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems were installed.

The kitchen was opened up to the living room, and the downstairs layout was modified. New finishes were added throughout the home.

"Original finishes were removed, and new ones were thoughtfully added to create a cohesive, refined material palette that complements the natural surroundings," the team said.

Maintaining the essence of the original home was an important concern, particularly on the exterior, which features brick and dark-wood cladding.

"Great attention was paid to ensure the house retained its exterior authenticity," the team said. "The Perch was a transformation aimed at preserving the spirit of the original structure while updating it for contemporary living."

In plan, the house is a bar that turns up at both ends. The entrance is marked by an original porte-cochere with a thick roof.

The front door leads into the home's upper level, where one finds a division between public and private spaces.

One side holds the main bedroom, while the other side contains a living room and dining space. The central portion holds the kitchen.

Adjoining the cooking space is a cantilevering terrace, where occupants can take in views of the mountainous terrain.

The lower level of the house encompasses a bedroom, family room and study, along with mechanical space. Interior finishes include wide-plank oak flooring, porcelain tile and solid-surface kitchen countertops.

In the main bedroom, the team revealed a concrete block wall, which had been concealed behind drywall and wood panelling.

"As part of the renovation, they restored the block to its natural texture and tone – bringing back its original luster and allowing the material's raw, honest character to shine," the team said.

The furnishings were selected by Susan Okie Lindenau and include stools and dining chairs from Cassina, a sofa by Vladimir Kagan and lighting by Arturo Álvarez. The sofa on the lower level, which was reupholstered, is a family heirloom purchased in Copenhagen in the 1960s.

The home is adorned with modern and tribal art from the Lindenaus's visits to Africa, South America and elsewhere. The house serves as "a vessel of memory" for the owners' global travels.

Throughout the dwelling, ample windows provide immersive views of the landscape as it transforms through the seasons. In the winter and spring, when the trees are bare, the house is afforded views far into the distance.

Other projects by Studio B include a low-lying trapezoidal home in Boulder that was envisioned as a "collage of form and light" and a gabled house in Aspen that features black cladding and rooms awash in natural light.

The photography is by James Florio.

Project credits:

Architect and interior designer: Studio B
General contractor: GF Woods Construction

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Architecture studio LOHA has completed Isla Intersections, a low-cost housing complex for formerly homeless residents that comprises stacked shipping containers and sits on a triangular site near a busy highway interchange.

Encompassing 35,000 square feet (3,252 square metres), the complex contains 54 supportive housing units, along with gardens and space for job training and creative programming.

The building offers rental units for tenants who were formerly unhoused.

Located in South LA near a junction of highways, the building sits on a strip of land that was formerly a traffic median.

"Situated within close proximity to one of the world's busiest freeway interchanges – the meeting of the 110 and 105 freeways – the design makes a challenging location more liveable," said local studio LOHA, or Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects.

The site, which is just under a half-acre, is one of many city-owned parcels made available by the City of Los Angeles in 2018 to developers of affordable housing.

Many of the parcels are challenging, as they sit along heavy traffic corridors or next to freeways, or are a composite of parcels that have been "left untouched for decades".

"It is in this kind of liminal space, fraught with ambiguity, that we see opportunity, and a potentially significant next step for the future of housing in the city," said LOHA .

"Our foray into this challenging yet exciting area has us working as architects and urban strategists."

Isla Intersections consists of white staggered boxes, most of which are loosely organised around an interior courtyard. Apartments are arrayed along corridors lined with metal railings.

"The towers are intentionally scattered along the pie-shaped edge of the property, enclosing a sequence of small green spaces that provide surprising moments connecting the landscape to the private residences," the team said.

The height of each tower varies, depending on the immediate context.

As the building approaches a single-family neighbourhood to the north, it steps down from five storeys to two. Along the western elevation, the building is lower in height to blend with a walkway called Annenberg Paseo that winds along the street.

The paseo forms a "slow space" that prioritises pedestrians and bikers, the team said.

"The ground level along the paseo will provide a number of storefront spaces for retail, incubation and job training and support services, as well as administrative offices," the team said.

"This marketplace and paseo will also serve as a 'living lung', helping to filter diesel particulates and air pollutants."

Each tower was built using new steel shipping containers, which were transported to the site via a flatbed truck. Each apartment is composed of three containers that were welded together to create a single 480-square-foot (45 square metres) unit.

The project's modular approach, combined with the ability to work both on- and off-site, reduced the overall construction time from 45 to 30 months.

The apartments are designed to be efficient and compact. Each comes furnished and offers a bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining space and bathroom. Simple finishes include drywall and vinyl-wood flooring.

The project also incorporates rooftop farms and edible gardens that are intended to supply produce for farmers' markets.

"This project also has the chance to become part of a larger network of urban farms in the area, whose mission is to preserve the tradition of farming in South Los Angeles, bringing affordable produce to what many consider a food desert," the team said.

Near Isla Intersections is the well-known Stanford Avalon Community Garden, a nine-acre urban farm located under power lines in the Watts neighbourhood and cared for by local residents.

"Isla aspires to build on [Stanford Avalon Community Garden's] legacy, harnessing the potential to be a part of a much larger living lung that can potentially wind its way through the city," the team said.

Plans for the Isla Intersections project were revealed by Dezeen in 2019, and the project was completed last year.

"Our aim was to create something that was compartmental but solid – strong enough to withstand the demands of the project's location but porous enough to engage the residents on a human scale with outdoor activities and places to work and socialize," said LOHA.

It marks the second collaboration between LOHA and the non-profit developer Holos Communities, the other being an affordable housing project called MLK1101.

Other affordable and supportive housing projects in LA include a complex by Patrick Tighe and John Mutlow that is wrapped in large white ribbons, and an apartment building by Brooks + Scarpa that features a scalloped, textured facade.

The photography is by Eric Staudenmaier.

Project credits:

Architect: LOHA (Lorcan O'Herlihy Architects)
Team: Lorcan O'Herlihy (principal-in-charge), Abel Garcia (team lead), Ian Dickenson, Yuval Borochov, Huizhen Ng, Kathryn Sonnabend, Santiago Tolosa
Client: Holos Communities

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Numerous shading devices were put in place at the US diplomatic complex in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, which was designed by The Miller Hull Partnership to be "unquestionably of its place".

The light-coloured building is set on a 3.4-hectare site in the city's Monraz neighbourhood, an area that combines historic and modern architecture. The property was owned by a single family and held a house, a small office building and green space.

The consulate was previously located in a leased building in downtown Guadalajara.

The new compound includes an office building, entry pavilions, a residential structure for Marines, support buildings, and recreational spaces such as a basketball court and swimming pool. It also contains two underground parking garages.

The project was driven by an anticipated rise in visitors to the consulate. The current daily average is 1,200 visitors, which is expected to increase to 2,000 over the next decade.

The new complex was "designed to integrate with its physical, cultural and environmental surroundings", said The Miller Hull Partnership, which has offices in Seattle and San Diego, California.

The design prioritises access to daylight, nature and the outdoors while balancing technical and security requirements. It is the same approach used at the two other embassies created by the firm – one in Niamey, Niger, and the other in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

"This approach creates not just a structure but an experience, and a building distinctly and unquestionably of its place," the architecture studio said.

The design is responsive to Guadalajara's mild climate, which allows for indoor-outdoor living. Still, protection from the sun and rain is required, leading the studio to take cues from Mexico's traditional palapa – an open-sided dwelling with a thatched roof.

"To accommodate this indoor/outdoor flexibility, the building integrates an interpretation of the vernacular 'palapa' shading device," said The Miller Hull Partnership.

"This not only shades the building's facade and secure outdoor areas, but also provides the building a unifying civic gesture befitting the facility's significance."

The main structure on the site is the 12,000-square-metre office building, which was designed to maximise daylight, views and worker comfort. Design elements include thin office floor plates, open staircases and large windows.

Exterior walls are a mix of granite, metal panels and glass. A massive roof canopy helps shade the building.

Much of the office space is on the first level, which reduces the ground-level footprint while also offering views for workers.

The second level operates as a "social hub", where one finds dining and gathering spaces. A generous outdoor terrace can be used for events.

The project has a range of sustainability features meant to reduce energy, such as efficient HVAC systems, daylighting, white roofs and a bevvy of shading elements.

To provide added shade – and to support the natural ecosystem – the team preserved a mature grove of Jacaranda trees on the site, along with a series of trees lining the street.

The building is expected to use 36 per cent less energy compared to a baseline building, according to the team. Solar panels are expected to meet 15 per cent of the energy needs, helping reduce its reliance on traditional energy sources.

Designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the complex also aims for net-zero water consumption. Captured rainwater is used for water features on site, and treated wastewater is used to irrigate the landscape.

"Drought-adapted native plantings such as agave succulents, cacti and trees highlight the region's unique biodiversity and support the project's sustainability goals," the team said.

The architects said overall, the design responds to "place, people and the planet".

"The completion of the new US consulate general in Guadalajara represents the increasing relevance of place-based, human-centered and environmentally conscious buildings," the team said.

American diplomatic projects are overseen by the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, which is part of the US State Department. Recently, the future of these projects has been thrown into question with the bureau sending a memo earlier this year restricting language around sustainability.

Other US embassies include one in Ankara, Turkey, designed by Ennead Architects to draw upon the local context, and one in London by Kieran Timberlake that takes the form of a cube covered in "shimmering sails of plastic".

The photography is by Kevin Scott.

Project credits:

Design architect: The Miller Hull Partnership
Architect of record: Page
General contractor: BL Harbert International
Client: US Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations

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Architecture studios NADAAA and HDR have expanded the architecture school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, creating a rectangular volume framed with mass timber and lined with translucent panels that bring in natural light.

Located in the town of Lincoln in eastern Nebraska, the project involved adding a new facility to a complex of three existing buildings constructed in the 19th and 20th centuries – all of which make up the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Architecture.

One building dates to 1891, and the others were completed in 1921 and 1985.

The project was brought about to address the need for more space due to the college's expanding student body. Boston-based NADAAA worked in collaboration with local studio HDR to create the addition, called the CoArch Pavilion, that was didactic and economical.

"Given the audiences of a school of architecture, erudite as they are as faculty and students, any new school of architecture is apt to serve as a pedagogical building," the team said.

"These audiences learn from the inventions and failures of these buildings."

The team conceived a 21,000-square-foot (1,951-square-metre) extension, which is rectangular in plan and rises four levels.

The structural system primarily consists of cross-laminated and glued-laminated timber. Steel was used in an area where the pavilion connects to the older buildings.

"We adopted mass timber, not only as a naturally renewable resource, but also as a technology that can be assembled with immense speed and substantial precision, reducing the carbon footprint of the building," said NADAAA.

The pavilion's northern facade features slender windows and angled translucent panels from the American company Kalwall.

The panels reveal structural framing and bring in diffused light, while the windows provide outward views of the campus.

The fibre-reinforced polymer panels were deemed to be more cost-effective than other options. The team had initially planned to use a "modest corrugated aluminium wall system", but determined that it was more expensive.

"We realised that the cost of the different trades for framing, insulation, chip-boarding and cladding produced a price point that could not compete with a single trade product," the team said.

"Thus, we revisited a fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) panel that could be manufactured and installed at three-quarters of the price point while also guaranteeing natural daylighting as part of its collateral benefits."

Within the new CoArch Pavilion, one finds a flexible lobby/gallery on the ground level, with open porticos along the east and west that can serve as exhibition space. Studios and crit spaces occupy the building's upper levels.

In addition to providing much-needed space, the pavilion acts as a prominent entrance for the architecture college.

"With the introduction of this expansion, we are able to provide a new front door to a complex of buildings that have for years been entered through ancillary means," the team said.

"We are also able to link the four wings in an interconnected fashion, such that all disciplines can seamlessly communicate with each other."

The project also entailed modifying the existing 1985 building, called The Link, which initially held stairs, an elevator and a lobby.

The building was designed decades ago to connect the college's two existing buildings – now called East and West – and to resolve accessibility issues, as the floor levels in the two halls did not line up.

NADAAA and HDR kept certain elements within The Link while introducing new ones.

"Our new addition adopted the elevator of The Link to economise on infrastructure while using the misalignments of old and new buildings to create stepped seating between studios as breakout spaces, informal classrooms and crit spaces," said the team.

The project also entailed restoring a historic auditorium in Architecture Hall West that had been divided up into small classrooms. The space was converted back into an auditorium, and accessibility elements were added.

Other architecture school buildings in America include a University of Miami building by Arquitectonica that is topped with a massive, curved slab of concrete, and a University of Michigan building by Preston Scott Cohen that features a sawtooth roof and ironspot-brick cladding.

The photography is by Nic Lehoux.

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Scalloped concrete panels and stretches of glass are among the features of the Wayne County Criminal Justice Center, which was designed by architecture firm HOK to embody "dignity, transparency and efficiency".

The campus sits on approximately 11 acres in Detroit and consists of multiple buildings totalling 1.1 million square feet (102,200 square metres).

The site includes an adult prison with 2,280 beds, a juvenile detention facility with 160 beds, and a criminal courthouse with 29 courtrooms.

It also features a central utility plant and an administrative building for the sheriff's office and the prosecutor's office of Wayne County, the most populous county in Michigan.

Architecture firm HOK – which is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri, and has studios around the globe – oversaw the project's planning, architecture and interior design. A key goal was to create an efficient campus with elements that promote dignity and openness.

"Wayne County engaged HOK to program and design a comprehensive new criminal justice campus that emphasises dignity, transparency and efficiency," said the architecture studio.

The campus brings together functions that formerly were spread across several locations and housed in ageing facilities.

"The new campus brings together services previously held in an ageing criminal courthouse, an inefficient juvenile detention facility, and three outdated detention facilities located across metropolitan Detroit," said HOK.

"By consolidating services, the project reduces the burden of commuting between detention centres and courthouses, helping to facilitate the public's right and access to a speedy trial."

The new buildings vary in height and scale, which helps break down the visual scale of the campus. To unify the structures, the team devised a podium as a "unifying framework".

Different facade treatments were used on each building, based on their function and orientation.

For the jails, utility plant and administration building, the team clad exterior walls in scalloped pre-cast concrete panels, which offered "an elegant and cost-effective way to create visual interest".

The panels are animated by light and shadow, which change throughout the day. The panels are also meant to allude to Detroit's automotive history.

"The scallop form pays homage to the curvature of the autos designed and manufactured within the Motor City," the team said.

"Beyond their interesting aesthetic, the panels are also structural and insulated, providing the campus with efficiencies in construction and building performance."

In the administrative building, the team incorporated a glass curtain wall to create a welcoming look and reinforce a sense of transparency. Glazing was incorporated into other areas of the campus, as well.

"Windows and curtain walls draw daylight deep into the buildings, providing daylight to both public and secure areas of the campus," the team said.

The team noted that most of the buildings abut the street rather than being fronted by parking lots, which helps emphasise a sense of "engagement with the community".

The project is expected to receive LEED Silver certification, and it won a design excellence award from the AIA's Chicago chapter. The project was a joint venture between Wayne County and a private developer.

"The project required HOK to stay within a tight budget while delivering a high-quality civic building for the people of Detroit and Wayne County," said the architecture studio.

"The result is a visually unexpected and welcoming public building that achieves its functional demands while raising the quality of a civic building with a focus on openness, respect and community."

Other criminal justice-related projects include a high-security "humane prison" in Greenland wrapped in weathering steel, and plans to convert California's San Quentin State Prison into a Nordic-style rehabilitation centre.

The photography is by Angie McMonigal and HOK.

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Panelised building components made of mass timber were used to construct a residential building by SuperLA, a design and development firm that views "homes as products" rather than bespoke architectural projects.

Called SuperBungalows on Marathon, the nine-unit apartment building is located on a sloped site in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighbourhood.

The project was created by SuperLA, a local design and development firm. The company was started by entrepreneur Aaron van Schaik, who has worked in the real estate industry in his native Australia, along with New York.

SuperBungalows is the first completed project by the company, which aims to "radically reconsider how housing is produced around the world".

To speed up the design, permitting and construction process, founder van Schaik believes in "treating homes as products, rather than one-off projects".

His firm has created a system that "can be dropped into place" using prefabricated panelised building components. The design prioritises natural light, fresh air, eco-friendly materials (including mass timber) and cost-effective construction methods.

"His primary goal is to productise and panelise the architectural design process – shifting it from a piecemeal procedure in which each new project requires a new architect, a new path through city planning, a new contractor and tons of money – to a streamlined replicable approach," the team said.

The system was used to create SuperBungalows, which is rectangular in plan and rises four levels. The bottom level is partly underground and reserved for parking. The building also has a rooftop terrace.

A hybrid system of mass timber and light-frame wood was used to construct the building. This is the first time this type of system has been used for a multifamily project in southern California, according to the team.

Floors, walkway panels and the roof are made of cross-laminated timber. The vertical structural system consists of glued-laminated posts and beams combined with light-frame wood. The building is supported by a concrete foundation.

The exterior is clad with a type of ceramic-coated, fibre-cement siding known for its durability, recyclability and design flexibility.

"It also features a photocatalytic coating that helps purify the air, delivering the same pollution-fighting power as 68 poplar trees on a 10,000-square-foot (929-square-metres) building," the team said.

Exterior fencing is made of cedar slats, which "give off a pleasant, natural scent near the entryway". Planter walls are capped with broken-up pieces of recycled concrete, called urbanite.

The building offers six one-bedroom rental units and three with two bedrooms. Each unit is separated by walkways and terraces to ensure there are no shared walls.

"This layout reimagines the traditional bungalow courts, offering both privacy and a distinctive living experience," the team said.

Apartments feature an open-concept area for cooking, dining and lounging, designed to maximise space and establish a feeling of openness. The two-bedroom units have room for a dining table, while the one-bedroom units utilize the kitchen island counter for dining.

"Spacious terraces, along with large operable windows, invite abundant natural light and air into the homes while creating a seamless connection to nature," the team added.

Earthy materials also provide a connection to nature and promote a healthy indoor environment.

Cabinetry in the kitchen and bedrooms is made of maple plywood sourced from sustainably managed forests and sealed with a zero-VOC, bio-based polyurethane.

Kitchen countertops are made of recycled quartz. Backsplashes are clad in porcelain tile with rectified edges, allowing for a thin grout line. Structural mass timber panels were left exposed.

For finishes, fixtures and appliances, SuperLA used a brand partnership model, in which it teamed up with established and emerging brands to offer details "rarely seen in multifamily housing".

Apartments feature Fisher & Paykel appliances, lighting by RBW, cork flooring by Capri, plywood from Roseburg, tile by Mosa, and Pella windows. The building is all-electric, and most of its energy is generated via solar panels.

Van Schaik hopes to use the SuperBungalows on Marathon project as a case study, showing an approach to housing that is humane, efficient and replicable.

"Approaching the construction of complex multifamily projects this way reduces construction costs and time, increases efficiency, and allows for replication in multiple neighbourhoods, cities and states," said SuperLA.

"By pre-designing our homes as set products, optimising our team, panelizing our builds and partnering with amazing brands, we're able to build smarter and more efficiently."

Other innovative approaches to multifamily housing in LA include a row of sculptural metal-clad homes by LOHA that explore possibilities for the "small lot subdivision typology", and a cluster of house-shaped volumes, each containing several residences, that was designed by Bestor Architecture as an example of "stealth density".

The photography is by Madeline Tolle.

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A wavy, terracotta lattice stretches along the front of the concrete Iztapalapa PILARES Community Center, which was designed by architectural studio Fernanda Canales to "empower community members".

Located in Iztapalapa – a heavily populated borough in Mexico City known for its high crime rate –  the building was designed as part of the government-backed Points of Innovation, Freedom, Art, Education and Knowledge (PILARES) programme.

The programme works to build supportive public facilities in vulnerable areas across the city.

"Iztapalapa PILARES Community Center is part of a series of projects that make up an initiative of the Mexico City government to provide cultural and learning centres for the city's most neglected neighbourhoods and marginalised communities – offering classes, workshops and various activities in a safe atmosphere," said the architecture studio.

The Iztapalapa centre is situated next to a men's penitentiary – a 633-square-metre building that includes workshops and classrooms for activities such as carpentry, gastronomy, body art, internet training and reading.

"This project aims to empower community members to equip them with positive tools to cope with everyday life," the team said.

The facility consists of single-storey, rectilinear volumes arranged around a central outdoor space.

Envisioned as an agora, the open-air space is divided up into four rounded components, each treated as an individual courtyard.

The layout can be viewed as "two arms that open towards the courtyards, embracing them", the firm said.

The outdoor space connects all the interior rooms and eliminated the need for corridors.

For the structural system, the team used concrete slabs and columns. Small spans helped ensure an efficient construction process.

Walls were made of concrete block. Along the entrance facade, the team added an undulating lattice made of porous terracotta bricks with a triangular pattern.

Throughout the facility, concrete was left in its natural state, with no paint or coatings, to enable easy maintenance.

"All the finishes and equipment were proposed having in mind that they should be affordable and long-lasting," the team said.

The team incorporated standard doors and window frames, and lighting fixtures were all surface-mounted, allowing for easy maintenance and replacements.

Sliding glass doors and operable windows facilitate cross ventilation and bring in natural light.

Surrounding the building are green spaces for gardening, sports and recreation.

Other projects in Mexico include a community centre for the elderly that features a circular form and simple materials, and a rural house made up of black boxes set around a courtyard.

The photography is by Onnis Luque and Rafael Gamo.

Project credits:

Architecture: Fernanda Canales
Collaborators: Aarón Jassiel Pérez, Iris López Rico, and Marco Antonio López Rico
Structural engineering: Gerson Huerta, Grupo SAI
Construction: DE ARQ Diseño de Espacios

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American studio S9 Architecture has completed a building for The Cleveland Foundation that features warm cedar cladding, large windows and a post-and-beam structural system made of mass timber.

Located in Cleveland, Ohio, the building sits on the southern edge of the Hough neighbourhood, which lies just beyond the downtown area and has an important history.

The headquarters building is the first completed structure in an innovation district spearheaded by The Cleveland Foundation, which is focused on enhancing the lives of residents through grant making, leadership activities and other efforts.

A goal of the innovation district is to "heal physical scars" in the Hough neighbourhood, which is a predominantly Black community that was "immensely damaged during social strife of the 1960s", the team said. The area was the scene of riots in 1966.

The neighbourhood is evolving, and the new innovation district aims to offer community facilities, catalysts for economic growth, and a connection to the larger city fabric.

A main goal for the foundation headquarters building was to create a "community house" that felt welcoming and transparent. The building serves as both an office building and a community facility.

"Within and along the edges of the building, the intent was to soften and blur the lines between public and private realm, indoor and outdoor spaces, and community and place," said New York-based S9 Architecture.

The building's design was the result of extensive analysis of the context. The site is adjacent to a grassy park, along with an early 1800s tavern that is one the oldest buildings in Cleveland.

"The site is adjacent to the historic Dunham Tavern and borders three distinct conditions: park, city and neighbourhood," the team said. "The merging of these conditions is a strong basis for the design."

Rectangular in plan, the building rises three levels and totals 50,000 square feet (4,645 square metres). Its boxy form is broken up via cutouts and setbacks.

Along the elevation facing a major street, the building pulls back to form a public plaza.

Large windows provide outward views of the area, while also enabling passers-by to peer inside.

"Large areas of transparency display the workings of the foundation and the community spaces representing the foundation's values," the team said.

To make the building even more welcoming, the team clad the building in Western red cedar, a material with a warm quality. Accent panels are made of aluminium.

The structural system is a mix of larch wood columns, spruce beams and concrete floor slabs over corrugated metal decking.

Inside, one finds a mix of work and social spaces meant to feel open and comfortable.

The ground level holds a lounge, cafe, a large multipurpose room and a series of smaller conference rooms. The first floor encompasses offices and meeting areas, along with a cafe adjoining a terrace.

The top level features a boardroom/event space and a green roof.

At the heart of the building is a wooden "community staircase", where people can hang out and connect. Overhead, a large skylight ushers in natural light.

For the interior material palette, the team used a mix of industrial and earthy materials, from the stained maple stair to the concrete flooring. The structural system was left exposed.

The building has a number of sustainable features, including a 250-kilowatt solar canopy, a high-performance building envelope and a rainwater capture system. The building has earned LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

Other projects by S9 Architecture include a tall residential building with a wavy, gridded facade and a luxury apartment tower that cantilevers over a low-rise structure. Both projects are in Manhattan.

The photography is by Peio Erroteta.

Project credits:

Design architect: S9 Architecture
Architect of record: Vocon
Civil/structural engineer: Osborn Engineering
MEP and FP engineer: Karpinski Engineering
Sustainability consultant: Emerald Built Environments
Landscape architect: Deru Landscape Architecture
Timber design-builder: Structure Craft
General contractor: Panzica Construction Company

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Chiselled stone walls and vast stretches of glass define a coastal California home by US studio Field Architecture, which was designed to "bring the residents closer to nature with every turn".

The house sits on a rugged peninsula in Big Sur, a scenic region in central California that stretches along the Pacific Ocean.

The site features cypress trees and a ravine that winds down toward the ocean, while the house consists of a collection of volumes set around the ravine and perched on a bluff.

"The layout of the house follows the natural topography, echoing the cliff as it aligns with the shape of the land," said Field Architecture, which is based in Palo Alto.

"Its volumes form a series of protected garden courtyards that provide shelter from the sun and wind."

The ravine divides the home into two parts. A traditional Japanese entrance pavilion, called a genkan, is situated on one side, and the main house is positioned on the other.

The two portions are connected by a glass-enclosed bridge that traverses the ravine.

"Movement through the house is orchestrated as a series of framed views of the landscape that bring the residents closer to nature with every turn," the team said.

Rising two levels, the home opens up on the west to maximise views of the water. The eastern portion of the house burrows into the site and contains more sheltered rooms.

A centrally placed kitchen adjoins a terrace and an infinity pool. A sculptural island in the kitchen alludes to the organic forms found in nature.

For the material palette, the team primarily used wood and stone.

"The dialogue between the hard and soft textures, and their cool and warm qualities, complements the surrounding landscapes," the team said.

Facades are clad in quarried limestone that was laid in thin courses, a reference to the striations in the region's cliffs. Faceted walls resemble chiselled rocky outcrops.

The house is topped with a thin roof plane that extends beyond the building, providing some protection from the elements. Large stretches of glass offer immersive views of the terrain while ushering in daylight.

"A continuous band of clerestory windows between the walls and roof allow natural light to illuminate the house, changing throughout the days and seasons," the team said.

Interior finishes include wide-plank flooring made of reclaimed teak, which establishes a "calm foundation".

Teak was also used for the deck and engawa, which is a wooden or bamboo ledge that runs along the outside edge of traditional Japanese buildings.

In this case, the engawa runs along the northern elevation of the main house and faces the ravine.

Field Architecture – led by the father-and-son team of Stan and Jess Field – has completed a range of buildings in California, including a Sonoma Valley house composed of copper-clad pavilions and a synagogue in Palo Alto wrapped in a lattice made of salvaged wood.

The photography is by Joe Fletcher.

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A glazed conservatory with a pleated roof is among the enhancements to the century-old Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, designed by New York studio Weiss/Manfredi and landscape firm Reed Hilderbrand.

The project – called Longwood Reimagined – involved a range of updates to the 1,100-acre (445-hectare) horticultural garden in the town of Kennett Square, located about an hour's drive from Philadelphia.

Situated in the verdant Brandywine Valley, the property was once the private estate of wealthy industrialist Pierre S Du Pont, which he purchased in 1906. Upon his death in 1954, the property became a public garden and today features more than 10,000 species of plants.

Over a decade ago, the site's nonprofit owner, The Longwood Foundation, set out to update a central portion of the site, totalling 17 acres (6.9 hectares). In addition to new landscapes, the project called for several new structures and the renovation of existing facilities.

New York-based studio Weiss/Manfredi served as the architect, and Massachusetts-based Reed Hilderbrand was the landscape architect. The studios aimed to shape a narrative journey for visitors, creating different experiences for the different spaces.

"We envisioned this transformation of 17 acres as a cinematic journey, a sequence of experiences that range from intimate to grand, reshaping the western grounds into a cultural campus that brings Longwood into a new century," said studio principals Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi.

The centrepiece of the project is the West Conservatory, a 2,973-square-metre (32,000-square-foot) glazed building that holds a Mediterranean garden. Featuring a roof with "asymmetrical, crystalline peaks", the building appears to float over a shallow pool.

"The pleated roof, branching columns and tapered perspectives extend the marriage of architecture and horticulture that is intrinsic to Longwood's identity," said Weiss and Manfredi.

Inside the West Conservatory, one finds canals, bridges, stone paths and brick-lined terraces. The garden features 60 species of permanent plants, with an additional 90 species introduced seasonally throughout the year.

The main level of the building is passively cooled and heated via a series of 300-foot-long (91-metre) tubes buried underground. Fresh air passes through the "earth ducts" and is naturally cooled or warmed by the earth, depending on the season.

The building's lower level is cooled and heated by a system of 128 geothermal wells drilled approximately 96 metres deep (315 feet).

In addition to the West Conservatory, a smaller conservatory – this one totalling 353 square metres (3,800 square feet) – was built to conserve a tropical landscape created in 1992 by the late Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx.

Called the Cascade Garden, the installation consists of lush plants, rock walls, pools and waterfalls. It formerly was on view in an older building on campus and represents Marx's only surviving project in North America.

Beyond the conservatories, the project entailed the utilisation of an existing administrative building called the Grove, which contains staff offices, classrooms and a 20,000-volume library. A glazed facade features tall screens and roof canopies that help mitigate solar heat gain.

Longwood's fine-dining restaurant was relocated to a new space behind the main conservatory. A retaining wall was removed to make way for the eatery, which has a vaulted ceiling and large arched windows providing direct views of a central fountain.

The project also entailed restoring a century-old structure that holds a prized orchid collection and creating an outdoor bonsai gallery.

Clipped hornbeam hedges were used to create rooms within the open-air bonsai gallery, where some plants are more than 110 years old. Charred wood walls, cast-stone panels and cypress pedestals are among the other design elements, along with Yoshino cherry trees.

Adjacent to the bonsai gallery is a workshop, which is housed in a former potting shed.

The sweeping project also entailed interventions in the spaces between the buildings, such as new trees, generous promenades and shaded overlooks. A new arcade brings renewed focus to the property's historical Waterlily Court, which was also restored.

Other horticultural and botanical gardens in the US include the "world's first net-positive energy" botanical garden in Florida by studios Olin and Overland, and an Oregon botanical garden that features an aerial tree walk, a wooden event pavilion and other elements designed by Land Morphology and Olson Kundig Architects.

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Local architecture studio Swatt + Partners has used two vertical concrete slabs to support a "wood-framed glass box" that floats over the landscape and holds a home office.

The project, called Moss Rock, sits on a nine-acre (3.6-hectare) rural property in Healdsburg, a town in northern California's wine country.

Situated in Dry Creek Valley, the site features a dense forest of Douglas fir, madrone and oak trees.

The property has a two-storey house that was designed in 2008 by Swatt + Partners, a studio based in the Bay Area city of Emeryville. The new owners asked the firm to add a home office, separated from the main house.

The team conceived a rectangular building that lies west of the main dwelling and is designed to minimise impact to the landscape.

Part of the building floats over a narrow, flat pad, and part of it extends over a steep slope.

The building is supported by a pair of vertical, cast-in-place concrete core elements.

"The new structure is a crisp, wood-framed glass box that hovers just above the flat portion while it soars above the down-sloping topography on the southwest corner of the building," the team said.

The floor and roof planes are clad in horizontal boards made of Western red cedar, the same material used for the main house. Glazed walls offer immersive views of the natural setting.

Inside, one finds a single room with exposed concrete, wooden casework and contemporary decor.

The project also entailed several enhancements to other areas of the property, including a new infinity-edge pool, terraces and rustic water features.

Altogether, the new additions are meant to "form an idyllic compound of beautiful architecture, set in a spectacular garden environment in the northern California wine country", the team said.

Swatt + Partners was co-founded by architect Robert Swatt, formerly of Swatt Miers, who started his first architectural practice in 1975. Swatt + Partners was launched in 2024 and is led by Swatt and partners Miya Muraki and Phoebe Wong-Oliveros.

Swatt's past work includes a contemporary home on a working vineyard in Sonoma County and a trio of glass pavilions that are meant to serve as quiet, contemplative spaces free from the internet and television.

The photography is by Jason Liske.

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Architect Lorcan O'Herlihy of LOHA has created a concrete home in Malibu, USA, to replace a 1980s house he designed for his parents, which was destroyed by a 2018 wildfire.

Named Trancas House 2.0, the home sits on a hilly site in Malibu that has views towards the Pacific Ocean.

The home, which completed in 2024, was not affected by the recent Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed over 6,800 structures.

However, a wildfire in 2018 destroyed a home on the property that O'Herlihy had designed for his parents in 1985. At the time of the original project, O'Herlihy was in his 20s and just starting his career.

Composed of white, modernist forms, the home – called Trancas House – garnered acclaim and was featured in a national architectural magazine. O'Herlihy's parents lived there until his father's death in 2005, when his mother sold the house.

In 2018, the current homeowners called up O'Herlihy to notify him the house had burned down in the Woolsey Fire. That fire destroyed over 1,600 structures, including several hundred homes in Malibu.

"In the wake of destruction, the owners decided to reach out to Lorcan to design a new house," said LOHA, the architecture firm started by O'Herlihy in 1994.

"The opportunity to bring the house back to life, implementing climate-conscious tactics to resist any future wildfires, was an extraordinary experience."

For the new house, O'Herlihy and his team conceived a series of single-storey, rectilinear volumes designed to integrate with the site and optimise views.

Mindful of the ongoing threat of wildfire, the team created a "fire-resistant structure" that was designed to withstand future blazes.

Rather than traditional wood framing and stucco-clad facades, the team created an "indestructible frame" made of board-formed concrete.

Floors, roofs and walls were made of concrete, and windows are framed in black metal.

The house has no attics and no flammable eaves, and ventilation openings are covered with "spark-arresting screens". The home also has interior sprinklers.

The landscape design, conceived in collaboration with local designer Michael Boyd, is meant to mitigate the spread of fire. The property also has turn-around space for firetrucks and hose connections.

The home's footprint mostly aligns with the footprint of the original home – a strategy to help fast track the project, so the owners could move back to the site as soon as possible.

After the Woolsey Fire, the Malibu Building Council reduced planning approval for reconstructed houses from a few years to a few months if the new design largely followed the footprint of the original house.

Totalling 4,800 square feet (446 square metres), the new residence consists of a main dwelling and separate guesthouse, which are set around a rear terrace and swimming pool. There also is a detached garage near the front entrance.

The house was organised along two perpendicular axes that intersect in the home's entrance gallery. One axis points toward the ocean, while the other points toward Trancas Canyon.

An abstracted, metal pergola leads to the home's front door. Upon entering, one is afforded views that extend through the house and out toward the pool, set against the canyon's edge.

The layout features a division between public and private areas. One side of the main dwelling holds the public spaces – a kitchen, dining area and living room – while the other side contains three bedrooms and a den.

Interior materials include polished concrete floors, cabinetry with an oak veneer, and white oak ceiling slats in the great room.

The team incorporated a number of passive design strategies, including a cool roof and large glass doors that facilitate natural ventilation. Multiple light wells, which extend above the roofline, bright daylight deep into the home.

In addition to passive strategies, the house has high-efficiency heat pumps and low-flow plumbing fixtures.

"The concrete also keeps the house cool during the summer and warm during the winter," the team said.

Other projects by LOHA include the conversion of a neglected 1990s house in Malibu into a family residence with framed views of the terrain, and a row of sculptural, metal-clad homes in Los Angeles that demonstrate possibilities for the "small lot subdivision typology".

The photography is by Paul Vu.

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US studio Desai Chia Architecture has merged barn design with "a contemporary sensibility" to create the Clinton Corners House, which features charred cedar facades and a crisp silhouette.

As the name suggests, the project is located in Clinton Corners, an agrarian community about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of New York City.

Situated on a rural property with views of meadows and a forest, the Upstate New York building serves as a nature retreat for urban dwellers.

"The owners' goal was to create a fun, flowing atmosphere in which to raise their children, host guests during the holidays, and enjoy a respite from the city," said Desai Chia Architecture, which is based in Manhattan.

To design the house, the architects looked to the area's farm structures.

"Designed with its agricultural context in mind, the home borrows from vernacular barn vocabulary, but with a contemporary sensibility," the team said.

Set within a grassy hill, the rectangular, two-storey house has a crisp, gabled form.

The walls are clad in Western red cedar that was charred using the shou sugi ban method, an ancient Japanese technique. The roof – which is flush with the walls – is covered in standing-seam metal.

The house is hidden from the road and emerges slowly. Upon approach, it appears to have only one level due to the lower portion being tucked into the slope.

A concrete retaining wall helps support the house and allows both levels to have "at-grade" access to the site.

"Berming the lower level into the landscape integrates the architecture with the rolling topography, and allows the earth's temperature to moderate the interior temperature on both floors," the team said.

Inside the dwelling, one finds bright rooms, neutral colours and durable finishes. Spaces were designed with kids and visitors in mind.

The top level contains a mix of public and private areas. Bedrooms are located on the ends of the plan, while the central portion holds an open-concept kitchen, dining area and living room.

The great room features a vaulted ceiling crossed by thin, metal tie rods – a contemporary take on exposed wooden beams found in barns.

"The slender members accentuate the lifted volume and express the structure with delicacy and lightness," the team said.

One end is anchored by a black sculptural fireplace that draws the eye upward. Its asymmetrical form "references the unexpected geometries in nearby vernacular buildings".

The kitchen anchors the other side of the gathering space with dark materials that mimic those used for the hearth.

Finishes include white oak flooring and wall panels. Large stretches of glass provide expansive views of the natural setting.

The lower level contains a family room, gym, laundry area and two bedrooms. This level spills out toward a patio and swimming pool.

Along the rear elevation, an outdoor stair lined with dark walls connects terraces on both levels. Like other aspects of the home, the stair's design alludes to farm structures.

"Its monolithic form takes cues from agricultural grain chutes and encourages an easy flow between the home's two levels of social spaces and the pool," the team said.

In total, the home has five terraces – two on the lower level and three up above. These outdoor spaces are meant to offer "ample opportunities to enjoy the idyllic views".

Other projects by Desai Chia Architecture include a waterfront home in Upstate New York with wing-like roofs and a Connecticut house with charred wooden cladding and spaces for outdoor artwork.

The photography is by Paul Warchol.

Project credits:

Architecture: Desai Chia Architecture
Structural engineering: Murray Engineering
Civil engineering: Crawford & Associates
Contractor: Structure Works
Landscape: Luppino Landscaping & Masonry
Pool: Scott Pools

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A doughnut-shaped terrace and green roofs covered with sedum are among the standout features of a V-shaped research facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, designed by local architecture studio Payette.

Created as a partnership between Mass General, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, the Ragon Institute serves as a hub for research on infectious diseases such as HIV-AIDS and Covid-19.

Totalling 323,000 square feet (30,008 square metres), the building is located on a triangular site at the edge of the MIT campus in Cambridge, just across from Boston.

It sits within the Kendall Square neighbourhood, which is home to several research buildings and tech companies.

Designed by Boston firm Payette, the Ragon facility rises five levels and has an underground parking garage.

Envisioned as a "gentle sweep" of mass, the building follows the shape of the site and is roughly V-shaped in plan. The upper levels cantilever over a base level, resulting in a floating effect.

"The design approach embraced the unusual triangular site as a singular object by floating the mass above a continuous band of landscape on all sides," the studio said.

Resilience was a concern for the team, given that the building sits within a 100-year flood zone. The Kendall Square neighbourhood is bordered by the Charles River.

"The building has been elevated above the floodplain, with protective measures for the below-grade garage to mitigate against extreme weather events," the team said.

The base portion of the building features earthy materials, such as quartzite and anodized copper. The upper part was designed to be "soft and light" and is wrapped in glass and vertical aluminium fins.

"The textured staccato of the sunshades lends a dynamic quality and a sense of movement to the composition," the team said.

In addition to preserving two mature linden trees on the site, the team planted a variety of vegetation to help form a "climate-resilient landscape". The building also has living roofs covered in sedum.

The main entrance features a courtyard with a rounded garden. Sheltering the courtyard is a canopy structure with a large oculus, enabling daylight to penetrate below.

Atop the canopy is a green roof and doughnut-shaped terrace.

Within the building, there is a tall, multi-storey atrium with curvy lines, a spiral staircase and a large skylight. Research labs are positioned around this central communal area.

Interior finishes include cherry-veneer wall panels with micro-perforations to aid in acoustics. The flooring throughout the facility is a mix of terrazzo, rubber tiles and broadloom carpeting.

The materials in the building are "red-list free", meaning they do not appear on the Living Future organization's list of harmful chemicals and materials.

A number of energy-saving elements were incorporated into the building's design, such as a triple-glazed curtain wall and high-performance mechanical system.

The facility is expected to achieve a 61 per cent reduction in energy consumption compared to a typical building, according to Payette.

"The building also incorporates a water-reuse system, capturing water from the laboratory water-purification system and mechanical system for reuse in irrigation, site water features and a cooling tower," the team said.

Other projects by Payette include an academic building at Boston's Northeastern University, which features a rooftop garden and facades wrapped in a "solar veil" made of metal strips.

The photography is by Robert Benson unless otherwise stated.

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Architect Price Harrison has designed a stucco-clad home for himself in Tennessee called Green Hills Residence, which features an open-air courtyard and interior spaces that prioritise the display of artwork.

Located in Nashville's Green Hills neighbourhood, the house sits on a sloped, one-acre site bordered by woodlands. Deer, foxes, hawks and other creatures regularly venture onto the property.

The architect, who runs local studio Price Harrison Architect, designed the residence for himself and his wife.

The architecture is meant to serve as a backdrop for the Harrisons' collection of photography and minimalist art.

"The project was conceived as an art gallery that functions as a primary residence," the architect said.

The rectilinear house is roughly L-shaped in plan and totals 3,400 square feet (316 square metres). The inner part is cut away to form an open-air courtyard.

"The residence was designed as a set of cubic volumes arranged around an outdoor courtyard," the architect said.

Facades are clad in dark concrete stucco that allows the home to "nearly disappear at night".

"The dark anthracite-coloured stucco was selected to mimic the organic quality and colour of tree bark," said Harrison.

The layout enables the Harrisons to live on the ground floor, while guests can stay in the two bedrooms located on the upper level.

Public and private areas are separated on the ground floor. The open-plan kitchen, dining area and living room occupy one side of the plan, and the main bedroom and an office occupy the other.

Between them is the courtyard, which is visible through large stretches of glazing.

The courtyard is paved with flamed granite, which has a rough surface created through heating the stone until its grains burst.

Interior finishes include wide-plank flooring made of engineered oak, and cabinetry coated with conversion varnish, a special type of lacquer.

The kitchen features a blackened wenge-wood veneer and white quartz countertops.

Local interior designer Marilyn McMackin was enlisted to create a "cohesive setting" for the Harrisons' art collection.

"Furniture and fabrics were selected in a range of silvery grays and muted blacks," the team said.

"The monochromatic material palette highlights the colour in the artwork and glass accessories."

The living area features a geometric rug designed by Harrison. Stretching overhead is a faceted ceiling installation made of birch plywood, which was coated in lacquer and mounted in sections on a metal track.

"The ceiling cloud in the living and dining areas was designed as an acoustic diffuser to improve conversation quality and minimise audio reflections in the large space," the architect said.

The all-electric house is fitted with high-efficiency mechanical systems and appliances. Electronic sensors monitor the air quality, and all coatings and paints are low VOC.

Other Tennessee projects include a rural home by Sanders Pace Architecture that takes cues from traditional Japanese architecture and a Nashville house by Hastings that is fronted by a monolithic facade made of concrete and weathering steel.

The photography is by Keith Isaacs.

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Chilean studio Hebra Arquitectos has completed a house in southern Chile with native oak cladding and faceted roofs laid out along a V-shaped plan to provide the best views of a lake.

The project was designed for a couple who wanted a holiday home with plenty of space for visits from their three adult daughters.

Located in Chile's Los Ríos region, the house rests on a sloped site and looks toward Lake Ranco.

A key goal for the architecture studio was to capture lake views to the south while allowing the home to receive sunlight along the northern facade.

In response, the team composed a house made of two volumes that are square in plan, rotated at 45 degrees to each other. The house rises two levels and is topped with faceted metal roofs.

The team used earthy materials both inside and out to connect the house to its natural setting.

"In search of a relationship with the site, native woods were used – hualle oak for the exterior and interior cladding, and coigüe for the furniture doors in the common areas," said Santiago-based Hebra Arquitectos.

Within the dwelling, one finds a separation between public and private spaces.

One volume contains a double-height kitchen, dining space and living room. Tall glass panels were placed above the kitchen to bring in sunlight from the north and facilitate cross ventilation.

In the upper portion of the communal area, the team inserted a media room and office for telecommuting. Its interior wall is glazed, helping reinforce the airy feel of the public volume.

The mezzanine is accessed via a bridge that runs along one wall and is lined with a black metal railing. The same wall features a prefabricated metal shelving system with space for wine, books, and decor.

The public zone also features a deep, south-facing terrace, where occupants can take in views of the scenic terrain.

The other volume contains a primary bedroom and three guest rooms. Sleeping space was maximised in the guest rooms.

"They were designed with a double bed at the base and two beds above it, which cross from side to side, to allow flexibility in their use," the team said.

In addition to the two primary volumes, the house has a small protrusion along the northern elevation, which holds an entry vestibule. Its curved form and black wood cladding contrast with the main house.

Other projects in Chile by Hebra Arquitectos include a T-shaped home that took cues from old wooden barns, and an elevated, wood-and-glass cabin that was designed for a wheelchair user.

The photography is by Marcos Zegers.

Project credits:

Architecture: Hebra Arquitectos
Team: Simón Pérez, Esteban Cubillos, Vicente Cubillos
Structural engineering: Pedro Valenzuela

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