A single-family home conceived as a series of pavilions harmonizes with its site, while showcasing several art-meets-architecture pieces.

David Stark Wilson, AIA, is one of those rare architects who pursues passions beyond his profession. An avid mountaineer and photographer (his third monograph is soon to be hot-off-the-press), Stark Wilson’s love of nature is evident in his built work, particularly in his designs’ relationships with their sites and his subtle incorporation of texture and color. He founded the design/build firm WA Design in San Francisco’s Bay Area in the mid-1980s. Since then, the firm has completed a range of residential and commercial projects including the Saratoga Creek House, for which it simultaneously served as architect and contractor.

A second home in Connecticut features an earthy materials palette that is detailed to look clean and contemporary.

Architect Alan Organschi’s experience as a cabinet maker and carpenter colors his firm’s thoughtfully detailed designs, which celebrate materiality. He believes this hands-on approach has set the ethos for his practice, Gray Organschi Architecture, which he founded with partner Lisa Gray in New Haven, Connecticut. The duo has designed a range of institutional, commercial, and residential projects, such as the Kent House. The design of this home exemplifies the unique balance the firm has achieved between functional and bespoke.

Old is made new again – and made greener – in this Phoenix-area home, designed by Circle West Architects.

Is an architect's toughest client himself? Not when he has a crystal clear vision for his family’s home. Phoenix-based architect Peter Koliopoulos, AIA, founder and president of Circle West Architects, drew on his Miesian training at the Illinois Institute of Technology to transform a 30-year-old concrete block and stucco home in the residential neighborhood of Paradise Valley into a modern crystal that rises from the revegetated desert landscape.

Oversized homes are going out of style. Check out these seven ways to live more graciously in a small space.

Are you ready for a pop quiz? True or false: it’s easier to live better when you have more.

Conventional wisdom would have us believe it’s true, but it’s 100% false, says designer John M. Stephens, ASID, owner of John M. Stephens Design in New Orleans. Living well is a way of being in your space and caring for your things. “Gracious living is living in the best possible way no matter what your circumstances are,” he says. It’s about taking the time to make the small details special, from how you display your favorite pieces to how you make guests feel welcome. “It’s really taking all the small pieces of your life and putting them together so they make the whole better,” Stephens says.

Building a house over water can be challenging, but floating homes offer a unique way to connect with the landcape.

When Vandeventer + Carlander Architects, LLC were asked to create a Lake Union residence, it was assumed that they would be thinking outside the box, but oddly this time their thinking was required to be within a box. The Lake Union Floating home, located in the heart of downtown Seattle, is not the only residence of its kind, although it is far from being a commonplace building type in the United States. The landscape in the Seattle region is interlaced with waterways and has a long tradition of floating homes that take advantage of the area's gorgeous scenery. However, construction of the Lake Union Floating home presented challenges as well as advantages, and Vandeventer + Carlander Architects’ design navigated the site’s limitations while capturing its many assets.

A mountain home is gracefully sited to work with the topography and with the needs of its neighbors.

Located downslope from a steep ridgeline in the Blue Ridge Mountains, this month’s featured green home was selected because of its respectful and diligent site placement, conscientious construction process, energy- saving features, water conservation features, and use of regional materials.

An urban infill project in Venice, California, provides an example of flexible home design.

Multi-functional spaces have been receiving attention in the design world lately, as homes become smaller and every room must do double – or triple – duty. The 700 Palms Residence was designed by founding Principal Steven Ehrlich of Ehrlich Architects to have a modest carbon footprint and to fit into an existing residential community, so creating flexible spaces was key.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, more than half of small businesses within the United States are home-based. In addition, the practice of telecommuting is on the rise, even within traditional corporations. The 2010 American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that more than 22 million Americans now work from home for at least part of the day, and industry experts are predicting that this statistic will increase significantly within the next five years. With more and more Americans utilizing space within the home for business purposes, it’s no surprise that the home office is quickly becoming an area of focus for interior designers and DIY'ers.

In an effort to reduce the environmental impact of a cottage located near federally protected land, David Jameson Architect, Inc., quite literally reduced the building’s footprint. When a Washington, D.C., couple purchased their Church Creek, Maryland, property, it was equipped with an existing cottage, but Hurricane Isabel damaged that structure in 2003, and erecting a new building on the site became controversial.

When architecture must subordinate itself to centuries of history, the challenge facing the designer is to create a structure that is simple and retiring while still expressive of its own generation. Estes/Twombly Architects’ redesign of the Overall House in Concord, Massachusetts, achieved simplicity not only in terms of its massing but in terms of its program as well.

It’s that time again. The tuition bills start coming in. The textbooks start piling up. Relieved parents start counting down the days in anticipation of a little more peace and quiet… and students ready themselves emotionally for due dates, slop from the dining facility, and doing their own laundry. With the dread of the coming semester, however, students embrace the independence of getting out of the parental home and into the dorm. Making a dorm room feeling like home, however, can present a few challenges. Due to their smaller size and the fact that these spaces are often shared, dorms can present quite a few limitations on design – particularly if strict rules govern wall hangings and painting. We’ve come up with a few dorm design trends and ideas, however, that you can use to enhance your space and brighten your surroundings for the start of the school year.

The Delta Shelter, by Olson Kundig Architects, rises above its site on stilts. When unoccupied, it is shuttered against the elements and reduced to its simplest form: a metal box. In concept, it is not so different from the timber observation towers that are scattered throughout the North American wilderness and used for the purpose of hunting or habitat viewing. In fact, the 1,000 sq. ft. Delta Shelter, like its vernacular counterparts, is a rural retreat situated on a remote site in the North Cascade Mountains of Mazama, Washington.