Housing

A custom rain-gutter system collects even slight amounts of precipitation in an underground cistern and distributes it to the yard. The Cor-Ten pivoting window is by Brian Linn of Vincent Designs.

The master bath incorporates custom cabinets by Bob Clausen, fixtures by Grohe, Hansgrohe, and Kohler, and a sink by Duravit. Plush Lisbon cork carpets the floor.

The 99th Street plan is shown here. "Layouts were driven by the most basic design principles: hyper-efficient floor plans that minimize circulation with singularly-located plumbing stacks," Lehrer says. "The roof slope and roof-site drainage was also made as simple as possible. The continuum of public to private space was carefully orchestrated."

The 53rd Street Prototype was built on a 40-foot-wide lot.

While each of the floor plans varies based on the lot they were constructed on, they share similar characteristics. The 74th Street Prototype is shown here.

The stairs lead to a sleeping loft outfitted with a mechanical skylight.

In the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, architect Barbara Bestor designed Blackbirds, a multi-family housing development with 18 detached and semi-detached homes ranging from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet each. Bestor says she approached the project with a strategy towards "stealth density," attuned to the scale and context of the neighborhood. "I have a romantic idea about individuals densifying L.A. as opposed to large developers doing twnety blocks at a time," she says. Spacious interiors open up to expansive views of the hills beyond.