Montreal

For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design.

Manufactured with up to 70 percent recycled steel, the hybrid prefab Graham Residence by Blue Sky Building System limits construction waste to the factory, where it's recycled.

The front deck, invisible from the road, is an extension of the wood paneling in the main living space.

For O’Reilly, paring the design back to a minimum was important from both an aesthetic and budget standpoint.

One of the most significant of Mies' works, the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, was built between 1945 and 1951 for Dr. Edith Farnsworth as a weekend retreat. The home embraces his concept of a strong connection between structure and nature, and may be the fullest expression of his modernist ideals.

The exterior walls are built from large blocks of locally quarried stone.

Perched on a hillside, the midcentury-inspired home is well integrated into the natural landscape.

Spruce and pine cladding echo the verticality of the tree trunks surrounding the cabins.

For an escape from bustling San Francisco, architect Craig Steely and his wife Cathy have created a modernist getaway on a lava field next to a black sand beach on Hawaii’s Big Island. Fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the ocean, the steel-framed home is one of several homes that Steely built on the recently active lava field.