Designed by Boston-based firm ZeroEnergy Design, this family home "consumes approximately 85% less energy than a comparable home built to the current energy code," says Stephanie T Horowitz AIA, Managing Director. "The energy savings are accomplished through a super-insulated building enclosure; airtight construction; efficient heating, cooling and ventilation; and a solar array on the roof." White stucco, shiplapped wood siding, and fiber cement panels adorn the exterior. The landscape architect was Soren deNiord.

Birdsall and Atticus are seated on an ipe bench designed by Anna Boeschenstein; the stucco exterior cladding was matched to Cast Iron 6202 paint by Sherwin-Williams.

“The new house is not shy to look across at the old house, where you can see old rough stucco on one building, and then the same stucco on our new building,” Jones says.

"The cedar siding is simply stained with a black semi-transparent oil stain [from Cabot], which allows the color of the wood to still emerge through,” architect Robert Hutchison says. “We love how the black color makes the building recede into the background, and how it in turn allows the trees on the site to emerge as the highlight.”

The 925-square-foot house Maggie Treanor calls home blends into the landscape somewhat; with a galvanized steel shed roof and siding, it looks like a high-design little brother to the barns on the surrounding farms.

Preservation Props Since the house is in a historic district, Beebe and Skidmore’s interventions were constrained by local guidelines, including a stipulation that the walls of the addition couldn’t line up with the walls of the existing house. They bumped the walls in by five feet on either side and painted the addition, clad in siding from Capital Lumber, a color complementary to the original building’s deep, bright blue. “A guy from Boise’s preservation office came by and said, ‘This is a perfect example of how we’d like people to build additions,’” says Dana. “We were pretty proud of that.” beebeskidmore.com capital-lumber.com

“From the street, it appears as a rectangular building with sloping shed roofs, but this is actually an illusion,” Hutchison notes. “The floor plan is actually U-shaped, wrapping around an entry courtyard that is contained by the continuous west facade.” A standing seam metal roof by Custom Bilt Metals blends in with the cedar siding.

The facade is clad with beveled siding, stained dark to meld into the forest.

Harper sits on the porch just off the entrance. James notes that the children spend their time “swimming in the dam, feeding the chickens, and riding their ponies or bikes. It’s really just the simple stuff that we had when we grew up in the late ’70s and ’80s."

Claire and Ken Stevens approached architect Ko Wibowo to create a modern addition to their 1970s home in Tacoma, Washington. The couple’s needs had changed since Ken was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a few years ago.

The home's white stucco exterior is actually a thin layer of stucco spread over a modern EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finishing System) from Dryvit.

The open plan living room and kitchen areas utilize natural materials, from reclaimed oak flooring to custom-made cabinetry. The Oscar sofa by Matthew Hilton from Future Perfect marks off the living room area.

While the proportions of the old brownstone’s facade remain congruous with others on its street, the stone has been replaced with stucco over foam. When knocked, it sounds entirely hollow.

A sexy new material takes the place of traditional siding.

For architect Stephen Chung, the design of his Wayland, Massachusetts, home was all about blending into the natural environment. The first floor is a serene composition of white and wood. The demand for a domestic office space inspired him to build up, adding a second floor for him to "experiment." In a departure from the Cape Cod aesthetic that rules his block, he was able to give the addition a modernist take, while also literally reflecting the existing landscape of the neighborhood. The entire 1,100-square-foot adjunct that encompasses his second story office-studio, master suite, and fort for his two young sons is swathed in mirrored siding and plate-glass windows.

Rough-sawn plywood and standing-seam metal siding clad the house. “In cabins, we like to use undressed materials, which lend themselves to the simplicity of the structure,” says architect Tom Lenchek.

“Color is difficult, and he was a true master,” says Roberto Davila, architect and Barragán tour guide with The Traveling Beetle.

The addition, which includes a bedroom and a bathroom, also boasts an enclosed deck, a feature recommended for those with Alzheimer’s. “Ken used to do the landscaping here,” says Wibowo. “He also put many of the shingles on the original house.”

Marco V. Morelli says his Studio Shed is the perfect refuge. “It’s changed my life for the better,” he says. “I’ve gotten so much more work done, and I think my marital relations are much better because I have a place of my own.”

The cabin’s basic structure was reclaimed from a barn built in 1840 and purchased from Heritage Barns out of Waco, Texas. The same company supplied the recycled wood that clads the walls, though the ceiling boards are new. “We stained them with a gray wash to match the tones of the post and beam, but with a more clean look,” Bronee explains. The concrete floors were polished and waxed for a sleek finish.

The home features a natural palette of materials: salvaged plank wood, stucco and metal.

“The goal I had was for a new building to be sympathetic to a quirky, soulful little cabin that was not modern in many ways,” Jones says. He mirrored the original home by incorporating the same cement stucco, painted pure white, with Douglas fir soffits. Two Douglas fir trees had to be cut down during construction, and they were repurposed throughout the home—including for this bench.

The rear facade is a surprisingly modern counterpoint to the traditional front. Here, traditional brick is traded for modern stucco.

Steel pipe columns and wood beams were recycled from a 1960s church carport; the old-growth fir sliding screens, fence, and gate originate from a heavy timber warehouse in Pioneer Square; the aluminum-and-glass garage door is reclaimed from a downtown condo conversion; and the studio’s shelving and track lighting is courtesy of workstations from another downtown building.

The original brise-soleil on the front facade was kept but repaired.

The Bigelows’ house throws a nod to its midcentury modern neighbors with its subdivided plan and shallow-pitched roof. The three pavilion layout was also partly in response to tough city restrictions regarding the removal of the various beech and redwood trees on the property. However, the Butler Armsden design team was able to use the profusion of trees to their advantage, creating lines of sight to foliage from almost anywhere in the house. The exterior features locally reclaimed redwood siding that provides another connection with the redwoods on the site. The stucco is painted in custom color-matched Benjamin Moore paint.

To create visual depth, the entrance of the Thorax House’s gray stucco facade is marked by a black aluminum canopy. The firm created custom signage using red Caesarstone quartz, which was cut using a CNC milling machine. “It’s like a suit with a nice tie,” Aliabadi says.

The house’s street-level entrance shows an openness to its surroundings, and a glass door allows curious passersby a glimpse of the interior.

Cuadra San Cristóbal is home to seven dogs, five horses, three cats, one parrot, and one rescued donkey.

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A private terrace overlooks an alleyway on the main floor’s southeastern end. “[The home’s] outdoor spaces are all to varying degrees extensions of interior space,” Schaer says.

Around 40 materials are introduced into the library each month, after undergoing a jury review process.

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