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Collection by Diana Budds

Detail We Love: Butterfly Roofs

Along with the gable and the A-frame, the butterfly roof is among the most distinctive of silhouettes. Seven Dwell favorites follow.

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In need of more room for their growing brood, Eric and Emma Gimon, with Luc, Paul, baby Louise, and their dog, Nefi, asked for a private space to accompany the house designed for Eric’s great-aunt.
In need of more room for their growing brood, Eric and Emma Gimon, with Luc, Paul, baby Louise, and their dog, Nefi, asked for a private space to accompany the house designed for Eric’s great-aunt.
Prefab house in Muskö, Sweden
Prefab house in Muskö, Sweden
The decidedly nontraditional structure includes a front wall that opens the living room onto the front yard—and to the rest of the neighborhood, which has enthusiastically welcomed the house and its owner.
The decidedly nontraditional structure includes a front wall that opens the living room onto the front yard—and to the rest of the neighborhood, which has enthusiastically welcomed the house and its owner.
After a 40-year-old pine tree fell over on a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles, the owner let it lie, and the continued to grow from its newfound horizontal position. He decided to incorporate it into a 172-square-foot office and guest house with the structure floating above the tree. Around the perimeter of the butterfly roof is a clerestory that gives the illusion that the roof is floating.
After a 40-year-old pine tree fell over on a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles, the owner let it lie, and the continued to grow from its newfound horizontal position. He decided to incorporate it into a 172-square-foot office and guest house with the structure floating above the tree. Around the perimeter of the butterfly roof is a clerestory that gives the illusion that the roof is floating.
This contemporary retreat built on a four-and-a-half-acre plot of land in Martha's Vineyard was designed by Harvard professor and architect, Toshiko Mori. Photos by: Iwan Baan
This contemporary retreat built on a four-and-a-half-acre plot of land in Martha's Vineyard was designed by Harvard professor and architect, Toshiko Mori. Photos by: Iwan Baan
The restoration of Marcel Breuer's House in a Museum Garden is an exercise in balancing the Bauhaus architect's original intent with the realities of everyday living. Photograph by Diana Budds.
The restoration of Marcel Breuer's House in a Museum Garden is an exercise in balancing the Bauhaus architect's original intent with the realities of everyday living. Photograph by Diana Budds.