20 Best Modern Homes from the Midwest

The skylight boxes are clad in lap-seam metal panels, which Wheeler describes as an economical material choice.

Lauren Ewing’s stylish, but unassuming shotgun-style house in Vincennes, Indiana, is set into a hill overlooking a field she has known since childhood. Read more about this home made of local materials here.

Dow Chemical put Midland on the map, but architect and local scion Alden B. Dow made it the most modern town in Michigan. Dow’s masterpiece is undoubtedly his home and studio in Midland. Designed in 1933 to be built in stages, the sprawling manse seems to rise out of a pond, its green copper roof and bright-white, geometric form seemingly birthed by the landscape. It’s a nearly perfect evocation of a guiding Dow dictum, “Gardens never end, and buildings never begin.”

Residents are allowed a small swath to plant gardens. "A lot of credit is due to the landscape architect," says Barlow, and "Mies's floor-to-ceiling windows make the spaces feel open, while at the same time the canopy of trees makes you feel protected. It's a private, quiet, green oasis within spitting distance of the freeway, and you'd never know it."

Tom McMurtrie and Genia Service with their five-year-old son, Gary.

El Dorado Inc designed this 4,500-square-foot house for Dave Byers and his family. Byers is a structural engineer who has collaborated with the firm on multiple projects. The residence is located in the prairie southeast of Kansas City.

Eero Saarinen’s legendary Miller House opened to the public in May 2011 for the first time. The pathway from the pool to the house is paved with the same slate that clads the exterior walls. Photo by Leslie Williamson.

Perched above a pond on 14 acres in Champaign, Illinois, this hut was designed for enjoying tea and meditation. Dominating the 97-square-foot structure is a butterfly roof, which channels rainwater to a central spout to be directed to the pond. Adding to the zen experience are water reflections that are projected onto the soffit throughout the day.

You may think that an existing or historic home—known for its drafty windows, old-fashioned mechanical systems, and obsolete construction materials and techniques—would be one of the least sustainable, green-friendly buildings around, but you'd be oh-so-very wrong!

Kansas City architecture firm Kem Studio renovated a house on Kansas City's historic Janssen Place.

Located in Springfield, Missouri, this modern farmhouse designed by Kansas-City based firm Hufft Projects exudes the traditional vernacular of Kansas with an updated take on the conventional form. The rolling hills and expansive land resemble the tone of quaint Marquette.

The outdoor furniture is from Richard Schultz.

Built on a challenging hillside site and tucked behind a thicket of trees, the Bridgman, Michigan, house designed by Scott Rappe provides a modern weekend retreat for a Chicago couple. “One of my first responsibilities was getting the owners up to their house and essentially on one level. Because of the pie-shaped property, we needed to push the building up the hill to provide square footage for the program. By keeping the building perpendicular to the slope, using piloti on one side and a retaining wall on the dune side, we were able to insert foundations with minimal disturbance," says Rappe.

Front view of the FlatPak House in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When the architect first told his wife about his idea, she said, “It’s about time you focus on a house for me!” He continues, “It’s like the old story about the cobbler whose kids have no shoes.”

The residence is built on the same lot as the William Theisen mansion, a sprawling 20,125-square-foot house that was the largest in Omaha when it was completed in 1983. A family currently resides in the seven-bedroom, five-bathroom house, which features a swimming pool located on the western side of the house.

The modern Bracher house stands out in the more traditional Fairgrounds neighborhood outside the Dayton, Ohio city center.

The deck is designed for all seasons. In the blazing summer sun, people can hang out under covered areas. In the winter and at night, a basalt-and-steel fire pit, powered by natural gas, keeps everyone warm. Burgum was conscious to go for an open flame rather than infrared heaters since it encourages people to gather around as a group for conversation. "When the sun goes down and the chill comes in, you can turn the fire on and it extends the evening," says Burgum. The privacy screen is lit with energy-efficient LED bulbs. Native plants and grasses soften the space and were selected for their hardiness and for being low-maintenance. The railing is ipe and the floor tile is natural basalt. Photo by: David Bowman

The exterior of the Field House, designed by Wendell Burnette Architects in Ellington, Wisconsin.