The Evening Sky Residence is a vineyard home in the foothills of McMinnville, Oregon. The house is placed in a natural clearing at the vineyard’s highest point, sited to overlook the Willamette Valley to the East and the Coastal Mountain Range to the West. The architecture’s linearity, contextualized materials, and indoor-outdoor living create a place that is inviting and timeless. Interiors promote a warm minimalism, with elevated finishes and tailored moments responding to the clients’ vision. Views from the residence connect those who reside here with their vines and the surrounding landscape, composing a daily life that is deeply intertwined with the working vineyard and Oregon wine country.

In collaboration with the Lawrenceville Corporation, Rothschild Doyno, and The Urban Redevelopment Authority, EcoCraft Homes is helping to redefine the image of affordable urban housing. Working through a newly defined mechanism called the “Community Land Trust” program Lawrenceville Corporation is pioneering a new standard for community development and affordable home ownership. Phase one of the CLT development consists of 6 new and one renovation unit that are built with materials that are equal to, or often times of a higher quality than the market rate homes that Lawrenceville has become known for. In addition, every CLT home has been designed to seamlessly integrate into existing historical fabric of Upper Lawrenceville by respecting and implementing design elements from contextual neighborhood patterns. The CLT design team’s radically different approach to sustainability, resiliency, and energy efficiency will ensure the affordability of these homes remain intact for generations, challenging the idea that affordability should equate to compromises in the quality of living.

The single family dwelling resides on Cleveland’s westside near Kaams Corner and is a replacement home to one that had recently burnt down. The client, Eden Inc. provides subsidized housing for those facing challenges of housing insecurities and homelessness. The single level home merges accessibility with a contextually sensitive design. The property is situated amongst a neighborhood full of post war housing. The wedge shaped lot informed the houses geometry, creating a design opportunity with two rectangular volumes overlapping. One simple volume maintains it’s rectangularity and houses bedrooms and accessible bathroom while the other volume houses public functions such as entry, living, kitchen and dining. The project merges contemporary detailing with a traditional material and form resulting in a project that fits in the neighborhood and responds to the context while remaining functional to the diverse needs of today.

A view of 3 Bassano's long axis, as seen along Bassano (looking towards Granton Ave). Note the private entry to the first of 2 basement units. Each upper unit has a generous front deck fashioned like a portico for a more contextual blending with the remainder of the mature neighborhood.

Electing to make their modest Beaver County country home their permanent address, The Owners of this property asked Dunn and Associates to develop a design that satisfies their Program requirements, yet preserves the charm and character of the original structure. Beginning with a new welcoming gate, the project achieved its goals

The approach to Edge House, a walk through verdant woodland abundant with ferns and moss, is a lesson in arrival. What appears is a woodsy yet contemporary dwelling divided into two volumes, framing an ocean view. Located on an island off Midcoast, Maine, Edge House is a low-slung cabin that hugs the rocky coast. The client commissioned Charles Rose Architects to design a simple cottage retreat that could take full advantage of the view, while also remaining inconspicuously nestled in the trees. The solution was a simple wood-shingled structure that features large glass windows, connecting both structure and inhabitant to the site. From the water’s edge, only a few hundred meters away, the house is barely visible. The selection of contextual materials, specifically cedar shingles, was meant to embed the structure in the landscape. For the interior, bedrooms are purposefully small, and beds were positioned close to the full-height windows, allowing occupants to immerse themselves in the view. Clerestory windows under the roof further amplify the quality of natural light and create a weightless effect on the roof from the outside. The stone fireplace, located in the living room, was crafted with stones gathered from the site as another way to bring the outdoors in.

The 722 Ash Street residence consists of a 1500 sf primary house with a contiguous 500 sf accessory dwelling. The project is set in the rich culture of North Lawrence, its rear property line abuts the Lawrence levee trail which runs for nine miles along the north bank of the Kansas River. North Lawrence is known for its quality soil, large trees, curbless streets and random size parcels before it breaks into larger farms further from the urban center. It is built on the typical orthogonal grid of American development, but it represents the older growth of the city prior to urban planners and zoning regulations. The rumble of freight trains and farm trucks in the shadows of the towering grain elevators are only blocks away. It is home to many who enjoy being only a bridge crossing away from Lawrence’s vibrant downtown but are far enough away to maintain their independence from many of the restrictions on living near the historic district. They can work in their large gardens and toiling in their garages and shops in a manner more rural than urban. The house on 722 Ash St. is imbued with the character of North Lawrence and the Levee Trail area. The design was inspired by the Midwestern farmstead vernacular of the region. These timeless vernacular qualities house all the accommodations necessary for modern, sustainable living. A unique feature of this house is the Accessory Dwelling Unit permitted in the zoning district. It is a small separate residence on the same lot that can be used for income property or for extended family members. It also supports the city of Lawrence’s goals of increased density close to downtown rather than continued sprawl into the countryside. The buildings use technology and common-sense design to reduce the building’s footprint and assure the owners low energy use and costs. A 4.9 Kw solar collection system is located on the only south facing gable and the super insulated envelopes (r-62 roof and r-35 walls) of all three forms easily exceeds the standards. Studio 804 continues their long standing pattern of maintaining the highest level of sustainable design while remaining contextually sensitive to the surrounding community. This house, like every Studio 804 project since 2008, is USGBC LEED Platinum Certified.

Creating a garden in Topanga involved an exciting contextual proposition: how best to achieve a balance between the built environment, the rocky hillside and the surrounding native live oak woodland. Specially selected hardscape consisting of Malibu rock and rough-hewn broken concrete married old with new and provided access and definition. A mixed palette of natives and Mediterranean plants joined garden with existing oaks and toyon trees. The resulting effect is one of a layered experience, a transition from semiformal to natural. A visitor to this garden experiences both the feeling of a residential setting and the beckoning wildland beyond.

Contextual photo showing how the kitchen and its style matches the overall theme of the residence.
Arts and crafts home design photo in Other

To meet our Tepin clients is to meet two individuals who fully embrace what life has to offer. Whether in their passion for the arts, extensive travels, or their commitment to family, one thing is clear... this Mr. & Mrs. have mastered The Art of Life. This home is contextual - cohesive with the natural Palm Desert surroundings and the architectural language. Other words to describe the resulting space are: High Quality, Livable (not too perfect), Playful, Unique & Timeless.

This house was resting vacant for 7 years in a neighborhood undergoing a renewal. It was purchased by a builder intent on showing his craft by renovating this Shingle Style Dutch Colonial. The project involved a dramatically sloping site and constraints involving a traditional neighborhood with residents on the Historical Design Review Board. During Construction, a couple purchased the home adding requirements for multigenerational living. It was necessary to underpin and lower the basement to accommodate for elderly parents and a live-in care provider. All of these constraints have been architecturally sculpted into a contextually sensitive and elegant design. An ARDA for Renovation Design goes to Gaver Nichols Architect Designs: Gaver Nichols Architect with Deborah Nichols From: Alexandria, Virginia

Located six feet from the sand, this residence seeks to reframe the contextual reference of its inhabitants in order to mitigate its highly trafficked location and create a private beach retreat. In parallel to its unobstructed ocean view, the design carves out infinite pockets of nature within the architecture. From the dining room’s bamboo garden to the expansive skylight above the stairwell, moments of serenity have been carefully composed throughout the home in order to make each frame as infinite as the horizon line of the Pacific Ocean.

Trendy home design photo in Other

INSPIRATION: local settlements in northern Iran formed by a simple adaptation of the nature, geography and climate of that region. The local architecture of this place is so intertwined with nature and in harmony with the climate that it can be called naturalistic architecture. We are looking to redefining the region's former architecture, which needs protection, into today's language. Unique properties: Extroverted architecture is a solution that is necessary to respond to the hot and humid climate of the location of this project. But in Iranian culture, introverted architecture is unavoidable therefore, in this residential apartment where several families live together and also have common spaces, providing a response to introversion and extroversion at the same time has been considered. Description: Extreme use of the porch refers to the deep structures of the Iranian Architecture The "primitive cottage", which is a favorite of the residents of this small town, when converted into a contemporary apartment, must include several basic spaces to implement the residential scenario. Private and semi-private balconies are the most important of those spaces. Extensive vista is the potential of this project. because in addition to the forest view from the south and the beach view on the north side, the other two sides of the project have a unique view due to their height from the city. Therefore, the location and type of openings affect the quality of the space. Each space has a pleasant view, light and proper air circulation. Roofed and non-roofed yards equally divided at different levels. These independent courtyards in the vertical surfaces seen as a vertical and integrated garden in the urban context. CHALENGE: The value that the project pursues is to answer: How contemporary architecture can be faithful to culture, nature and context? How architecture can affect the audience without showing off? this challenge arose for us when we noticed that the surrounding new buildings had nothing to do with local architecture except for adhering to a form such as a sloping roof. Audience tastes have also gone in a direction that is not compatible with contextual factors. So having a few touches of culture and context can be a turning point in the contemporary architecture of this Small scale area.

Located in historic Brooklyn, these carriage houses are thoughtfully designed to be contextually appropriate among century old brick townhouses. A large open floor plan living, dining and kitchen open directly to a private garden with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors, and the ultimate New York City luxury, an adjacent parking space. With an eye to both the present and the past, in the kitchen top of the line stainless steel Liebherr, Bertazzoni, and Bosch kitchen appliances meet solid marble slab counters and backsplash, natural finish white oak floors, Blanco Cerana apron fireclay sink, custom shaker style gray lacquered and glass front cabinetry.

The start of a new home in Spring Lake, NJ. Foundations set and wrapped with waterproofing in the event of high ground water.
Inspiration for a mid-sized coastal three-story wood exterior home remodel in New York with a shingle roof

In a rural stretch of East Hampton not far from the beach, the client presented a program for this summer home that called for open, casual entertaining and an extension of interior living spaces to the outdoors -- a counterpoint to his boxy Upper West Side pre-war apartment. We looked to local agrarian building forms and materials, as well as the Modernist tradition of the Hamptons, to develop a contextual vernacular appropriate to the quaint and peaceful property.

Example of a farmhouse family room design in Nashville

To meet our Tepin clients is to meet two individuals who fully embrace what life has to offer. Whether in their passion for the arts, extensive travels, or their commitment to family, one thing is clear... this Mr. & Mrs. have mastered The Art of Life. This home is contextual - cohesive with the natural Palm Desert surroundings and the architectural language. Other words to describe the resulting space are: High Quality, Livable (not too perfect), Playful, Unique & Timeless.