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Homes that used to be something elseThey were converted from churches, water towers and other buildings.
10 weirdly shaped homesWe know about the woman who lived in a shoe. But what about the mushroom?
Yurts so goodStylish and funky, these round houses also may be energy-efficient.
3 bedrooms, 1 art gallery Peek inside the house one family uses for sleeping and selling art.
Amazingly private house of glassThis largely invisible house has hidden chambers for occupant privacy.
10 strangely shaped homesOdd angles and interesting shapes make these houses anything but ordinary.
These homes have curve appealFrom a silo to a tiny rolling house, these round structures stand out.
Incredible, impenetrable homesThese 10 fortress homes often keep the rest of the world out.
10 peculiarly colorful homesWith bold palettes and materials, these houses brighten the neighborhood.
© Matthew Carbone
© Matthew Carbone
© Matthew Carbone
© Matthew Carbone
© Matthew Carbone
© Matthew Carbone
© Matthew Carbone
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My goodness, did every one else see the massive com-trails? I thought this kind of thing only happened in Arizona.. Its every where....
A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
By Juliet Chung of The Wall Street Journal
When architect Wilfred Armster walked through a two-acre meadow on the outskirts of Ann Arbor, Mich., to ponder a project, a dream house for a couple who loved modern architecture, he said he was struck with a sudden vision of the waist-high grass being left untouched. The result: a long, slim bar of a building that bridges two low mounds in the field, suspended over the ground at certain points by more than 8 feet.
The ends of the 230-foot-long, 20-foot-wide building are dug into the ground and anchored by hidden basements; massive steel H-beams support its floating length. While the long, western wall of the dark-gray home has large windows overlooking the meadow, the street side is solid cement-board save for two long, narrow glass slits. The pattern of light through the windows looks like a painting by Piet Mondrian, said one of the owners, Barbara Wilson, a lighting designer.
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A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
The owners of the 4,300-square-foot home in Lodi Township, Mich., are Wilson, 57, and her husband, Joe McElroy, 53, an electrical engineer. They are shown here in the home's interior hallway, which runs the length of the home.
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A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
The couple started looking for another home around 2002 when Wilson, an avid gardener, ran out of gardening space at their small midcentury home downtown. After not finding anything they liked on the market, they decided to build and bought the lot in 2005 for $80,000.
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A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
The couple interviewed a half-dozen local architects before a friend introduced them to Armster, who built more than a dozen models and presented several to the couple. The model of their current home "just really jumped out," McElroy said. The ends of the building are dug into the ground and anchored by hidden basements; massive steel H-beams support its floating length.
- On our blog, 'Listed': Space-age home rotates
 | Design center Get ideas for your home with our inspirational rooms and direct access to real products. Click here to begin exploring. |
A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
The home was completed in 2007 for less than $500,000. It won a design award in 2011 from the New England chapters of the American Institute of Architects and one in 2009 from the Connecticut chapter (Armster is based in Connecticut.)
"We kind of like the extreme nature of it," said Karl Daubmann, an associate professor of architecture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who brought 100 students to see the home.
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A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
Wilson and McElroy had the spruce-clad ceilings lowered more than a foot, to a little over 8 feet, to create a sense of coziness. Bedrooms and baths are small, to encourage use of the living areas.
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A modern statement in a tranquil meadow
There is a photo-filled meditation room for the couple, practicing Buddhists, and Wilson converted a small greenhouse at the south end of the home into a temporary chicken coop to protect her 20 or so chickens from hawks. Some of the furniture is from Ikea, which also was the source of the royal-blue kitchen. "We spent all the money on the architecture, not on fancy fixtures," Wilson said.
While some neighbors in the wooded area, where homes tend toward the traditional, worry that the home will hurt property values, others don't mind it. Lauralyn Bottom said it helps her guide first-time visitors to her house, purchased across the street three years ago.
"I'm from Berkeley; it's fine," she said.
A recent paint job that darkened the building's exterior is a modest improvement, neighbor Kurt Hagemeister said recently. "It blends in slightly better."
- On our blog, 'Listed': Space-age home rotates
| Design center Get ideas for your home with our inspirational rooms and direct access to real products. Click here to begin exploring. |
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