ADU

Natural wood with original brickwork and microcement to create a minimalist yet warm kitchen area.

The focus of the renovation was the kitchen, where the textures of tiles and brickwork play backdrop to considered, bespoke carpentry.

Both the couch and the rug in the living room were purchased from CB2.

Homeowners Heather Thompson, a literary specialist in Lake Oswego School District, and Sam Gaty, executive director at a nonprofit that supports documentary filmmakers, loved almost everything about their spacious, light-filled 1965 ranch house in Portland, Oregon’s West Haven neighborhood. But the one pain point was the kitchen, a cramped, dark space with a bad layout.

The new prefab unit is located just a few meters from the main home—a thatched-roof cottage that dates back to the 1950s. “The dark color of the cladding blends into the dark hedges in the garden, so the unit doesn’t attract too much attention,” says Vriesema.

Borrassá by Peris + Toral Arquitectes holds 54 social housing units in Barcelona’s Besòs district.

A subdued palette and sumptuous curves help to showcase an epic city view.

Ana Smud’s studio is in downtown Buenos Aires, yet she also has a home office with built-in bookshelves and a long narrow desk.

Architect Ana Smud’s residence in the Vicente López suburb of Buenos Aires is surrounded by gardens and wrapped in timber, concrete, and glass.

Colorful tiles line the stairs leading up to the home’s entrance.

An outdoor breezeway between the storage shed and the main house is ideal for outdoor dining.

The studio and extension both take inspiration from the work of celebrated Australian architect, Glenn Murcutt. “My mother is Australian and I have lots of family in Sydney,” says homeowner Miriam Nabarro of the connection. “I’ve also spent time on residency at the Boyd Education Centre at Bundanon, which is designed by Glenn Murcutt and Kerstin Thompson, and out in the Northern Territory. I really love the way Murcutt uses light.”