As part of Innovation Week 2011, we asked the design-minded modernists over at Dwell to pick their favorite innovative homes from those previously featured in the magazine. Here's what they turned up. First off, it's Eero Saarinen’s iconic Miller House in Columbus, Indiana. This midcentury masterpiece is hardly new—it was completed in 1952—but the architecture of Saarinen combined with interiors by Alexander Girard and landscape design by Dan Kiley make for an impressive home even by modern standards. Plus, the house, which had been owned by the Miller family for years, has just been opened to the public by the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
Photos: Dean Kaufman/Dwell
? Fast forward to 2011, when this rustic-meets-modern mountain getaway was featured on the pages of Dwell. A few hours outside of Tokyo, the structure is combination of tent platform and modernist house, designed by Shin Ohori. Built for a couple who design outdoor equipment, the building is simultaneously a relaxing country getaway and laboratory.
Photos: Bryce Duffy/Dwell? Seeking to take maximum advantage of the California sun and the climate of La Jolla, designer and developer Sebastian Mariscal built a pair of matching residences, the 2inns, that blend interior and exterior spaces. The living room boasts floor-to-ceiling glass walls that allow for seamless views to the Pacific.
Photos: John Clark/Dwell? As Portland, Oregon's burgeoning creative class seeks cheaper alternatives to that city's classic neighborhoods, they have been pushing into a part of town known as the West End. The previously run-down neighborhood has been revitalized by visionaries like architect Jeff Kovel, who built himself an apartment atop his offices. In order to capture views of the historic church steeple across the street, Kovel cut a vertical section out of the existing building.
? Located in the Netherlands, this house looks like a typical modern home, with a bit of a rough edge, but it's so much more. According to architect Jan Jongert, "Reused materials account for 60 percent of the structure...and that goes up to as much as 90 percent when it comes to the interior." For instance, the siding is wood taken from dismantled cable reels and heat treated for weatherproofing. The phoenix-from-the-ashes story behind the construction suits the lot too, which was once the site of a devastating fireworks factory disaster.
· The Miller House: America's Unsung Midcentury Residence [Curbed National]
· 20th Century Fox [Dwell]
· A Platform for Living [Dwell]
· Double the Pleasure [Dwell]
· WestEnders [Dwell]
· Harvest Boon [Dwell]
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