Island 254 C
Peter Hamilton Architects
One building and one sleeping cabin were allowed on this acre-plus lot in Toronto’s Georgian Bay, but the family building a retreat there was a couple with six children and three grandkids. Architect Peter Hamilton made it work by designing separate-yet-connected volumes that give privacy and community, without violating code or local aesthetic.

Photo © Peter Hamilton

These kitchen and bath projects serve as portals to the outside world through their application of generous openings and natural materials. Whether part of a family-compound addition in Aspen or the core of a modestly sized home in central Mexico, all of them help transform normally utilitarian tasks into something more refined.

Photo © Paul Crosby

Retreats in the Landscape
Three small-scale structures in Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon built for clients including a writer and a philosophy professor offer places to get away from daily distractions.

Photo courtesy Moskow Linn Architects

Conceived before the recession, this year’s Record Houses offer a parting look at a now-past era of economic abundance. But despite leaner times, our eight selections offer imaginative ways to integrate outdoor and indoor spaces that could affect future thinking about residential design.  We also present a series of Web-exclusive projects selected for a single standout detail.

Includes:

Pictured: N House; Photo © Iwan Baan

Under the Sky - Architects often tuck houses into hillsides or hollows to establish a feeling of protection. But the four houses featured here express a freedom from the constraints of cover. By occupying valleys, meadows, or prairies exposed to the elements, they afford expansive landscape views and dramatic sky panoramas.

• House on Hooper's Island - Hooper’s Island, Maryland - David Jameson Architect
• Shobac Cottages and Studio - Upper Kingsburg, Nova Scotia - MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
• Casina - Northern Illinois - Alfred Swenson Pao-Chi Chang Architects
• Zen Garden House - Crestone, Colorado - David Jay Weiner Architect

Photo © Manuel Schnell

In this special Web-exclusive feature, we present intriguing designs for single-family dwellings. Keeping in line with the sustainability theme of our 2008 Record Houses, these unbuilt houses all include “green” features.

Includes:

Pictured: zeroHouse; Image courtesy Specht Harpman

Residential Showcase
Architects who design single- or multifamily housing have been asked to submit examples of their work, and the editors of RECORD have selected the best homes for display in this showcase gallery. Submit your projects now.

Pictured: Cottage in Lake of the Woods; Photo by josgeomar

Visit the Web site of myhouse magazine, which contains detailed profiles—and hundreds of images—of more than two dozen spectacularly designed homes in the Rocky Mountain states, including a Craftsman bungalow in Denver, a dream home (with hydraulic lift) in Salt Lake, and a Montana home with an 800-square-foot curving deck. The site also features design ideas, products, profiles of leading designers, and more.

Pictured: Touched by Tuscany; Photo © Emily Minton-Redfield

Record Houses Past Issues
Now available online a 6 issue collection of Record Houses  spanning 2003-2008.

For more than 50  years, RECORD has presented an annual collection of projects from around the globe that represent exemplary residential  design. Includes the special 50th  anniversary of Record Houses issue from  2005.