American Institute of Architects home tour

The idea of modern architecture often conjures images of brutally angular and cold houses. Not so in the Bay Area, where contemporary design is about creating true living spaces that are connected to the people who live in them and the natural world around them. Indoor-outdoor interplay (in a climate that makes such design possible), taking sustainable building to the next level and innovative design are all hallmarks of Bay Area architecture.

These features are on display on the American Institute of Architects' home tour, returning to the East Bay for the second year with seven houses in Berkeley, Emeryville, Albany and Lafayette.

Selected by an AIA committee with the goal of showcasing the diversity of East Bay living, each house on the tour will be open to the public for self-guided tours on Saturday. The houses were all designed by AIA architects, who will be present at their respective house's tour.

Budgets ranged from modest to generous. "The tour is trying to talk about architecture that really reaches out to the community and shares what architects can do for you," said architect and East Bay home tour co-chair Steven Stept.

Each home comes with its own story and personality. From a 58-year-old California ranch house whose traditional gable roof was inverted to catch and recycle rainwater to a two-story prefabricated house that produces as much energy as it uses, all speak to a greater acceptance of modernism and assumption of sustainable building in architecture.

And in the Bay Area spirit of entrepreneurship and risk taking, the homes also symbolize a push for transformational, advanced design.

"Modernism is in," says Stept. "As a trend, it's great to see how it's transforming all types of situations."

A peek at the homes on the tour:

2010, Faulkner Architects

This Lafayette house is named for both its physical appearance - an inverted roof that mimics the shape of a butterfly's wings - and a story of architectural metamorphosis. Greg Faulkner transformed a 3,000-square-foot suburban ranch house into the ultimate sustainable modern home. The traditional gable roof was inverted to collect rainwater that the homeowners use to wash clothes and then irrigate the garden. The cabinetry, ceilings and floors are made of wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, meaning it was sustainably harvested.

Read more from the original source:
American Institute of Architects home tour