GRAPHĒ

One of Mies van der Rohe’s Lafayette Park Town Houses Just Listed for $365K

Set in the famed National Historic Landmark District in Detroit, the 2,000-square-foot residence comes recently renovated and fully furnished.

Location: 1351 Nicolet Place, Detroit, Michigan

Price: $365,000

Year Built: 1968

Renovation Date: 2023

Architect: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Footprint: 2,000 square feet (3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths)

From the Agent: "Welcome to this thoughtfully renovated midcentury-modern townhome designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. The open-concept living and dining area showcases classic Miesian design with clean lines, carefully proportioned steel, and expansive glass windows that fill the space with natural light. The flow remains uninterrupted and intentionally restrained. Additional highlights specific to this townhome include polished original concrete floors and a finished basement. A rare blend of iconic design, quality updates, and unmatched value in one of Detroit’s most architecturally significant neighborhoods."

Read previous Dwell coverage of homes in Detroit’s Lafayette Park development here, here, and here.

According to the agent, within the development, the home is known for it's sunset views. — According to the agent, the home is renowned within the community for its sunset views.

Photo by Nev Muftari of TrueSpaces

Furniture is included in the sale. — All of the home’s furniture is included in the sale.

Photo by Nev Muftari of TrueSpaces

See the full story on Dwell.com: One of Mies van der Rohe’s Lafayette Park Town Houses Just Listed for $365K
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To Get to the Guest Unit at This Mexican Home, Just Take the Tunnel From the Roof

A sawtooth, plywood-wrapped stair emerging from terra-cotta tile creates a direct route between the two spaces.

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners. Have one to share? Post it here.

Project Details:

Location: Valle de Bravo, Mexico

Architect: Pedro y Juana / @pedroyjuana

Footprint: 1,098 square feet

Builder: Taller AF

Cabinetry Design: Sistema 32

Photographer: Ramiro Chaves

Photographer: Diego Manzano

From the Architect: "The Annex, designed by Pedro&Juana, is a vivid example of how architecture can evolve alongside the needs of its inhabitants. Located on the edge of a lake in Valle de Bravo, in Mexico, the Annex is an extension of a home originally designed by José Iturbe.

"Built on a slope that rises from the waterline up into the green mountain, stairways were both a necessity and a defining feature of the original house. Pedro&Juana took the gesture further, making the stairs the focal point of their design. Opening up the roof, they made way for a stair tunnel that continues the stairway of the existing house and connects it with the new wooden annex, carved into the mountainside. This connection expands the back of the house and provides a new secondary entrance to the annex and the service area below. A wide brick staircase leads down through the tunnel into a newly covered patio that serves as an overflow for the redesigned kitchen. Back at the top, the annex consists of a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a versatile kitchen-slash-studio-slash-bedroom. A beautiful interior patio connects both rooms, creating an intimate outdoor space.

"With a design attuned to life’s evolving needs, the choice of wood as a sustainable building material felt natural and fitting. It also aligns with Pedro&Juana’s initiative, La Liga de la Madera, which promotes wood construction in Mexico as a circular and sustainable alternative to the predominant use of steel, concrete, brick, and mortar. To complement this sensible approach, every detail—every nook, landscape, tile, and most of the furniture from the kitchen to the two-room wooden addition—was designed by Pedro&Juana. The result is a creative redesign that weaves stairs and patios, textures, plants, wood, and brick into a fantastic addition that enhances the beauty of the original house and its surroundings."

See the full story on Dwell.com: To Get to the Guest Unit at This Mexican Home, Just Take the Tunnel From the Roof

Multilevel Living Hides Behind an Unassuming Facade on the Island of Montreal

Elegant interiors, three sweeping terraces, and a saltwater pool are just a few of this $9.8M home’s standout features.

118 Av. Upper-Bellevue in Westmount, Quebec, is currently listed at $9,822,064 by Andrew and Alfee Kaufman at Sotheby’s International Realty Québec.

Perched on the mountain in Upper Westmount, this fully renovated contemporary home offers four spacious bedrooms with five and a half luxurious bathrooms, and sweeping panoramic views of the city. Designed for modern living and exceptional entertaining, it features a large chef’s kitchen, open concept living spaces, and three expansive terraces. Savor quiet moments beside the private saltwater pool, framed by sweeping skyline views.

Listing Details

Bedrooms: 4

Baths: 5 full, 1 partial

Year Built: 1948

Plot Size: 0.18 acres

Courtesy of Sotheby's International Realty Québec

See the full story on Dwell.com: Multilevel Living Hides Behind an Unassuming Facade on the Island of Montreal
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From the Archive: Alvin Lustig, the Designer Who Did It All

The midcentury renaissance man, whose career was "a flurry of interiors and fabrics, signage and record albums, and architecture," might not have minded if you judged his book covers.

As a part of our 25th-anniversary celebration, we’re republishing formative magazine stories from before our website launched. This story previously appeared in Dwell’s December/January 2007 issue.

Alvin Lustig summed up the central theme of his short, prolific career when he wrote in 1946, "The words graphic designer, architect or industrial designer stick in my throat, giving me a sense of limitation, of specialization within the specialty, or a relationship to society and form itself that is unsatisfactory and incomplete. This inadequate set of terms to describe an active life reveals only partially the still undefined nature of a designer."

He was, as he put it, "a designer with a capital D," one who didn’t see an inequity between painting and designing business cards, and, in fact, found the distinctions between fine and applied arts superfluous. It’s precisely this democratic approach that made his work so effective.

Lustig set up his own Los Angeles print shop in 1937 despite having had only a few design courses and three months at Taliesin East under his belt. He cut his teeth with flyers, pamphlets, and the like, and by the late 1930s he found a form to which his talents were especially well suited: book jackets. He began creating jackets for New Directions press in 1941, boldly experimenting with rigid geometric forms for Henry Miller’s The Wisdom of the Heart. But his truly classic jackets came in New Directions’ New Classics series, a quirky batch of reissues of literary fiction, poetry, and drama that constituted a remarkably serviceable primer of modernist lit.

The New Classics designs eschewed both the hard geometry of his early work and the well-trod paths of Deco calligraphy and overwrought representation popular at the time in favor of a style more akin to Joan Miró and Paul Klee. In many ways, the series acted as a canny conduit of modernist ideas and forms, bringing them down from the rarefied gallery and into the small-town bookstore. But perhaps even more rewarding was the way in which the series illustrated Lustig’s deep empathy for the plays, novels, and poems he designed jackets for. New Directions founder and publisher James Laughlin put it this way: "His method was to read a text and get the feel for the author’s creative drive, then to restate it in his own graphic terms."

Lustig’s cover for D. M. Lawrence’s Selected Poems, a pair of abstract phoenixes, evokes that animal, elemental lifting of the spirit—"blood knowledge" as Lawrence would come to call it which animates so much of the author’s work. The sun-bleached Hollywood grotesqueries of Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust get expert treatment, too: Exotic movie sets rest on bare scaffolding and a swarm of black specks surround bullet-hole type, illustrative of West’s indictment of the artificiality of showbiz and the novella’s violent climax. Lustig’s New Directions jackets are graphic essays whose beauty and formal innovation are clear at first blush, but whose grace, wit, and interpretive powers aren’t fully appreciable until one reads the book.

Even more impressive than the individual jackets is the stylistic unity of the series. Chip Kidd, book jacket design maven of the moment, says, "A testament to his talent is that New Directions asked him to do so many jackets. There must be forty of them. His work has aged so well. Fifty some years on it still looks fresh." There were 36 in the New Classics series, but some would call the photographic collages adorning the covers of New Directions’ Modern Reader series his best work.

"To be frank, the most important jackets are the photographic ones," Elaine Lustig Cohen, Lustig’s widow and colleague, opines. "No one was doing that when he was, no one was putting it together that way. They have a rhythm, even when they’re geometric, and all of them were very evocative of the text." The Modern Reader jackets marry Dada-inspired collage, clean composition, typography, and Lustig’s own brand of artful abstraction seen with the New Classics. Especially chilling is his nightmarish collage for Italo Svevo’s The Confessions of Zeno, whose design cuts straight to the essence of the compulsive and dissipated title character.

See the full story on Dwell.com: From the Archive: Alvin Lustig, the Designer Who Did It All
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In Atlanta, a Stately Limestone and Brick Home Lists for $3.3M

Experience soaring ceilings, a chef’s kitchen, and effortless indoor/outdoor living in one of the city’s most beloved neighborhoods.

1026 Reeder Circle in Atlanta, Georgia, is currently listed at $3,395,000 by Jared Sapp at Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty.

Built by award-winning Horner Homes, Inc. and designed by architect John B. Plaster, this limestone and brick residence is nestled in the sought-after Morningside neighborhood. Its transitional yet elegant design showcases soaring ceilings, pointed arch doorways, steel doors and windows, and an abundance of natural light, creating a bright and airy ambiance throughout.

The main level features an open floor plan that effortlessly connects the kitchen, dining, and living areas, all framed by windows with views of the surrounding landscape. A spacious covered patio overlooks a potential pool area (permit in hand), ideal for entertaining or relaxing outdoors.

The kitchen is equipped with state-of-the-art Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances and a large island with Calacatta Viola counters for cooking and entertaining. A large scullery/pantry and wet bar are also connected to the kitchen, providing ample storage and workspace. The terrace level of this home offers an in-law suite with a private entrance for guests or family members. A large bonus room also provides endless possibilities, such as a home theater, game room, or home gym.

This home is in a prime location, near Morningside Elementary, the Atlanta BeltLine, Morningside Nature Preserve, Midtown, and Piedmont Park. With easy access to some of the best schools, parks, restaurants, and entertainment Atlanta offers, this is an excellent opportunity to own a truly one-of-a-kind home in a highly desirable neighborhood.

Listing Details

Bedrooms: 6

Baths: 6 full

Year Built: 2025

Square Feet: 5,326

Plot Size: 0.183 acres

Courtesy of Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby's International Realty

See the full story on Dwell.com: In Atlanta, a Stately Limestone and Brick Home Lists for $3.3M
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Near Vancouver, a Japanese-Inspired Midcentury Home Lists for $3.8M

The 1963 residence has traditional lanterns, shoji screens, and tranquil outdoor areas with a 60-year-old cherry tree.

Location: 701 Dansey Ave, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

Price: $3,850,000

Year Built: 1963

Architect: G. Douglas Wylie

Landscape Architects: Muirhead & Justice

Footprint: 5,372 square feet (5 bedrooms, 4 baths)

Lot Size: 0.63 Acres

From the Agent: "This Japanese-inspired midcentury-modern estate is anchored by a 60-year-old cherry tree. Nestled beside the Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, the 1963 residence stands among the last of its kind — a serene union of architecture and landscape by Muirhead & Justice, pioneers of modern garden design in Canada. Crafted in cedar, glass, and granite, the home reflects the philosophies of wabi-sabi and harmony with nature. A sanctuary of timeless design, preserved and reimagined for the present day."

G. Douglas Wylie, the architect, only has one other home attributed to his name. — The home is one of just two residences credited to architect G. Douglas Wylie.

Photo by James Han

The home’s interiors are divided by translucent shoji screens with bamboo matrices.

Photo by James Han

See the full story on Dwell.com: Near Vancouver, a Japanese-Inspired Midcentury Home Lists for $3.8M
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An Architectural Retreat With Unobstructed Views of Laurel Canyon Lists for $3.8M

Hollywood Hills living as it was intended.

8896 Lookout Mountain Avenue in Los Angeles, California, is currently listed at $3,875,000 by Monica Barragan at Sotheby’s International Realty - Beverly Hills Brokerage.

This modern residence pairs bold geometric forms with expansive natural light, creating a home defined by elegance, privacy, and serenity. The open living space is marked by white porcelain floors, smooth concrete walls, and a statement fireplace, flowing into a chef’s kitchen with dark oak cabinetry, porcelain countertops, and top-tier appliances.

Two primary suites include spa-inspired bathrooms with Japanese soaking tubs and a shared balcony with an infinity-edge Jacuzzi overlooking the canyon. A third bedroom opens to the deck and landscaped garden.

Outdoor living is elevated with expansive decks, a rooftop lounge with panoramic views, and the potential for a leveled garden with secondary street access. Nestled in a coveted enclave of the Hollywood Hills and near acclaimed Wonderland Avenue Elementary, this home offers unmatched privacy and a lifestyle defined by design, views, and exclusivity.

Listing Details

Bedrooms: 3

Baths: 3 full, 1 partial

Year Built: 2005

Square Feet: 3,405

Plot Size: 0.22 acres

Courtesy of Sotheby's International Realty - Beverly Hills Brokerage

See the full story on Dwell.com: An Architectural Retreat With Unobstructed Views of Laurel Canyon Lists for $3.8M
Related stories:

One of Mies van der Rohe’s Lafayette Park Town Houses Just Listed for $365K

To Get to the Guest Unit at This Mexican Home, Just Take the Tunnel From the Roof

Project Details:

Multilevel Living Hides Behind an Unassuming Facade on the Island of Montreal

Listing Details

From the Archive: Alvin Lustig, the Designer Who Did It All

In Atlanta, a Stately Limestone and Brick Home Lists for $3.3M

Listing Details

Near Vancouver, a Japanese-Inspired Midcentury Home Lists for $3.8M

An Architectural Retreat With Unobstructed Views of Laurel Canyon Lists for $3.8M

Listing Details

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