The 10 hottest trends in modern home architecture.

Glass walls
Looking out at the world is in vogue like never before as glass walls blur the lines between private living spaces and grand views. Advancements in glass technology and building techniques allow for ultra sleek, UV resistant transparent walls and roofs with seamless corners.  Worried about privacy?  They even have specialty tinted glass that can dim or become one-way with electronic sensors based on the time of day or your preferences.

Rooftop pools and living spaces
Wasting space is out and making the most efficient use of every single square foot of your home is in.  That’s why rooftop gardens and solar panels are a hit, though now you can add rooftop pools to that list.  There’s no better way to take advantage of the space on your flat roof than by installing a swimming pool up there.  Pools, balconies, rooftop bars, and barbecue areas can be fitted to just about any structure, plan, or size – just be sure to tell your architect or builder ahead of time so they add extra reinforcements for the weight.

Blocks and Cubism
Pablo Picasso, the father of Cubism, would be proud of this post-modern architectural trend.  Where as block housing used to have an Eastern-European feel devoid of any personality, today’s right-angled abodes are designed to create a dynamic complement to the curves and shapes in nature, creating a perfect masterpiece.

Modern cabin
If ‘glamping,” or glamor camping, is the hottest thing in enjoying nature with enough convenience for any city slicker, then the modern camping style of architecture is sure to please.  Also called the contemporary camping form of architecture, it integrates natural elements like open space, natural light, sky views, and fresh air into the living experience.

Recycled elements
Architectural ‘rescue’ is a hot trend, where homeowners or designers find components of past homes or icons of the neighborhood from bygone eras and build them into the plan.  Old doors and windows are popular, as well as refurbished wooden garage doors, signs, statues, copper shingles, tiles, or badging, brick and wood from historic homes or buildings, and other elements that bring in history and organic personality.

Eco friendly
Nothing is more notable than the marriage of a beautiful home that expresses the value of conservation and care for clean energy.  Self-sustainable homes make it fun to live again, with water pumps, wells, solar panels, wind power, geothermal drilling, composting, edible gardens where front lawns used to sit, and just about any other energy efficient or natural design that enables us to live well, and live clean.

Pods and mods
What Ikea did for furniture, some homebuilders are doing for housing, adapting simple, modern dwellings into existing urban spaces for efficiently and inexpensively.  Pods and modular living spaces are often pre-designed and at least partially prefabricated, able to confirm to the tightest spaces or go up with ease right on the site of your ideal natural retreat.  They may be short on square footage but they’re designed with absolutely no waste or void in comfort.

Modern country
As the pendulum shifts back to fresh air and open spaces in nature, living in the country is the ideal counterbalance to the ills of urban overpopulation.  But that doesn’t mean homes need to be boring, as architects take advantage of almost-unlimited space and the ideals of rural tradition to blend a perfect modern-country retreat.

Hillside
For half a century or more, ocean front living has been the most desirable for the crème de la crème of society.  But now, a lack of space, environmental consequences, and exorbitant price tags have created a new class of homeowners – those who prefer the hills.  If you can’t be on the beach, have a terrific view of the sunset and fantastic breezes, so the thinking goes.  Hillside homes follow some incredibly funky and fun floor plans as they work around the challenges of steep terrain and a shortage of horizontal space.

Stilts and stacking
Whether building over the most precipitous cliff or on a flat expanse of lawn, modern designers get to show off their artistic creativity when planning vertically dominant homes.  Stacking, layering, imbalance, different motifs on different floors, and the use of stilts and decking are puzzle pieces they use to create unique and breathtaking houses.