On a steep 25-acre site near Sonoma, California, two scientists harvest some of the bounty from their vegetable gardens, olive trees, and beehives to deliver to a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco. Although these locavores were already living in an existing house on the property, they became enamored of a writer's cottage designed by Cooper Joseph Studio in Ghent, New York, and wanted a similar small house for a weekend retreat/office.

'From early on the concept was to nestle the house on the top of the hill in a way that the rooms spill down, to maximize the view,' says Chris Cooper, firm partner. The resulting three-story, 890-square-foot house made of poured-in-place concrete is organized around a central wall, which divides public and private spaces. A bedroom and bath are on the entry level. The lower level contains a living room, and a kitchen perches above it on the mezzanine. 'From the interior, it's really all about the exterior,' says Cooper.