5 architects' homes you can own

Architects’ homes offer rare insights into their creative ethos. When creating their own properties, they can let their imagination soar, unfettered by a client’s demands; distill the purest form of their architectural vision and push it to extremes. The resulting buildings are always worth visiting, and on occasion they can even be bought. Here are five architects’ homes for sale right now.

160 Mill Road, New Canaan, Connecticut, USA, designed by John Black Lee

$750,000
John Black Lee settled in New Canaan in the early 1950s and built multiple houses in the area, including two for himself and his family. 160 Mill Road, now on the market with William Pitt and Sotheby’s International Realty, was his second – built in 1990 and, as the architect himself wrote, ‘the only one in New Canaan that you enter thru a skylight’. From the road, it appears diminutive, a small glass pyramid nestled into the roadside, but the house unfurls down into the canyon, offering two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a glass-walled sitting room and a zig-zagged balcony overlooking the river.

143 West 20th Street, New York, USA, designed by Lee F Mindel

$9.65 million
With views of the Hudson on one side, and the East River on the one side, this Manhattan property in the Flatiron district has the feeling of being surrounded by water. Once a hat factory, the staggering penthouse was converted by Lee F Mindel and Reed Morrison into the former’s home and a showcase for his art collection. On the lower floor the two living rooms, kitchen and four bedrooms encircle a curved hallway, while stainless steel stairs sweep up to a circular conservatory and roof terrace. It’s on the market for with Corcoran.

Bishopstrow, Wiltshire, UK, designed by Michael Newberry

£850,000
The late Michael Newberry was responsible for the UK’s first glass and steel house, which he built for his family in 1958 in the village of Capel in Surrey. Ten years ago he built another one, this time in Bishopstrow in Wiltshire, which has just come on the market with The Modern House. Once again he focused on fluidity, with the three-bedroom house constructed as one large space separated by partition walls, welcoming in light from all sides. The architect’s home comes with gardens landscaped by John Brooks, which are a pivotal part of the property. Indeed, as Newberry told Wiltshire Magazine, ‘every room you go into has its own garden.’

255 River St., Cambridge, Boston, USA, designed by David Aposhian

$2.375 million
This serene condo combines city-central living with the feel of a mountain cabin. Architect David Aposhian sourced lumber from the former Riverside Press building and a disused mill in New Bedford, which he contrasted with concrete and stark white to create an elegantly rustic home for his family. The 2,700 sq ft, standalone building, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and plenty of outside space, is now on sale with Coldwell Banker.

Centaur Street, London, UK, designed by dRMM

£1.7 million
Part of a block that dRMM originally designed as their offices in 2003, this apartment’s design has a mission. ‘The double entry, generous size of units, riser positions and flexible layouts created a regeneration concept of sustainable, long lasting, loose fit living,’ say the architects of the Centaur Street home. It’s a flexible space, with a galleried room overlooking the kitchen, and sliding doors onto a private terrace. But central to this property, for sale via The Modern House, is the use of deliberately industrial materials, which conspire and complement each other to create something unique.