The greatest challenge in designing homes is negotiating the delicate balance between aesthetics and the personal desires of the occupants. While it's important for the structure to reflect the vision and style of the architect, the client must ultimately feel at home beneath the roof. It is particularly interesting, therefore, to examine the homes that architects create for themselves.



If houses reflect their owners' personalities, then architects' own homes are like autobiographies. Location, layout, style, lighting, artwork, furnishings-every detail adds color to the story. Each of these dwellings, presented A-Z by architect, speaks more about its designer than any other building possibly could. Featured architects are, among many more, Alvar Aalto, Adam Caruso, Egon Eiermann, Hans Fischli, Eileen Gray, Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, John Pawson, Gio Ponti, and Eduardo Souto de Moura.