It's highly unlikely that a late-Victorian era house is the first image that comes to mind when you think about sustainability. However, that may change.

Imagine designing a public library for a college town in the early 1960s. Fifty-two years later, the building is still in full use and the library staff cites a handheld piece of technology as an essential tool in maintaining the library's — and the building's — relevance: the iPad.

One of the most easily recognizable architectural styles is the A-frame, ubiquitous in the construction of lake and mountain homes. This style of architecture, which has been utilized throughout history, was incredibly popular in the U.S. during the 1950s.

Few buildings have enjoyed celebrity like the skyscrapers of the 20th century. Skyscrapers define a city's skyline and identity. On both accounts, Lansing's tallest building doesn’t disappoint.

Do the buildings in which you spend your days and nights elevate and enrich the spirit? Think about it — Michigan modernist architect Alden B. Dow certainly did.

Rumor has it that there are Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Okemos. It's a mid-century suburban legend you may have been privy to at some time or another, often uttered when the subject turns to architecture at any formal or informal gathering in the Lansing area.

Good buildings are not only attractive — they also have good DNA. What is building DNA? It's the original construction essentials like superior craftsmanship and quality materials that hold up through standing neglect.

This is no ordinary stone porch that extends the length of the facade of the house. The character-defining feature is made of material with a past.

Surprise! Amongst the garden foliage, a little free library has taken root in the front yard of an East Lansing home just north of Michigan Avenue. Stationed like a small literary sentry, this library is open rain or shine and simply asks: Take a book, return a book.

Sure, Sears may be the most well known of the American mail-order home companies, but Michigan is home to what was the first and largest: Aladdin Co. of Bay City. Like Kleenex, the Sears brand is the common term for all mail-order homes. If you live in Michigan and reside in a mailorder home, it is highly likely that it is an Aladdin.