Diana Budds

The dramatic staircase in architect Dom Dimster’s Southern California home is made from T- and L-profile steel, shelf board, glass panels, and plate steel. Electric shades on the outside of the house keep the sun from penetrating the glass wall of the staircase and overheating the interior.

Reddy swapped out the spiral iron staircase for a modern wood one protected by glass walls.

Walker left the site in its natural state, but added grasses along the path to the entrance. For more ways to use grass in your home.

Conceived as a glass wall or window that could swing open rather than a typical door, the resulting glass-and-metal piece is so heavy that it required its own foundation! Thanks to clever engineering by Sand Studios, even seven-year-old Macy can operate the 2,000-pound door.

The back, however, is a different story. The shape of the roof eave is designed to allow winter sun into the house while cutting out the hot summer sun.

Reclaimed pine purlins cast shadows onto the interior. “Lighting is a way to experiment with space and design,” Grizzle says. White Sunbrella fabric panels stretching from the floor to the ceiling ridge cover LED strip lighting and a Bose sound system.

The plan of this house in British Columbia by Vancouver architects Heather Howat and David Battersby of BattersbyHowat Architects revolves around a rocky outcropping lush with life that acts as the home’s central atrium. The granite was left intact in order to serve as the nucleus of the courtyard, and the walls of windows draw a wealth of natural daylight into the back of the building.

The front exterior entryway features expansive windows and door by Quantum, which lead into the dining and living area of the main floor. "[Pulling] as much natural light into the interior as possible” was one of the clients’ biggest requests, says architect Mike Mora of Heliotrope.

Van Beek’s extra space is home to her office. She works on a Tense table by Piergiorgio and Michele Cazzaniga and Flow chairs by Jean Marie Massaud, both for MDF Italia.

The Parisian flat that American-born architect Michael Herrman shares with his wife, Cécile, and their 2-year-old daughter, Rose, had been nearly untouched since the 1790s, when it was built. “But I wanted to try and reveal some of its age in a fresh new context,” Herrman said.

Glass House, Santambrogiomilano, 2012 All glass houses privilege their surroundings over themselves, this Milanese one especially. Its petite envelope, which manages to fit three floors, makes it practically vanish into the forest.

With his son, William, watching, architect Noah Walker tries out the floor-to-ceiling Schüco glass doors he integrated into a guesthouse he designed off an existing barn for Nathan Frankel, an amateur violinist, in Beverly Hills, California. The new portion features an open living-dining area. See more glass houses we love!

The two wings of the addition are connected by a central “void space.” The glass walls visually draw the garden and greenery into the living space. Both East Coast transplants, the couple wanted to more easily take advantage of favorable gardening conditions in the mild Northern California climate. With this in mind, they used the renovation to bring the outdoors in, as well as encourage easy and direct exterior access for gardening.

One major directive was to “honor the tree,” referring to a particular 85-year-old cottonwood on the property. Photo by: Kirk Gittings

Residence VDB-Belgium by Govaert&Vanhoutte Architects

Berkshire Residence by Olson Kundig principal Tom Kundig. The main level of the house was raised about ten feet above the ground, partly to maximize the views, but also to get up above the humidity and insects in the summertime, and the snow in the winter. www.olsonkundig.com/pro...

Architects: Kirsten Murray, Tom Kundig

Delta Shelter, a cabin getaway on the same property as the Rolling Huts. We visited the owner and his wife during one of our visits to get an in-person reference for Tanner Construction. It was wonderful to see the house in person after drooling over it in the pages of Tom Kundig: Houses. Photo by Tim Bies.

Rolling Huts (Winthrop, United States) A series of six modernist huts created by Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig Architects, the Rolling Huts look like rustic case study homes, a herd of designer cabins that just may exemplify the term 'glamping.' Elevated on stilts, the 200-square-foot structures offer another level of outdoor accommodation. Photos by Chad Kirkpatrick

Architecture by Jim Olson

Set in Washington's remote Methow Valley, the Studhorse House rests on a 20-acre site that is nestled in the northern portion of the 60-mile long glacial valley. The buildings are arranged to frame carefully composed views of the surrounding Studhorse Ridge and Pearrygin Lake. Design Principal, Tom Kundig.

Jim Olson's #cabin at Longbranch Washington #olsonkundig

On San Juan island, Pole Pass is an intimate waterfront retreat built to serve as a gathering space that takes advantage of the temperate Pacific Northwest summers.

Olson Kundig Architects created Studhorse in Washington's remote Methow Valley as four structures oriented around a central courtyard, each positioned to best enjoy the surrounding vistas in all four seasons.

"The Herd" as they are often referred to, sit out in the open in breathtaking scenery. Tanner Construction collaborated with Tom Kundig on the project for the same client who commissioned Delta Shelter. As the story goes, the rolling huts were zoned for an RV park so Kundig put them on steel wheels to swerve around the local building code. Photo by Tim Bies.

The Pierre by Olson Kundig Architects: An elegant, brutalist building is integrated into the surrounding rocky landscape. Photo by Benjamin Benschneider.

Montecito Residence - Tom Kundig / Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen Architects

In Seattle's rapidly developing South Lake Union neighborhood, the Art Stable is a classic example of urban infill. Built on the site of a former horse stable, the seven-story mixed-use building carries its history into the future with highly adaptable live/work units.

At just 350 square feet, this remote cabin with a view for the Sol Duc River sits on stilts to protect it from flooding and the dampness of the northwestern rainforest. Its shutters can be operated manually by custom steel rods.

In the sleeping loft, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the fir canopy of the surrounding forest. "The house faces east, so the sun and moon rise and reflect on the water," Hoover says. "The moon rising with the fire crackling is a delight. And on sunny summer mornings, the sunbeams magically shimmer off the Puget Sound and reflect onto the ceiling of the bedroom, we could never have planned this."

The cantilevered sleeping loft posed a structural challenge. "The structure is simple, however we explored a number of options for supporting the cantilevered loft," Eerkes says. "But after comparing costs for large trusses versus a big glulam beam—including labor costs for construction of each—the simplicity of a two-foot glulam beam won out. The steel rod cross bracing provided lateral stability in the longitudinal direction."

Delta Shelter, designed by Tom Kundig. Photo by Tim Bies, Olson Kundig Architects.

Rolling Huts by Olson Kundig There are a lot reasons to follow Olson Kundig on Instagram. One of them is their seminal Rolling Huts project.

Anna Hoover, founder of the non-profit First Light Alaska, sought a "thought refuge, a room with a view to sit and contemplate future projects and reflect on recent travels and interactions, plenty of ‘headspace’—tall ceilings—and the ability to host other artists for studio time," she says. A longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Hoover was familiar with the work of Olson Kundig and contacted the Seattle-based firm to design her abode.

The galleries feature sliding sun screens made from Richlite, a sustainable material that is made locally from recycled paper, organic fiber, and phenolic resin.

This 1,000 square-foot weekend cabin in Mazama, Washington, is essentially a "steel box on stilts," according to the firm. The three-story structure, which includes a living room and kitchen, can be completely shuttered when the owner is away.