Seen in the architectural context of its London neighborhood, the house is all the more extraordinary: compact, materially innovative, and easy on the eyes.

Many tiny home dwellers develop eco-friendly habits when they downsize—like adopting a capsule wardrobe, carpooling more, and harvesting rainwater.

“The house is a piece of origami made out of triangular shapes, which we then draped over the landscape,” says Arbel.

Located in Aarhus, Denmark, Villa R is a minimalist, serene structure clad in zinc panels. "The objective was to create a house that brings the forest inside through large glass panels—and create an ever-changing seasonal backdrop for the interior living spaces," stated the architecture firm, C.F. Møller, of the 3,200-square-foot abode.

A small, single-story addition to the row house adds a playroom without eating up too much outdoor space. A green roof also helps makes up for lost garden beds, while creating attractive, leafy views from the second and third floors. In summer, when the sliding doors are left wide open, indoor and outdoor spaces blend together.

The front of the 1910 house belies the modern extension architects Doug Skidmore and Heidi Beebe created to extend the family’s living space.

Bruce Thatcher and Kirsty Leighton behind their London home.

Delivering a modern look, concrete serves as a long-lasting, hardwearing material.

The exterior of the Field House, designed by Wendell Burnette Architects in Ellington, Wisconsin.

Thomas and Laura Hyland's house sits adjacent to the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. The home maintains the land's natural vegetation and rocky surface. Photo by: Dean Kaufman

London based photographer, Ed Reeve used dark cedar to achieve his lifelong goal: to build his own house on a perfect plot of land located in De Beauvoir Town. Photos by: Ed Reeve

The master bath commands one of the best views in the house.

The building takes advantage of passive heating and cooling, thanks to Blee and Halligan's strategic design to capture the most sunlight in the winter and provide the most shade in the summer. The above-ground glass facade faces east and draws in the daylight, but when the sun proves too strong, whoever is staying in the structure can close the internal shutters to beat the heat.

The Trues host parties in the glass-walled structure, located steps from their vacation home, or they escape to it to catch some rays and read a book. Bill reclines on cushions hidden under the reclaimed-fir floorboards that are propped up with Sugatsune hinges.

The rear facade. A system of sliding glass windows and doors underscore the indoor/outdoor nature of the house.

The house has four varieties of wood that relate to one another with a similar material vocabulary. “It is all about finding ways to assemble pieces of the same nature,” says Lamine.

The family’s country estate is the oldest home in Farum and sits on the outskirts of the town. Before the Asmussons bought the house, it was owned by an elderly woman with a passion for plastic bags, who called her home ‘Posehuset,’ or bag house. Today, although the name remains the same, the studio is host to a diverse range of artistic activities and music productions.

“Peter and I’ve got shockingly similar and far-reaching design inspirations. Our conversations would move easily from brutalism to driftwood to kachinas and then flow right back to something applicable to architecture. I can’t tell you how many times I will do that with a less-design-literate client and just get a blank stare!” —Architect Craig Steely

Cedar slats help this Ontario lake house float soundly atop still waters. Photo by: Raimund Koch

The glass and wood walls of the bathhouse, like other retractable panels on the house, offer shade with a view.

The newly built house, just feet from the water’s edge, occupies the space where a decaying farmhouse once stood.

Looking downwards from the second floor, the void creates an invisible barrier between the family room and the living area. The reflection from the skylight exaggerates the idea of an even more depth within the house.

Inspired by the Sydney Opera House, architects Andrew Maynard and Mark Austin paid careful attention to the extension’s “fifth elevation"—the way it’s seen from the sky. Its tiny houses, clustered at the southern end of the property, are clad in white steel panels and western red cedar shingles, contrasting materials that emphasize their geometric forms.

A landscape of native grasses designed by GSLA Studio complements the raw textures of the concrete-and-ipe front facade.

The facade of a house in Belgium consists of "knitted bricks." “In this part of Belgium, 90 percent of the houses are built with brick,” says architect Tom Verschueren. “It’s a classic material that we tried to use in House BVA in a totally different way.”

The public staircase is directly adjacent to the house, though the louvers mitigate the view of passersby in favor of views of San Francisco.

Two glass facades in the living space allow for an unencumbered view of the beech tree.

The home’s reflection is seen in the lake at dusk. The white aluminum sleeves dramatically break through the timber, creating visual portals to the surrounding scenery.

When not in use during winter, the tub is hidden from the home’s view. The entrance has a sheltered overhang for car parking.

Located in Springfield, Missouri, this modern farmhouse designed by Kansas-City based firm Hufft Projects exudes the traditional vernacular of Kansas with an updated take on the conventional form. The rolling hills and expansive land resemble the tone of quaint Marquette.

The iT House offers cross-ventilation through its wide, expansive doors and windows, which naturally help cool down the home's interior temperature. Photo by: Gregg Segal

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.

A glowing home in Japan has milky-white, one-and-a-half-inch plastic sheets wrapped around the exterior to let in light and provide insulation.

The home, a half-sunk diamond, is experienced very differently from each of its sides. Using BIM software, the firm designed modular prefabricated wooden panels that make up each of the home’s facades. Western red cedar was chosen for the panels, while tropical Bilinga was selected for the edge beam.

The majority of windows are on the south facade to optimize solar gain.

The house is a simple cement and steel box with elements that fold outwards to create privacy screens where needed. A perforated aluminum fence unravels from the building down toward the street. The material was selected to deter local graffiti artists from leaving their mark. Instead, a recycled brick wall serves as an appropriate canvas for street art.