The architectural relationship between the bunkroom and porch, and the bunkhouse and the surrounding forest, is especially apparent at dusk, when the building reads as a kind of illuminated lantern.
San Antonio-based firm Craig McMahon Architects faced a square footage challenge with this family's seasonal retreat in San Marcos, Texas. It would have to accommodate two families, the hosts and a guest family. Multiple built-ins, lofted sleeping areas, and other features allow it to accommodate many visitors. Dual porches bookend the home: one faces towards a creek, the other to where the sun sets.
For a cost-conscious 2,000-square-foot renovation located 30 minutes outside of Austin, Texas, architect Nick Deaver took a look around for inspiration. He spied galvanized metal cladding on the region’s sheds and co-opted the inexpensive, resilient material for his own design.
Architect Jesse Garlick’s rural Washington vacation home references its rugged surroundings. The steel cladding has developed a patina similar to the ochre-red color of bedrock found in the area.
Matthew Peek and Renata Ancona built an elevated modern structure near Stinson Beach, California, with mesmerizing views of both the coast and nearby Mount Tamalpais. Photo by: Mathew Scott
Located in New Zealand, this compact prefab vacation home in the seaside community of Onemana Beach was a collaboration with architecture students from Auckland’s Unitec Institute of Technology.
The Cora House’s configuration maximizes views, while its siting limits environmental impact. Bonnifait + Giesen Atelierworkshop, the firm that designed the structure, retained the mature trees on the property.
All of Scott Palamar’s selections and customizations brought the total to $150,000 for the 640-square-foot home and surrounding land. “I feel like I struck on such a novel solution because I was able to afford a home tailored to my lifestyle,” he says.
The Outward Bound cabins, designed by the University of Colorado Denver's design-build program, have steel frames that lift the structures above a three-foot snowpack while supporting corrugated-steel "snow roofs."