Exterior view
About 100 miles southwest of Mexico City, nine black concrete blocks in a forest clearing make up one family's holiday home. Designed by Fernanda Canales with landscaping by Claudia Rodríguez, Casa Bruma makes elegant use of a construction material that's commonplace in Latin America
Set on a ridge overlooking a deep ravine, this summer home in Southern Iceland is surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery.
At the front of the outdoor lounge on the deck are two pots containing Wollemi Pines (wollemia nobilis). Wollemia nobilis is an evergreen tree reaching 25–40 m (82–131 ft) tall. It was only known through fossil records until the tree was discovered in 1994 in a temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park, in the Blue Mountains region, in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges 150 km north-west of Sydney.
At night, the southern facade glows brightly, revealing the modern interior elements.
A luxurious rural retreat that doesn’t skimp on comfort, JR’s Hut is an off-grid glamping destination with spectacular views of the 7,000-acre Kimo Estate in Australia.
In a compact apartment in Australia, the kitchenette uses a mirrored take on the glass backsplash to bring in an element that would reflect light (and views). The mirrored backsplash is relatively easy to clean with the right cleaning tools, but might drive a clean freak a little crazy. Regardless, it's a great contrast to the dark cabinets.
A cylindrical glass staircase with Western red cedar and painted steel mullions dominates the front of the house. The stair treads, along with the floor, are made of recycled spotted gum.
The weeHouse exteriors are clad in corrugated Cor-Ten, but with a custom pattern of folds to create an organic randomness. The foundations were designed with a shallow recess around the top to make the modules look like they’re hovering. After they bought the property in early 2014, the Siegels camped there for two summers while they saved up money and planned a permanent structure. In his research, BJ came across this design, a customizable prefab house by Alchemy Architects. "Of all the things that I found, I was drawn to that one because it was absolutely the simplest and cleanest," he says.
