Top 5 Homes of the Week That Interact With the Landscape

Featured homes were submitted by members of the Dwell community through our Add a Home feature. Add your home to Dwell.com/homes today.

1. Villa CP

Architect: ZEST Architecture, Location: Catalonia, Spain

From the architect: "Our work aimed to create a modern, luxury estate in an old stone envelope. We've opened the house up on all sides, letting the light flood in and bringing the view inside. The house sits on a steep incline and we set out to connect the house and garden on various levels, sometimes adding levels where suitable. Another important part of the concept was to treat all our interventions as a new layer—interacting with the old stone building, rather than melting into it. This brings out both the beauty of the old, and lends a strong presence to the new."

2. House Ocho

Architect: Feldman Architecture, Location:  Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

From the architect: "Located in a nature preserve in the Santa Lucia Mountains, the site of oak forests and steep meadows strongly impacted and inspired Feldman Architecture’s design for House Ocho. After passing through an entry grove, visitors can see distant views between and over the various building elements. As they are drawn into the widening view, they are led down from the tree-lined ridge to a large terrace that serves as an outdoor living room for the house. Nearly every room has wide doors that open to the land, allowing the modest home to feel much more spacious."

3. Casa de la Tierra y el Mar

Architect: José Manuel Álvarez Cruz, Location: Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica

From the project uploader: "[The house is] located in the mountains of Malpaís, Costa Rica, in a property with vegetation typical of the tropical dry forest. [It's] possible to take advantage of the amazing view of the North Pacific coast. From the deck it is even possible during certain months to observe whales. The relationship between inside and outside is maximized with the design of a bridge, which extends like an arm and allows [you to] touch the branches of the trees around the house." 

4. Lake Austin Residence

Architect: A Parallel Architecture, Location: Austin, Texas

From the architect: "The [house] reflects the organic character of its site, and offers a combination of transparency and solidity, incrementally tuned to capitalize on its relationship to the scenic, yet recreationally active lake front. At the glassy center of the home, the structural system is exposed to reveal a rhythmic steel vertebrate that organizes the primary public spaces and provides definition and scale to the spacious rooms. The landscape is carefully understated while accommodating many amenities, including a large boat dock, fishing pier, sandy beach, and onsite services such as geothermal climate control, waste treatment, and water collection."

5. Lake Forest Park Midcentury Renovation

Architect: FINNE Architects, Location: Lake Forest Park, Washington

From the architect: "The Lake Forest Park Renovation consisted of completely re-working a 50s house on a large, wooded site north of Seattle. The floor plan was altered to create an enlarged kitchen, master bedroom, master bath, and study. While the existing exposed wood ceiling was kept, large glass light monitors were added to bring a soft wash of natural light to the interior. Materials such as steel, cherry, natural grass, terrazzo, and Douglas Fir were used in juxtaposition, allowing each material to benefit from adjacent contrasts in texture and color. In keeping with other FINNE projects, this renovation pursued the idea of 'crafted modernism,' the enrichment of a modernist aesthetic with highly personal, crafted materials and objects."

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