COOL

Concrete masses break up the grand interior spaces, while providing some solidity to the light framework of the home.

Nine shipping containers form the basis of this new multigenerational house near Denver.

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The gabled volumes, angled outward and slightly cantilevered, capture commanding views through giant windows framed in sapele mahogany (below). Marlene recalls the first snowfall at the house.

The material palette of concrete, weathered steel, and natural cedar mimics the colors and textures of the hills.

The Light House is a vacation home in Denmark designed by Søren Sarup of Danish firm Puras Architecture. It consists of a low-lying Douglas fir–clad volume topped with a slate-covered A-frame.

In Washington’s Methow Valley, a modern cabin with an outdoor living room allows views of the surrounding woodland and meadow to perforate its volume. By day, the Chechaquo Lot 6 cabin gives the impression of floating in a forest clearing; by night, its windows glow against the wooded darkness. From all vantage points, the landscape permeates this 1,000-square-foot cabin, designed for two outdoor enthusiasts and tucked at the toe of a dramatic slope in Winthrop, Washington.

A timber rain screen made of locally-sourced spotted gum clads the house. “It’s basically like a tortoise shell in that it’s a protective layer, a shield, that allows the building to be protected from the sun and insulated from the cold,” Kennon says. Because of its high density, the Australian hardwood stands up well against the elements.

West Facade

© Justin Alexander

A deep soaking tub complements a shower lined with marble and wooden slats. A double vanity sits opposite.

Mary Blodgett and Carlton Calvin initially approached Fung + Blatt to design a ceramics studio on their Southern California property, which contains a 1950s house by modernist architect Calvin Straub.