Cabin

A rendering of the standard 1,943-square-foot Ayfraym that includes three large walk-out decks and custom windows. Ayfraym also offers architectural services for design modifications.

A look at the back of the A-frame, which includes an entrance to the basement level. Here, you can see the detailing of the seamed metal roof, as well as the concrete foundation.

This elevated prefab cabin along the Chilean Andes has a buffer zone that helps protect it against harsh climatic conditions. The 1,033-square-foot Casa R opens up to a "chiflonera," an intermediate space between the interior and exterior commonly found in Patagonian homes.

Sliding wood barn doors conceal shower rooms.

Playing off the work of artist James Turrell, as well as the front porch scheme prevalent in the South, an outside living room of the Lewin House by Dencity is half covered and half open to the leaf canopy overhead. A pair of teak armchairs are clustered around a Laguna fire table from Restoration Hardware.

A view of the Z House illuminated at night.

The complexity of the very steep, rock-studded site was a big challenge for the architects. Here is an image of the west side of the house, where the service areas, garage, and entrance are located.

A glass-walled bridge links the master bedroom with the office on the upper floor. The layout creates a double-height space for the living area and keeps the drama of the exposed concrete ceiling visible from the ground floor.

GEZA designed the custom dining table (which is nearly 12 feet in length) to meet the clients' desire for entertaining a large numbers of guests. A MOOOI Heracleum Endless lighting fixture hangs above.

“The clients requested we use ‘cirmolo,’ a local type of wood with a strong fragrance capable of spreading healthy aromas around the house,” say the architects. They used the timber, also known as Swiss pine, for accent walls and the majority of the custom furniture.

Large sliding glass doors provide a seamless transition from the indoors to the outdoors.

Silvano Zamò, third-generation winemaker at Le Vigne di Zamò winery, and his wife Brigitte tasked architecture firm GEZA with a holiday home on a hilltop location in the tiny northern Italian village of Camporosso, not far from the ski resort Monte Lussari.

The view from the master bedroom towards the office and the front facade that frames Camporosso’s church and bell tower located in the heart of the valley.

Deep roof overhangs not only protect the interior from direct sunlight, but also provide privacy.

Architects Joan Soranno and John Cook of HGA developed five site-specific cabins that tread lightly on the land at Marlboro College in rural Vermont. These deceptively simple structures update the regional vernacular. Every year, Marlboro College hosts the Marlboro Music Festival in which classical musicians join together to hone their craft. These cabins help support the musicians that live, work, and rehearse together.

With one side of the house closed off, views are directed through the glazed south and west facades to the grassy clearing beyond. "We planted tens of thousands of blue bells and lots of rhododendrons," Oostenbruggen says of the green space. "The setting developed over time."

The Getaway Cabins start at $125 a night.

Cabin Nordmarka, 2006.