Cabins

Wild bush, sand dunes, and scrub surround the circular home on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The Austin Maynard Architects team was careful to minimize the building’s impact on the fragile landscape.

The cabanas encourage guests to get closer to nature while enjoying an escape that treads lightly on the mystical island's fragile ecosystem.

This boutique hotel on Norway's Manshausen Island is made up of four sea cabins—one of which juts out from a natural ledge. Each of them fit two to four travelers or a family of five.

The motto for the Panorama Glass Lodge states "Where the sky is," which works as a fitting descriptor for this cozy 248-square-foot vacation cabin.

Built as a live/work space for a sculptor, Indigo by Dutch practice Woonpioniers is an eco-friendly, prefabricated cabin with bent wooden walls.

Drawing inspiration from fire towers and Nordic folklore, the PAN Treetop Cabins are two 431-square-feet lofted A-frames that sleep six people each. Elevated 26 feet in the air by steel poles and clad in black oxidized zinc and steel, the structures blend into the forested landscape of Eastern Norway.

Maui, Hawaii Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

Rainwater is collected from the rooftop of the Permanent Camping! Mudgee abode by Casey Brown, NSW, Australia. Photo by Penny Clay

Constructed from locally sourced materials, this recently built home by Scott & Scott Architects mimics the classic A-frame.

The 925-square-foot house Maggie Treanor calls home blends into the landscape somewhat; with a galvanized steel shed roof and siding, it looks like a high-design little brother to the barns on the surrounding farms.

Architect Tom Kundig’s assignment was simple enough: Build a tiny, Thoreau-like getaway for an Atlanta-based writer who owned ten acres on San Juan Island in Puget Sound. "The idea was not to clutter anybody’s thinking, especially a writer’s," he said. So he designed a 500-square-foot retreat that’s both womblike and open to its surroundings.

Girodo describes LEAPfactory’s architecture as being “molded according to the needs and stresses imposed by context.” In this setting, strong winds and snow loads are serious concerns. The shell’s composite sandwich panels and aluminum shingles ensure that the school can withstand the elements.