East Valverde

On Bainbridge Island, Jim and Hannah Cutler created a cabin for reading and working. Sited just steps from the main house, it’s a welcoming retreat that the father and daughter share.

Opposite Jim’s workstation, the modest interior accommodates a single bunk—Hannah’s preferred reading perch.

While the space is heavily insulated, with strong solar gain, a cast-iron stove from Salamander Stoves provides extra warmth on cool days.

The workstation and the cabinets are by Korben Mathis Woodworking; the desk lamp is from TaoTronics.

Erecting a modern cabin where a tool shed once stood became a family exercise for architect Jim Cutler and his daughter, Hannah, who worked with him on the design and build.

Together with timber cladding and insulated with hemp inside wood fibre panels, 'green' exterior walls and a sedum roof promote breathability of the structure.

More living areas wrap around the home, tracing the garden's perimeter. Here, glass doors swing open to a view of the stand-alone studio just steps away from the main structure.

The single level home is located off the road, nestled amongst the natural landscape and a lush garden that includes several rare species.

"The owner wanted the front door to match the same yellow of Caterpillar, the heavy machinery company,

The Impluvium Refuge is set in a dense, tall Chilean forest within the Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve.

Whidbey Island Farm Retreat

The Monkey House is located in a secondary forest in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest that had been used as a banana plantation decades ago. Brajovic has turned the area, which is located on the border of Bocaina National Park, into an ecological sanctuary called Aldeia Rizoma that’s now home to several eco-friendly homes.

An up-close look at the metalwork. Cut into a pattern that channels nature, it casts dynamic shadows.

Cornell University's Silo House.