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Two art studios adjoin a central volume at this work/live residence built from terracreto (sustainable concrete), glass, and painted steel just outside of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Residents Austin and Lida Lowrey, retired design and museum professionals, collaborated with their two daughters—Sheridan, an artist, and Elizabeth, an architect—to design the structure as a place for creative contemplation.

The exterior was sealed through shou sugi ban, an environmentally friendly fireproofing practice common in Japanese architecture. The black exterior seems to disappear into the evergreens from one angle, and pops against the white snow from another.

MAPA Architects revitalizes an old ranch house in rural Uruguay—more than 5,300 miles away from the clients’ primary home.

“This is a humanized landscape of meadows, walls, ash, streams, a small-scale landscape, minimal, almost domestic, and where absolutely everything happens in yellow,” the architects wrote in a statement. To that end, the only hint of color on the house’s otherwise natural exterior is a door painted a vibrant lemon-yellow hue.

Tiny houses are spreading across the world—and probably because it really just makes sense. The tiny home lifestyle is the ultimate application of creative resourcefulness, and allows residents to reduce their environmental footprints without sacrificing good design.

The expansive windows offer unparalleled views of La Plata peak while also providing lots of natural light to the living room and kitchen.