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The cottage is located on a site just over an hour from Gothenburg and two-and-a-half hours from Oslo, Bohuslän was the ideal location. “We immediately fell in love with the slightly hilly site and its location along a narrow dirt road with cows grazing on the other side,” says Helena. “Until then, I had never thought of building a summer house but when we got the chance, we just had to take it. Especially when my old friend Susanna said she could design a house for us.”

After more than 15 years spent in construction, high school friends Simon Fyall and Richard Egli started to imagine an architecture that blended in with the landscape of British Columbia better than industry-standard buildings. Soon after, the pair founded Blend Projects to build their vision: crisp gabled homes strung together from eight-foot-long cedar-sided glulam sections.

“It’s very similar to what you’d see for corn storage,” the homeowner says of the custom designed stairwell screen. On the landing, a long vertical window frames a picturesque view of the property. As a passageway that you would typically walk through quickly, the design details in the stairwell create an experience where you instead stop and linger.

The flooring is terrazzo. Vanbesian designed custom ash-wood cabinetry for storage throughout the home.

In the living room, Piero Lissoni’s sofa for Living Divani joins a Lawson coffee table by Egg Collective and poufs from CB2. The blanket and pillows are from Muji.

Concreteworks countertops, a Wolf range, Kallista sink, and Boffi faucet also fill the space.

A Murphy bed pulls out of a central, maple-clad volume that also holds a sleeping loft, a bathroom, and a kitchen designed and built by Remo. “When it’s so small, you see everything a little bit closer,” Remo says. “There was more pressure to do it right.”

“The studio is designed to give you vistas and sight lines across the whole garden,” Andrew says.

“I’ve been really surprised at how well-designed space can positively make you feel,” Wayne says. “My productivity levels have shot through the roof.”

“I’ve been really surprised at how well-designed space can positively make you feel,” Wayne says. “My productivity levels have shot through the roof.”

“For me, architecture is pragmatic yet joyful,” Andrew says. “The entrance cut away allows for a deep cantilevering overhang that gives shelter when it's raining, and the 1400mm-wide pivot door is pure theatrics.”

The suburban backyard garage in Hertfordshire, England, that architect Olli Andrew of Hyper converted into a work studio is wrapped in charred larch wood pieces that give the impression of scales and foster biodiversity, providing a place for insects to nestle.

"The house is designed to change with the family's needs and weather with the elements,

After gutting the interior to create an open floor plan, the Habilis crew installed reclaimed wood flooring that the homeowners had sourced. They painted the walls Strong White by Farrow & Ball and installed a custom metal stairs railing from local welder Joan of Arc. The stove is a Hwam Classic 7.

Photographer: Art Gray