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Nestled in the jungle of São Paulo, Casa de Vidro (or Glass House) was the first built project by architect Lina Bo Bardi. Its glass volume stands on thin support columns that allow greenery to grow into the home.

The sinuous interior is lined with CNC-cut wooden panels that define stepped sauna seating and porthole windows.

"For the first three months of the pandemic, we hiked every day—rain or shine or snow,

Concrete walls provide privacy in the main bathroom, where the Holtzes installed a deep hinoki cypress soaking tub.

The bedrooms feature stone walls and rustic timber ceilings that slope toward the floor.

The off-grid MU50 is topped with solar panels and solar thermal panels. Ground-source heat pumps support underfloor heating and cooling, while a nearby well supplies water. A desalination system provides drinking water, and rainwater is collected for landscape irrigation.

Multiple Hytte cabins can be clustered together to create a village layout.

The 260-square-foot Hytte module features tall ceilings of up to nearly 12 feet. Multiple windows fill the interior with natural light and frame views of the outdoors.

Now, built-in sofas line the perimeter of the room and utilize the room’s shape better.

The bed platform can host guests or tea ceremonies.

The lattice-like bookcase separating the living room and family room is part of a design approach that Cristián says “blurs the line between building and furniture.” The walls and floors are concrete in all of the units.

Interior designer Heidi Lachapelle chose unfussy furnishings with clean lines. “Nothing should feel decorative or unnecessary,” she says. “We looked for things that would age beautifully to speak to the wabi-sabi concept.” The oak daybed is by Bautier, the indoor/outdoor rug is by Dash & Albert, and the trapezoidal cushions on the concrete bench nod to similar ones that the wife saw at Georgia O’Keefe’s home and studio. The Scandinavian-inspired fireplace throws heat from two sides.

The Forest House’s detailed design includes concrete ceilings with openings that allow planted trees to stretch toward the sky.

Mac describes adding the fireplace’s Domingue plaster finish as a real "labor of love." "The end result was a credit to the builder and his team. It really pulled the spaces together, and there is nothing better than the natural light playing with the plaster finish," explains the architect.

Spending more time this year at Casa MF, away from the city, has given Magdalena time to reflect on slowing down and living in a more rural way. “You can have a wonderful life here,” she says.

The cabins and sauna that architect Zane Tetere-Sulce designed for the Ziedlejas Wellness Resort are clad with Cor-Ten steel and glass.