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For the cabin design, Koto considered natural elements such as wind, scent, sound, and sunlight.

The walls and the ceilings of the cabins are dressed with poplar plywood and the flooring is made from locally sourced ash.

The cabins that Koto designed for Trees at Tughall, a resort on the Northumbrian Coast of England, are outfitted with vertical Welsh spruce siding that helps the structures look as if they're part of the natural surround.

Bowick says the shingles were at first a golden honey hue. “As it patinated, they became this beautiful silver-gray. It’s similar to the decks and railings, which are hemlock. They also have a nice patina,” he says.

Mono in the woods of Montana

Constructed out of structural insulated panels (SIPS), the Element House is a modular building that was designed to operate independently of public utilities by instead employing passive systems and on-site energy generation. The house functions as a guesthouse and visitor center for Star Axis, a nearby land art project by the artist Charles Ross in New Mexico.

The project’s unique challenges—a tight budget and steep, difficult terrain—led architecture firm _naturehumaine to a creative solution that gave the house its delightfully sculptural appearance. Making the first floor’s envelope slightly narrower than the top one’s saved money while minimizing the amount of excavation required.

The wood stove heats the cabin efficiently in winter. The seating nook beside it doubles as wood storage.

The cabin is available to rent all year long, and only accessible by foot, skis, and snowshoes. Transport carts or sleds are available to bring in gear.

The Cabin is used by a couple with a young child, who spend their weekends here while a larger country home is under construction.

Shaped like a cross, this four-cornered villa offers four different views of its location on an island in Finland. Avanto Architects created a black exterior, dotted with large windows, to make it invisible from the nearby lake.

A tiny outbuilding offers a cozy living space inside a simple shell.

The organic placement of the windows echoes the knots on the trunks of the surrounding trees.