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With windows facing the lake, Donna and Oliver have a front-row seat to the action every day. "It’s water that you just want to look at every day because even though it's a vast plane it changes all the time," says Lolley.

Agricultural buildings inspire a remote getaway in eastern Canada.

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The open living/dining area gives a good impression of Tas’s catholic approach to decorating, which includes mixing Panton chairs with antiques and homemade pieces.

Large spans of glass look out on the surrounding lush vegetation.

“We were required to keep the existing wall, floor and roof framing in the historical house. Working to get the floors level and the walls plumb presented the biggest challenge,” Gurney said. The windows are from Hope’s Windows Inc.

“The house turns its back to the street while opening up to the views to the northeast through a large glazed corner window system,” Hutchison says. One-by-four and one-by-six inch cedar siding, which were pre-stained in Cabot Semi-Transparent Black, were placed vertically and horizontally on the exterior as a subtle detail.

The sleeping cabin perches on a rocky rise near the Floating House; Meredith imagines these two as a start of a string of buildings that will wrap around the island.

The view from inside the Floating House's boat dock.

The relatively simple construction incorporates clever sustainable design: a two-level wood roof structure keeps the sun’s heat away from the interior, and small windows at either end facilitate powerful cross-ventilation. It’s natural air-conditioning, and it works beautifully.

A bothouse in Georgian Bay, Ontario, by Weiss Architecture & Urbanism Ltd. is clad in black-stained resawn cedar.

Architect John Hix—who, as one might gather, worked under renowned American architect and concrete aficionado Louis Kahn—designed the hotel Hix Island House in Vieques, off Puerto Rico. The latest guest house on the property is called Casa Solaris and is entirely removed from the commercial grid, running completely on solar power. Photo by Michael Grimm.

The south-facing facade looks out towards the forest.

Though the house is in need of some dire repairs—including leaks and a lack of heat and water—it stands proud with its original architecture built entirely of concrete and glass. It cantilevers over the Silvermine River.