Green

Large sliding glass doors suspend the living room within the landscape for family gatherings or larger events.

Given Langka's directive that "the people who live around us have to see our roof and I don't want them to see anything but grass," topped the house with a green roof.

One of the early challenges of building the house was defining the property lines of the lot, which had come to be known as "the floating acre" among the local fishermen.

Architect Will Winkelman and landscape architect Todd Richardson collaborated with client JT Bullitt to design a house that blends into its surroundings in Steuben, Maine. The green roof gives the impression that "the ground just jumped onto the roof," Richardson says.

The deck, fashioned from ipe, was built around one of the property’s many granite outcroppings. An earthen roof was planted with the same varieties of sedum that were added to the front of the cottage. Photo by: Mark Mahaney

Rainwater is collected from the rooftop of the Permanent Camping! Mudgee abode by Casey Brown, NSW, Australia. Photo by Penny Clay

The minimal design of the Mandakovic House by WMR Arquitectos in Navidad, Los Arcos, Chile, allows its scenic location take center stage. Photo by Sergio Pirrone.

A group of Woolly Pocket planters can be put up in an afternoon. Each planter's hook requires one screw to hang.

Covered with wire mesh, the green roof will continue to vegetate over time.