Hotel

After staying in a tree house listed on Airbnb, Remo Kommnick and Emi Moore wanted their own getaway in the woods. "It was amazing being up in the trees,

The brick-and-glass residence accommodates limited mobility with a lift between levels and seamless thresholds between indoors and out.

This countryside residence favors simple, sustainable moves over square footage, and strategically captures views without walls of glass.

The rebuilt “Idea House,” designed by Holly Freres and David Horning of JHL design. The driveway is permeable to encourage good drainage: crushed granite gravel is installed over a stabilization mat. James Hardie exterior siding is painted in Benjamin Moore ‘White Dove,’ with reclaimed wood used for the entry and garage.

An expansive picture window frames views of the natural landscape in the bedroom area, where the headboard doubles as a bar for the dining space.

This prefab also has a wraparound deck with a shaded dining area.

An aerial view of ESCAPE's new "The Oaks

The 800-square-foot cabins in Pioneertown, California, near Joshua Tree, designed by Duane Smith of Palm Springs-based Hundred Mile House are sided with vertical tongue-and-groove pine.

The Fish Camp acts as the couple’s forest getaway, just a quarter mile from their main house.

The weeHouse exteriors are clad in corrugated Cor-Ten, but with a custom pattern of folds to create an organic randomness. The foundations were designed with a shallow recess around the top to make the modules look like they’re hovering. After they bought the property in early 2014, the Siegels camped there for two summers while they saved up money and planned a permanent structure. In his research, BJ came across this design, a customizable prefab house by Alchemy Architects. "Of all the things that I found, I was drawn to that one because it was absolutely the simplest and cleanest," he says.

"Translucent or transparent glazing also alters one perception of the light and view vertically, giving a more diffusing light,

After: "We wanted to restore the missing components back to their 1890s original form, while inserting additive elements that would transform a schoolhouse with classrooms into a building for apartments and modern day living," says Brian Rome, the principal of Rome Office.

One of the first Dwell Houses, built by Abodu, was installed at Leslie Scharf’s vineyard home in Healdsburg, California. Norm Architects led the design of the 540-square-foot prefab, which is wrapped in Real Cedar siding.