Houses

The bedroom is elevated around five meters above the forest floor, and the space beneath has—like the green roof—been given back to the Bushveld. “Naturally, this space is shadier than the surrounding forest, so it creates a different microclimate for different species to flourish in that area,” says architect Ant Vervoort. “It’s an area that we have cultivated.”

Using concrete for the home's basic structure inspired the team to continue the theme inside with exposed concrete brick walls, floors, and benchtops. The resulting restrained palette creates a soothing backdrop for this sustainably-minded residence.

The architects took chestnut trees that were felled three years ago at Château de la Bourdaisière to a local sawmill, where the logs were processed into boards for the facade.

custom Pierre Chareau alabaster lighting and wood-burning fireplace.

Winkelman Architecture delivers grown-up summer-camp vibes with this unassuming retreat on the coast of Maine.

Will Gamble Architects revives a crumbling, 17th-century structure with a svelte addition of steel, brick, and glass.

Located in Karuizawa, a popular summer resort town in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, Four Leaves is a weekend getaway designed to accommodate the homeowner and their guests in a lush, sylvan setting. Designed by Kentaro Ishida Architects Studio (KIAS), the highlight of the stunning, 2,400-square-foot house is its sloping, angular roof sections that are delicately assembled to resemble fallen leaves.

Want a peek at the future of prefab design? Meet the Cube One—a 156-square-foot dwelling with built-in furnishings, voice-controlled tech, and a galvanized steel shell that can withstand extreme heat and natural disasters. Singapore-based Nestron will ship the Cube One anywhere in the world, and it’ll be ready for move-in the day it arrives.

As if undertaking an archaeological dig, architect Carles Oliver peels back layers of his home over the course of three years. Cities that are inundated by tourists, such as Palma de Mallorca, Spain, can suffer severe housing shortages that call for the reappropriation of unused space. Architect Carles Oliver undertook just this task, rehabbing an old, empty building with a budget of just over $21,000. Through an urban sharecropping contract, the work on the home was done in exchange for three years of rent.

Set in the prominent Mexico City neighborhood of San Angel Inn, Casa Campestre 107 by DCPP Arquitectos is a sleek, modern home designed using traditional materials and processes. The massing on the site contrasts between solid and void space, while the materiality of the home juxtaposes the exterior and interior. The exterior is dark with stone-like flooring and hardwood, differentiated from the interior, which is light and bright with minimal textural play. Regardless of all contrasts, the visual continuity between exterior and interior never fails. Landscape and architecture blend harmoniously for indoor/outdoor living.

Renowned designer and architect Jens Risom sourced parts from a catalog for his customized A-frame and had them delivered in pieces to his remote island site off Rhode Island, helped to raise the aesthetic profile of modular construction.