in the woods

Architect Robert Swinburne deploys a collaborative building approach and hyperlocal materials to craft a Passive House–certified home that celebrates the land it’s built on.

Project CCB floor plan

As Nicolás Tovo and Teresa Sarmiento of La Base embraced modular design as part of their architectural practice, they noticed that prospective clients were wary of prefabricated construction. So the duo teamed up with Place, an Argentine prefab builder, to make a proof of concept just outside the Patagonian resort town of Bariloche.

"In some ways the strongest attributes of the house are probably the outside spaces,” says Court. The original cedar deck was replaced with Kebony decking that wraps around a century-old cherry tree. A pair of Andy rockers from Mamagreen face an ottoman by Kenneth Cobonpue. The accordion doors are a NanaWall SL-60 system that allows the main room of the guesthouse to open completely to the deck.

To pick a site for the buildings, Matt used his drone to scan the site and then Daybreak created a 3D model to test out options for placement.

The cabin lit up at night.

Architect Ravi Handa camped out on the site before ground broke to find the sweet spot... and the best views.

This Swedish prefab cabin by

After renting in San Francisco for a decade, DIY couple Molly Fiffer and Jeff Waldman bought 10 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the pair and their friends built a cabin compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, and an outdoor shower. The cabin is made from locally sourced, rough-sawn redwood, which the couple stained with nontoxic Eco Wood Treatment to give the panels an aged appearance and a dark patina.

This revamped 1970s residence has an open plan peppered with picture windows to frame the surrounding woods.

This off-grid retreat is quite literally nestled among the treetops in Epworth, Georgia.

The primary bedroom cabin sits in a natural clearing amongst the trees, allowing for a water view and copious sunlight. The boulder-studded coast offers gently sloping paths to the ocean for a quick dip.