IXTAPAN DE LA SAL

One side of the building contains two simple bedrooms and a bathroom. The other, larger side houses the open-plan living area, kitchen, covered deck with fireplace, and additional bedroom. The deck-hallway that runs the length of the building is partially covered, but the decking boards and inset fiberglass door panels allow air and light to penetrate. The architects wanted to suggest that moving between the different living spaces involved a trip through nature, as it does in traditional camping.

The barn makes extraordinarily efficient use of timber milled from on-site trees.

Completed in 2009, the E.D.G.E comprises two modules that contain the mechanical areas (including the kitchen and bathroom) joined together with walls of glass and white oak panels.

Built entirely from teak harvested on-site, this breezy solar-powered home in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, ticks all the right boxes for a pair of avid environmentalists who love surfing.

Streamlined sections of metal-framed windows with triple glazing stylishly connect the brick and wooden volumes.

Perched quietly on the dunes of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula, Hut on Sleds serves as a small, sustainable beach retreat for a family of five.

Kanuka Valley House by WireDog Architecture

The movable shutters create a playful facade that conceals and reveals interior spaces.

The guest houses were prefabricated in a factory, trucked onto the site, and then set on concrete foundations.

Lisbeth Juul and Laust Nørgaard drew upon their years of experience living on the water to design and build an 860-square-foot floating home in Copenhagen Harbor. The home’s minimal form and furnishings reflect the residents’ desire to downsize following three years on land.

In Kansas City, Missouri, a family sought to construct a new home using prefabricated structural insulated panels (SIPS) instead of traditional frame construction. The entire kit house is composed of 4' x 8' sections, and the shell was constructed in about a week. The project’s relatively low cost, quick build time, and highly insulated envelope were positives, but the panels also have their limitations. “Most SIP projects look pretty stupid,” Jamie says. “They haven’t been manipulated by someone who’s thinking creatively.” In this case, Jamie augmented the simple panel system with a dynamic cantilever.

Large sliding glass doors allow daylight to fill the living room. Smaller windows are placed in the kitchen area and the sleeping loft. The exterior is clad in heart pine which needs very little up-keep and is known for its strength and hardness.

The walls of this contemporary one-room cabin are covered in insulating polycarbonate siding.

A view from the bridge toward the guesthouse on the left and the sauna on the right.

The 377-square-foot Woodland Cabin by London-based practice De Rosee Sa was completed over the course of multiple trips to the lakeside lot in the village of Nouvelles in southern Belgium. The steeply pitched structure is clad in timber that was stained black from used tractor engine oil, which is a popular finish for local agricultural buildings.

Set within the East Asian community of Richmond, BC, Curio House allows two Chinese scholars—the architect’s grandparents—to age in place. "I have a very close relationship with them," says Haeccity Studio Architecture cofounder Shirley Shen, "and it was kind of a family endeavor." The resulting design integrates principles from feng shui, a set of spatial laws meant to direct energy, and siheyuan, a historical courtyard house.