Out Buildings

The Langs use an outbuilding as a rec room of sorts. "We call that the Grace Studio," Lang says. "It's designed so a car can pull in there, but we use it as more of a rec room and work space."

Architect Bill Yudchitz asked his son, Daniel, to help him create a self-sustaining multi-level family cabin in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

The Outward Bound cabins, designed by the University of Colorado Denver's design-build program, have steel frames that lift the structures above a three-foot snowpack while supporting corrugated-steel "snow roofs."

Tree Hotel in Sweden is known for its array of unique dwellings from their Bird’s Nest to the UFO, all of which are suspended above ground. Husband-and-wife owners Britta Jonsson Lindvall and Kent Lindvall enlisted several different designers to develop their contemporary tree house community, which has garnered international interest. One of the most iconic of their dwellings is the 13' by 13' Mirrorcube made of reflective glass, straddling the trunk of a pine. From the outside, it appears as if there’s nothing there at all, while inside, warm interiors are swathed in light plywood with three windows, a sky light, and balcony hidden behind the mirror facade—which means you can step outside the box without being seen.

Designed by Taliesin student Dave Frazee, the Miner's Shelter in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a 45-square-foot dwelling that responds to its harsh desert environment with a special metal cover that keeps it shaded at all times. Copyright Nathan Rist.

Glass House, Santambrogiomilano, 2012 All glass houses privilege their surroundings over themselves, this Milanese one especially. Its petite envelope, which manages to fit three floors, makes it practically vanish into the forest.

Firewood abounds at this historic homestead that was converted from a neglected farm in rural Germany into a sustainable and modern vacation village by an artist couple from Amsterdam. The sauna is powered by the stacked firewood outside, which keeps it at 70 degrees -- a warm, enveloping temperature that is gentler on the circulatory system.

March / April 2017 issue

“We did our best to tuck the buildings into the site—the goal was to get up high on a perch. It was a matter of setting that elevation and working back down with the topography.”—Riley Pratt, architectural designer

Vail’s Three Peaks Lodge also serves as a place where visitors can all come together for drinks, dinner, and relaxing in an incredible natural setting.

A covered fireplace and sitting area anchor the deck, which overlooks the water.

The relatively simple construction incorporates clever sustainable design: a two-level wood roof structure keeps the sun’s heat away from the interior, and small windows at either end facilitate powerful cross-ventilation. It’s natural air-conditioning, and it works beautifully.