Pool

On the hillside site, the triangular pool is on the same plane as the house.

Located in Aarhus, Denmark, Villa R is a minimalist, serene structure clad in zinc panels. "The objective was to create a house that brings the forest inside through large glass panels—and create an ever-changing seasonal backdrop for the interior living spaces," stated the architecture firm, C.F. Møller, of the 3,200-square-foot abode.

The rigid geometry of the home sits in pleasing contrast to the enveloping natural landscape.

The Master Bedroom back elevation is intended to direct the windows away from the side neighbours. © Justin Alexander

Costa Elena's new private Beach Club offers community residents a new basecamp for relaxation in northern Guanacaste.

A solar-heated lap pool sits at the home’s perimeter. It makes a visual impact with white tiles in the lap lane, contrasted with black tiles in the jacuzzi.

Architect Guilherme Machado Vaz decided to echo the square, compact nature of Casa em Afife when designing the swimming pool.

In Palm Springs, Sander Architects created an energy-efficient hybrid prefab home that’s designed to stay naturally cool in the desert heat, which often climbs to triple digits in the summer.

Midwest: Hoerr Schaudt Knitting the designed spaces into the greater wilderness beyond was paramount for the ten-acre landscape Douglas Hoerr devised in northern Michigan. “The idea is once you’re there, you can’t tell what we did,” he says. Instead of building formal gardens right to the property line, Hoerr added a meadow planted with mature trees and indigenous grasses to buffer the yard. Naturalistic plantings ebb and flow around the 110-foot-long saltwater lap pool.