Prefab

For 2015, Vipp, the Danish industrial design company known for its iconic trash cans and all-black kitchens, introduces a 592-square-foot prefab unit called Shelter.

The living room's double height makes the space seem larger that its actual size. Stairs leading up to the sleeping loft are placed next to the open fireplace. The plastered wall and the soapstone tiles on the floor add some roughness to the wooden interior.

Photo by Patrick Barta

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 wood shed portion artfully encapsulates all the domestic detritus that would be anathema within the all-glass sleeping portion.

Subtle features incorporated into the design, including an elevated terrace and jetty, help the home float above the island.

Studio owner Joey Williams uses his space to work from home as an Austin-based media director.

The jaunty boat-like shell of the Hütte Hut began with a case study undertaken by Brian and Katrina Manzo, a husband-and-wife team of industrial designers behind Sprouting Sprocket Studio.

NOEM, a Barcelona–based architecture firm, created a metal-clad house for a young client just outside Madrid. It’s raised 12 feet off the ground to offer better views of the landscape, lending it "the futuristic feeling that it just landed," says Pol Guiu, one of NOEM’s cofounders.

The L-shaped secondary building perches over a craggy escarpment. It offers the best vantage point for taking in the moss-planted roof, forest, and ocean.

When they are eventually integrated into the parks, the cabins are meant to stand in groups of ten to 15.