Rockvale

“Who better than the farmer and the farmer's family to know how most effectively and easily to find efficiency?” says architect Alan Barlis. Regional architecture inspired the barn-life structure of the house, an open volume that aides in efficient heating and cooling of the space.

Tucked away in a corner of Norfolk County, England, this pair of barns—one new, one renovated—sit low in the vast countryside.

Another one of Djuric Tardio Architectes recent projects is this home extension, completed in 2015 and also located outside Paris. Its prefabricated wooden structure took just fifteen days to assmble.

With clean white stucco cladding and unusual angles, the three-module house stands out from the surrounding neighborhood, which features mostly post-war, one-and-a-half story homes.

“Our goal was to construct a house with the lowest possible budget, while ensuring comfort and efficiency for the residents inside,” says Sergey Kolchin, founder of Le Atelier. The architects accented the home’s front door by painting it yellow, harmonizing the structure with the surrounding forest.

Bruce Thatcher and Kirsty Leighton behind their London home.