Travel

Shipping container architecture is certainly nothing new—but this upcycled shipping container nestled into a hillside site in Terrasini, Italy, is an impressive interpretation of the typology. Dubbed the “Container Suite”, it’s surrounded by prickly pears and features an enormous glazed facade overlooking the landscape.

Le MICA is a strikingly sleek micro-home located in the Maelström recreational forest, just 25 minutes from Old Quebec. The tiny home comprises two simple rectilinear forms stacked atop each other and inserted in an open “box” form that functions as a covered deck area and frames the panoramic views of Laurentian Park. Wood burning heaters in the living area and on the deck keep the home cosy even in the depths of winter.

"Set in splendid isolation in a small, surf-battered bay on the north coast of Horomaka Banks Peninsula, this rustic style dwelling is luxury accommodation at Annandale, a 4000-hectare beef and sheep farm. The bay is nature in the raw. Seals and penguins frequent the dense kelp beds offshore, whales and dolphins travel the coastline, and piled on the beach are tangles of bleaching driftwood. Faced with such an uncompromising location, architect Andrew Patterson eschewed a modern or abstracted path—which, he reasons, 'would have fought the timeless nature of the bay’—in favour of a rural vernacular form, albeit on a monumental scale.

After: By knocking down a wall, they opened up the kitchen to the living room to create one great room, ideal for entertaining.

Passing the rain garden on your way back to the house, watch out for the local wildlife, from herds of deer to soaring eagles, to the local Bengal cat. The rain garden is the Barn Gallery's most talked about landscaping feature;  if you're lucky enough to be there when it rains you can see it in action.... Sustainability is exemplified by the rough fir siding, re-purposed from an old movie prop storage warehouse in Los Angeles. Every piece of reclaimed wood and metal inside or outside the house has a story to tell.

The "library under the stars" features thousands of old books plucked from antique shops.

Traditionally home to merchants and craftspeople, a machiya is a type of Japanese wooden townhouse that originated in the Heian period and developed through the Edo and Meiji periods.

Separated by an elevation difference of approximately 13 feet, the renovated structures are oriented towards views of the East China Sea.

Located on the east side of Dahuanglong Island, the buildings are set close to the edge of the weathered cliffs.

This classic 1960s A-frame cabin in New Jersey now serves as a stylish Scandinavian-inspired vacation retreat that’s available for rent.