Large sliding glass doors suspend the living room within the landscape for family gatherings or larger events.

The relationship between interior and exterior becomes crucial in the articulation of the residence.

The first floor consists of two long and narrow structures that intersect in an open kitchen, providing distinct programmatic areas and settling into the tree-lined landscape, allowing yards to surround and permeate each room.

Maximizing daylight is only one of the sustainable design strategies used in the Low/Rise residence.

In this sustainable home in Silicon Valley, the primary suite opens to a deck and fern garden with large, sliding glass doors.

The architects designed the large dining table, which is framed by the open kitchen, the wood-burning stove, and the garden beyond.

Through an integral relationship between use, form, and material, the Low/Rise House responds sensitively to site, nature, and neighborhood, creating a new type of suburban living – both urban and rural.

The Casa Cuatro sits above a 180-foot cliff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The locally quarried stone makes the house blend in with the landscape and acts as a thermal-mass wall, absorbing heat during the day and releasing it through the evening.

The house was built on piers (save for the lower-level bedroom) so that little of the natural landscape would be disturbed.

Having purchased the land from a friend who also has a house in the community, Schneider had a better sense of what she wanted—and what she didn't—her site. "From the experience at the neighbor's house," Foster says, "she knew she didn't want the house to have its back to the morning sun so we created a deck and somewhere to sit outside that faces east." Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!

A linear sequence of eight, 12-foot bays extends the length of the home from rear bedrooms and an office to the open kitchen and living room space. The modest form, a reflection of the owners' desire for simplicity, required few materials: wood, concrete, and steel. Photo by Ron Johnson.

The 925-square-foot house Maggie Treanor calls home blends into the landscape somewhat; with a galvanized steel shed roof and siding, it looks like a high-design little brother to the barns on the surrounding farms.

Custom kitchen cabinetry with a stone countertop is made of the same ash wood sustainably harvested in Canada.

Set amongst the trees, with its simple form and earthy adherence to wood, the home fits in well. "Veronica and I walked the land for many months before we decided where to put the house," says Hirsh. "We had picnics there. We sat looking east. We sat looking west. We sat looking south. The site felt wonderful." Photo by Ron Johnson.

The trip from garage to first floor is through a wood-clad spiral staircase that resembles a giant slatted barrel.

The units don't even require foundations—simple ground screws from Krinner are enough to support them.

The facade is clad with beveled siding, stained dark to meld into the forest.

Visitors learn about energy and water conservation as they climb outdoor staircases that lead from the forest floor to the 125-foot-high rooftop rising above the leaf canopy.

While it's not your traditional backsplash material, when properly prepared and treated, wood can make for an effective, functional, and beautiful backsplash. Here, the wood backsplash matches the wood of the nearby kitchen island in an otherwise white kitchen with white cabinetry.

Atop the 30-foot tower, a roof deck emerges through the trees, providing a unique vantage point of the structure below and the surrounding townscape.

A compact and vertical guest tower is sited at the western corner of the lot amongst tall evergreens, allowing for a more private guest experience, more compact floor plan, and the ability to effectively shut off (socially and energy-wise) the guest spaces zone by zone during typical daily use.

The outdoor room is backed by a gabion wall made of stone. Rainwater runs off the roofs into a channel before being funneled through pipes concealed within it to an underground concrete tank.

The diminutive Morsø wood stove and its hearth of local Criehaven beach stone gives off enough heat to warm the entire cottage.

"We composed the house to have its highest, brightest space in the middle," says Paul Raff. Warm wood stairs lead to the second floor, which houses guest bedrooms, bath, and a kitchenette for the family's frequent visitors.

In London, students from the Architectural Association used beech trees leftover from thinning a forest at their school’s Dorset campus to craft a delicately framed shelter. Via Dezeen

The children’s rooms, which are reserved for family and an extended network of friends, feature more custom Crasset-designed beds set against a vivid blue backdrop, courtesy of the French paint brand Zolpan.

The couple stockpiles wood under the deck.

“Peter and I’ve got shockingly similar and far-reaching design inspirations. Our conversations would move easily from brutalism to driftwood to kachinas and then flow right back to something applicable to architecture. I can’t tell you how many times I will do that with a less-design-literate client and just get a blank stare!” —Architect Craig Steely

In the bathroom, Martin selected Heath Ceramics Conclave Diamond tile in citrus green for the glass-enclosed Kohler tub, which is outfitted with nickel Kallista fixtures. A matching toilet by Kohler in the color Cashmere blends with the custom-fabricated concrete sink by Get Real Surfaces. Photo by Patrick Bernard.

Located just off the kitchen, this room was originally designed for dining—the adjustable Ligne Roset Crescendo coffee table can be raised to 28.75 inches—but most days Bill and Abbie prefer to eat outside or at their casual Caesarstone-topped kitchen island. Today the space serves as a sunny reading spot and guest room, with a convertible futon (from Ligne Roset, since discontinued) and a set of leather-and-steel Paulistano armchairs from Design Within Reach.

The rooftop tent can be accessed from the interior via a wooden ladder or—for the more athletic—via a series of wall-mounted climbing holds, made by Vock and carved from persimmon-tinted hardwood.

Designed by Seth Eshelman in 2006, the Cain furniture series was conceived from a need for simple, accessible furniture. Ranging stools, benches, and chairs, the Cain Collection encompasses the Staach brand’s focus on sustainability in design and manufacturing. The wood used in each Cain Maple Stool comes directly from American mills and is then fabricated by hand with limited use of tools. The choice to reduce tool usage is a purposeful one—it helps achieve a higher level of sustainability by limiting the manufacturing carbon footprint.

The "Tippy Cup Rain Chain" teaches the children about water conservation.

Farming Cuba: Carrot Harvest At the Vivero Alamar organopónico in Havana, growers harvest carrots that have been grown without pesticides or herbicides, instead using compost tea, mushroom rhizomes, artisanal pest control products, and permaculture strategies such as intercropping. Photo provided by Carey Clouse

On the hill behind the house, a wind-powered well brings water from a 150-foot-deep hole to the surface. That water then flows to the home as needed with gravity's helping hand.