The space is also adorned with timber cladding, as seen on the entry door.

Timber battens were used on north-facing windows to prevent excessive heat in the summer. The exterior is clad in Scyon’s Linea weatherboard and covered in Dylux’s Western Myall paint. Beneath the upper floor, a little nook makes for the perfect covered carport and storage spot for surfboards.

“We wanted the wood to appear as natural as possible, so leaving the larch untreated was the first choice,” Bas explained. But the shape of the house would make the wood turn gray unevenly, so they blackened the larch. “The clients were excited with the dark color as it helps the house blend into the trees. They didn’t want the anything excessive or showy.” But blackened timber comes with its own challenges. Since it absorbs more heat, a larger air cavity was built behind the wood to keep it cool.

The home, clad in natural Australian timber, enjoys a sense of lightness thanks to slender columns that let it float over the dunes. The driveway and entry, at the rear of the building, have an understated design to build to the interior's magnificent ocean views. Firm director Phil Snowdon explains, “By creating an architectural form that draws your eye and leads you up the steep driveway, we could engage new visitors in a welcoming process that first reveals the object and then slowly reveals the main event, being the view."

The owners furnished the living room with a mixture of new and old pieces, including a Hans Wegner lounger and Tuckbox coffee table. A timber-lined hallway leads out from it to the newer parts of the home. Sections of steel-framed double glazing separate and accentuate each “house” while letting in glimpses of sky.

Floor Play Subverting the traditional, conservatively cozy British barn conversion, Carl Turner created a getaway in rural Norfolk for himself and his friends to visit, repose, and consider the beauty of agrarian minimalism. In the converted barn, a modern fireplace with a sleek, shiny chimney contrasts with the wide, reclaimed wood floorboards and textured exposed brick wall.

The slightly below-ground kitchen sits inside a boxy extension, clad in recycled timber and stained kettle black. A wildflower garden grows on its pitched roof.

The original timber rafters were retained and repainted to give the home a unique fusion of old and new.

Maintenance problems can be extremely expensive to repair.

Gaffney and Kiku take in the air from the large sliding door bought from Timber Tech Scotland.

While the idea of 42 stories of wooden floors stacked on top of each other may seem shaky, the SOM Timber Tower Research project showed that such a sustainable superstructure is in fact possible. The concept calls for a concrete jointed timber frame to keep the structure anchored. More research, as well as building codes changes, would need to occur before anybody breaks ground. As cities look for sustainable construction to house growing populations, architects are starting to turn to wood as a more responsible solution.

Operable timber shutters and screens offer protection from extreme weather. Zoning the house into three distinct masses creates a partly sheltered courtyard to make this year-round blending of the indoors and outdoors possible.

Using prefabricated elements, Bas van Bolderen Architectuur and Studio Puisto Architects were able to complete the dwelling in just eight months so the couple’s lives could return to normal. Wall elements were constructed in Germany, then transported to the Netherlands, where the house was erected in just one week.

Timber Screen

Entry

Timber Screen

Brisbane-based studio Owen and Vokes and Peters designed a modern kitchen addition for a traditional Queensland-style timber house. Glossy Vogue Ghiaccio kitchen tiles set off custom cabinetry built by Cooroy Joinery & Woodworks using American oak veneer and Centor doors. The dishwasher is by AEG.

The architect's selected starkly different dark and light hues to echo their contrast of new and old.

Dulux Ferrodor 810 industrial paint in Mid Grey, dark formply timber ceiling cladding, and concrete floors give the interiors a brooding intensity.

The lower level has a reinforced concrete frame. The timber and concrete surfaces are left exposed throughout the home. Tolomeo lights from Artemide hang above one of the beds.

The lovely cornflower-blue kitchen cabinets in this Brooklyn, New York, home by Elizabeth Roberts Architecture & Design were professionally painted.

Subverting the traditional, conservatively cozy British barn conversion, Carl Turner created a getaway in rural Norfolk for himself and his friends to visit, repose, and consider the beauty of agrarian minimalism. Turner reclaimed most of the timber used for the flooring as he renovated buildings in London. He thought his stockpile was big enough for the Ochre Barn, but the scale of the place defeated him. The solution, surprisingly, was eBay, turning up an old mill’s worth of boards.

This side of the loft often serves as movie room.

Clean, simple lines continue into the master bathroom.

The master bedroom.

Cook Park Amenities (Fox Johnston: Sydney, Australia) When was the last time you saw a public restroom worthy of an award? A series of these gently curving structures, boasting timber battened skin, now dot the Cook Park beachfront and have been credited with making the area more accessible.

With an airtight building seal and triple-glazed windows, the structure receives all the heat it needs from the sun.

The living room showcases the use of clean, simple lines, letting the hand-crafted timber frame and the view out the windows do all the talking.

The kitchen, accented by rough-hewn timbers overhead.

Cantilevered Canopy

The barn style home, nestled atop a hayfield.

Front Entry Hall

In the living area, an EcoSmart Fire ethanol-fueled fireplace is lined in charcoal tile by Winckelmans; the bench cushion is upholstered in Gillespie Onyx from Warwick Fabrics.

Carlsson used the same materials and timber sizes indoors and out to maintain a unified character throughout the pavilion.

"We really enjoy the dining room: from here you can see out in all directions," Gerard says.

A study in simplicity.