Roof

A house with a terrace that opens to nature can do wonders for one’s well-being. For cities, even a balcony or a small corner of greenery inside an apartment will suffice. We want to talk about houses designed with one or more patios and courtyards that connect living spaces to glorious natural landscapes, gardens, and even urban jungles. Homes and summer retreats where

The ruins of a lighthouse, transformed into a light stone building. Adaptive-reuse architecture projects often impress with a thoughtful approach to design, especially when they celebrate a building’s past in a subtle way. This project in Bergeggi, Italy

A black concrete and wood volume perched atop of a hill with views of a verdant landscape. Perched atop of a hill in the Byron Bay hinterland, Australia, Federal House strikes an arresting figure with its distinctive design. Melbourne-based architect...

Partially buried inside a rocky hillside, this house draws inspiration from cave dwellings. Located in a secluded area on Serifos Island, Greece, NCaved is a contemporary house that disappears into the coastal landscape thanks to an ingenious design. Athens-based architecture firm Mold Architects designed the dwelling a...

A contemporary farmhouse that doubles as a gallery space for a large art collection. Nestled on a ridge among rolling agricultural land on the coast of the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Peninsula House is a great example of contemporary architecture in Australia. The dwelling has a modern, rectangular design but fe...

An old boat house transformed into an A-frame dwelling with a polycarbonate roof and a glazed facade that overlooks coastal views. Located on Bredören, on the western tip of the island of Söderöra in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, this old boat house was redesigned by Arrhov Frick as an airy, welcoming living space ...

A brutalist house nestled in a rocky landscape on a Greek island. Built on a steep slope on the island of Kea, in the Cyclades archipelago, Greece, Diagonal House is a contemporary concrete dwelling that re-imagines the classic Greek stone architecture typology. The coastal landscape provided a source of inspiration for the

A design that celebrates the passing of time and the beauty of light. Designed by Melbourne-based studio Edition Office for an older couple, Kyneton House is a cozy home that has a special relationship to the passing of time as seen through the changing of seasons in a garden. The design is contemporary and distinctive, combining wa...

A contemporary take on barn houses. When designing rustic-style houses, architecture firms often lean towards a more traditional design. Think wooden beams and natural stone walls. For Barnhouse Werkhoven, the RV Architecture studio took a different approach. Distinctly contemporary, this h...

A Norwegian cabin inspired by traditional barns and rural architecture. Located in Ulvik, western Norway, this cabin pays homage to rural architecture while also giving a nod to the work of Swiss architect Rudolf Olgiati and of Norwegian romanticist painter Hans Gude. Rever & Drage Architects combined all of these influences into a...

A sustainable, high-end retreat nestled in a protected jungle in Mexico. Opened in 2021, Casa Bautista is an eco-friendly, sustainable retreat that welcomes guests in a verdant paradise. Located in the heart of the protected Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, one of Tulum’s Unesco Heritage sites, the villa offers trav...

A serene wooden house built in a Chilean forest. Built in Villarrica, in the Araucanía Region in the rural sector of El Tume, Chile, El Tume House blends into a gorgeous landscape. The dwelling rises from a small forest at the edge of a cliff that overlooks the Toltén River. The Abarca Palma Arqu...

Nestled in the heart of Prague 5 – Hlubočepy, Family House Hlubocepy is a unique single-family home designed by the talented team at RO_AR Szymon Rozwalka architects. This remarkable abode stands as a testament to the beauty that can be achieved when architecture embraces both the urban and natural worlds. With its innovative design and tho...

Hotel rooms built inside a sloped terrain with a cantilevered design that maximizes views. Built on top of a hill as part of the Øynaparken estate, the Øyna Hotel expands the existing restaurant and event spaces with cozy rooms that also offer spectacular views. Architecture firm Green Advisers AS designed the retreat with a creative layout that maximizes the connection to nature. The...

An elongated one-story volume built in the countryside in the Cezch Republic. Located in the countryside, on the outskirts of the town of Kostelec nad Ohří, Czech Republic, the Kostelec Residence is a large residential complex that balances its size and impressive scope with a minimalist design. Architecture fir...

Japanese style houses, commonly known as "nihon no ie" (日本の家), have evolved significantly over time, embracing both traditional and modern architectural design elements. Modern Japanese houses often fuse minimalist and Scandinavian design principles with traditional Japanese aesthetics, creating unique and functional living spaces. In cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, these modern homes ...

A concrete house built in a secluded forest in Mexico. Inspired by the idea of bringing living spaces back to wild landscapes, Casa Amapa rises from among mature trees in a secluded forest in Guadalajara, Mexico. Architect René Pérez Gómez designed the dwelling with a

An intimate restaurant opened within the walls of an old carpentry workshop. Located in the town of Barr, France, an old building that used to house a carpentry workshop was transformed into a small restaurant. Strasbourg-based architecture studio nara completed this adaptive-reuse project with great respect for th...

A house transformed with re-inhabited voids and a closer connection to nature. Located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Atherton San Mateo County, California, this house is surrounded by mature oaks and grass. The design, although beautiful and representative of an era before the city underwent rapid growth, requ...

A cozy off-grid retreat built among pastures on a working farm in Australia. Inspired by local masonry houses and hay sheds, Gawthorne’s Hut is a modern retreat that welcomes guests in a bucolic landscape in Buckaroo, on the outskirts of Mudgee in New South Wales, Australia. The clients hired architecture firm Camero...

A holiday home designed in perfect harmony with a spectacular landscape in Iceland. Named Holiday Home by Thingvallavatn, this project completed by Denmark and Iceland-based architecture practice KRADS has a special relationship with the surrounding nature. The studio collaborated closely with the clients, who are performing artists, to create the distinctive design. The process of de...

Located in Mill Valley, California, these two cabins designed by Feldman Architecture were built as accessory structures to the client’s existing hill side home; they mainly wanted extra space for an art studio and yoga room which will also serve as a private guest cabin. Two small cabins are placed stra...

An old farmhouse reconstructed as a studio with brutalist interiors. Built at the edge of a meadow in Castasegna, on the border between Switzerland and Italy, Cascina Garbald Studio looks inconspicuous in the rural setting with a design that draws inspiration from vernacular architecture. However, this building hid...

A beautiful mountain cottage that blends into the landscape with its dark wooden cladding and green roof. Built on a steep slope in the small town of Sutton, Quebec, this mountain cottage makes the most of the setting with an ingenious design. At the same time, the cabin blends into the landscape thanks to clever features. The...

A modern house that re-imagines the traditional barn design. Built in Onesse-Laharie, within an “airial”, a plot of land specific to Landes, in southwestern France, AER House reinterprets the typology of a traditional barn. Architecture firm

A minimalist house nestled among pines on a beach in Mallorca. [dropcap]D[/dropcap]esigned to “disappear” in the landscape, the Can Ras house on the island of Mallorca, Spain, features an elegantly minimalist design. Architecture firm Fran Silvestre Arquitectos designed the

An old granary transformed into a cozy retreat in a lush Portuguese landscape. Set in a verdant setting in Arouca, Portual, this building stands among mature trees at the base of a tall cliff, offering access to views of the surrounding greenery and nearby river. Put more simply, the perfect location for a cozy hotel....

An off-grid retreat built in a nature reserve in Mexico. Located in the mountainous region of Valle Bravo, a couple of hours away from Mexico City, Casa Temascaltepec is an off-grid retreat that works in tandem with the landscape and the local climate. The dwelling was designed and completed in a collaboration betwe...

A cozy family retreat built between two old stone walls in a garden. Located in Thomery, France, this black wood house creates a poetic dialogue between old and new. The creativity of the project stems from the architecture firm’s decision to preserve rather than demolish two existing stone vine walls. Instead of removing the old...

A creative architectural concept that blends traditional and contemporary design cues. Located in the village of Broek op Langedijk, the Netherlands, this family home dates back to the 1980s. While before the 1970s, the surrounding villages were accessible only by boat, a land consolidation project allowed the development of a residential area, created alongside a nature reserve. The ...

A cabin designed with a sculptural bookcase and glazed walls that overlook a garden. Designed by Barcelona-based MuDD Architects for a children's book writer, this retreat aims to provide a quiet and inspiring writing space for the author. The cabin is built in a garden in northern

A charming red-painted wood house that pays homage to an 1850s soldier's cottage built in the countryside. Built in the countryside in Nyköping, the Södermanland County of southeastern Sweden, Bollbacken is a charming cottage that has a special connection to the bucoli...

Built in the Netherlands, in an area with strict building restrictions that limit any new structure to a certain volume, Villa SG21 makes the most of the landscape. FillieVerhoeven Architects designed the minimalist villa with a contemporary aesthetic which permeates the entire dwelling, from the exterior to the living spaces. The design also integrates...

A home designed to coexist with nature in a new town close to Minoh City, Japan. Located in a rapidly developing new town still surrounded by nature, just north of Minoh City, in the Osaka Prefecture, Japan, House in Minohshinmachi has a distinctive design that aims to create a perfect balance between urban and natural environments.

A brutalist house designed with a range of creative details. Dating back to the 1960s, this building in the town of Ivrea, Italy, was completely transformed by architecture firm Archisbang. An excellent example of how stunning brutalist architecture can be, the volume now features a simple rectangular form with asymmet...

A modern rustic design that re-imagines an old barn and farmhouse as a contemporary living space. Located in the village of Isola, Switzerland, Casa ME breathes new life into an old barn. Ruinelli Associati Architetti transformed the building completely to create a modern rustic living space. Apart from converting the agricultur...

A camp bunkhouse inspired by nature and children’s drawings. Located in the middle of a conifer forest in Lanaudière, a region of Quebec, Canada, this bunkhouse replaced the old cottage of a children's music camp. The new building takes the name of the previous structure: The Eagle’s Nest. Designed by Montréal-b...

A creatively designed house extension that expands and complements existing living spaces. Located on a large site just below the Illawarra Range, within the town of Thirroul, Australia, Exoskeleton House is a new extension that enhances the living spaces of an existing brick bungalow from the 1950s. The clients hir...

A concrete house built on a beach in Oaxaca, Mexico. Contemporary Mexican architecture merges traditional and modern elements seamlessly while also celebrating nature. Casa del Sapo is a great example. Designed by Espacio 18 Arquitectura, this concrete house is ...

A multifunctional space where nature meets contemporary design. Located in Brno, Czech Republic, this post-industrial building provided the perfect foundation for a modern, multifunctional space. RO_AR Szymon Rozwalka architects designed Yoga Garden & Art Gallery Brno with a distinctive character and a blend...

An angular house with sloping roofs that hide solar panels. Located in the village of Eelderwolde, in the northern area of the Netherlands, Villa K2 makes a lasting impression with its minimalist, angular design that nevertheless complements classic gabled dwellings that surround it. Architecture firm Francois ...

An imaginative and modern take on Flemish architecture. Many architectural designs draw inspiration from their setting, but House D-S features a bold concept based on the contextual limitations of the site. Graux & Bayens Architecten used the location’s challenges as a springboard for creativ...

A mountain cabin designed with four different styles. Featuring an ingenious design that divides living spaces in a creative way, Cabin in Trolltind stands out among other dwellings built in the middle of natural landscapes. The location, a high mountain valley in Sunndal, Norway, allows the clients to take breaks from city li...

A warm and bright home created from two traditional houses in a small Czech town. Designed by architects Barbora and Jiří Weinzettl of Atelier 111 architekti as a home for themselves and their family, Kozina House bridges the gap between traditional and contemporary

A modern take on Australian farmhouses. Built in a rural area of Bruny Island, Tasmania, Coopworth is a modern farmhouse that offers a contemporary twist on rustic farmhouses. FMD Architects designed the dwelling with a creative and dynamic silhouette that subtly refer...

A creatively designed house with a central courtyard that houses a tree. Built on the outskirts of the city of Morelia, Mexico, UC House features an ingenious and thoughtful design that establishes a spatial ambiguity between indoor and outdoor spaces. Daniela Bucio Sistos // Taller de Arquitectura y Diseño created the ...

A house with a terrace that opens to nature can do wonders for one’s well-being. For cities, even a balcony or a small corner of greenery inside an apartment will suffice. We want to talk about houses designed with one or more patios and courtyards that connect living spaces to glorious natural landscapes, gardens, and even urban jungles. Homes and summer retreats where

A tranquil retreat in upstate New York. After founding their own homeware brand, Piaule, in 2016, Nolan McHugh and Trevor Briggs started thinking about a larger scale project: a hotel. Fast forward to 2021, and Piaule Catskills has become a reality. Designed in a collaboration with prefab specialists Garrison Architects, the retreat celebrates the idea of reconnecting to nature. Locat...