As the world spins faster and our feeling of isolation grows stronger, many yearn to retreat from the cacophony of urban noise to the tranquility of natural spaces. We dream of living in houses built close to nature, of structures that embrace the woodlands, a valley or cliff face, structures that are built with the earth, and sit close to it like a building that opens out into the immense ocean. For these reasons, architects who embrace nature, especially those who push the boundaries of what is possible, deserve to be celebrated. This post honors the works of some of these visionary designers.
Situated on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula near the Spanish city of Cadiz, this minimalist house is built with a clean bright living space with large windows that look out onto the seemingly infinite seascape beyond.
Fogo, an island off the coast of Newfoundland, is an isolated place with an untamed terrain and few residents. A collection of small studios are spread across the island, built with austere forms that are designed to dignify the wild and desolated environment while at the same time providing a new architectural inspiration for the community. Long Studio is the largest of these studios.
Clean and without superfluous ornamentation marks the design of this elegant house located at the foot of the Yulong Mountain in Lijiang, an area famed for its ancient settlements and network of canals and bridges. The building is structured around a collection of enclosed courtyards, the center of which is a large, reflective pool.
Located at an altitude of over 6,562 meters in the Slovenian Alps, this shelter can house eight intrepid mountaineers. It is clad in oko skin fiberglass-reinforced concrete, an extremely light yet strong material that can withstand enormous climatic forces, from wind to snow and landslides. The house blends into the surrounding of unspoiled wilderness, representing a unique example of an environmentally conscious approach to building construction.
A building created with simplicity and sensitivity to its surroundings can be a powerful statement. The Hayes Residence is sited above the bed of a stream in a forest park inhabited by oak and birch trees. Narrow and unobtrusive, the main house lies low in the woodlands, fully embracing this arboreal environment.
Located on the Victorian coast of Australia, this house is built in the belief that there is an instinctive bond between people and the natural environment. Shaped like a sand dune and inspired by the oscillating sine curve, the tapered exterior allows for peripheral views from within. Inside, gently curving walls direct the eye outward to an expansive view of the ocean.
This unique residence is located on an alpine slope that is mostly concealed within the earth and hardly visible to passersby. The house is defined by its submersion, yet it has been cleverly designed to leverage spectacular views across the valley. The main entrance is via a warren-like underground tunnel accessed from an adjacent old barn. Once inside the villa, the rooms are united by a topography of uninterrupted concrete.
Situated near a lake, this collection of wooden cottages is nested in the fields to create an semirural residential enclave that gently contrasts with the vast open landscape. The buildings peek just above the grass line and are clad in burnt hardwood paneling using a popular Japanese construction method, creating dark silhouettes in the landscape. Flora and vegetation are planted on the roofs in reference to vernacular Icelandic turf houses.
Located in Nasu in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, this house – a cluster of tepees of sorts – lies in a wooded path in a forest grove. The tapered outlines of the building respond directly to the tall trees that surround it, while the angled walls eliminate unnecessary space. Inside, bright, white rooms form a contrast with the building’s dark forest-like exterior.
This home in Wales shows a way to minimizing a building’s visual impact on sensitive landscape. The eye-shaped house is built into the cliffs overlooking the Pembrokeshire coastline. The only faces visible are two apertures, one of which is a wall of ovoid-shaped glass panels, and the other is a triangular wedge with a door opposite. Everything else is concealed beneath the earth. The curved roof reflects the soft, undulating shape of both the home and its landscape.
This house, located a short distance south of Lima on the Peruvian coast, was once an Inca territory. The site is steeply sloped, with mountains on one side and a green valley on the other. The design of the house follows the Peruvian tradition of searching for the apu or “protector” in the surroundings. To create a dialogue between the home and its surroundings, the architects blurred the boundaries of what might be defined as interior and exterior space. Stone and concrete combine to endow the house with a warm, atmospheric quality amid its majestic natural setting.
This striking red house stands in splendid isolation atop a cliff facing the Gulf of Salerno on the Italian isle of Capri. The owner, Italian writer Curzio Malaparte, collaborated with the architect to design a postmodern building that seems to grow out of the landscape. On one side, a roof with wedge-shaped staircase that ascends to a solarium adds to the impression that the house is an extension rather than an addition to the cliff. Here, one encounters the full drama of of the ocean horizon.
Dragspel House is a modern extension to a cabin dating to the 19th century. Located by a lake in a nature reserve, the building is clad in a wavy pattern red cedar shingles that fade over time to the monochromatic gray tones of the surrounding rocks. Used for only two months of the year, the house is closed during the cold months. When summer comes, it opens out onto the shore of the lake, breathing once again, like a bear coming out of hibernation from its den.
Looking like a giant monolithic sculpture, this house designed by Swiss artist, Not Vital, is carved out of an enormous white marble outcrop at the edge of a lake in Chilean Patagonia. When illuminated at night, the building looks like a lighthouse across the waters. A large doomed ceiling dominates the interior space which is minimalist in design. From the central area, it is possible to see both ends of the structure, with apertures positioned to capture views of the sunset and the moonrise.
