These construction photos capture One Za'abeel, a pair of skyscrapers and a 230-metre-long cantilever, on which Japanese studio Nikken Sekkei is nearing completion in Dubai.

In the construction images revealed by One Za'abeel, the complex is shown near completion with its record-breaking skybridge, named The Link, spanning a six-lane highway.

According to Mace, one of the construction companies working on the project, the steel and glass bridge is the "world's longest cantilever".

It is just 16 metres shorter than the smallest of the two skyscrapers that flank it, which measures 235 metres in height. The tallest of the two buildings extends to 305 metres, making it a supertall skyscraper.

Nikken Sekkei is set to officially complete One Za'abeel at the end of this month. Being one of the first visible structures for those travelling from the airport, it is hoped to become a landmark for Dubai.

Inside, The Link contains an infinity pool that runs its entire length. The horizontal structure will also feature a range of restaurants, as well as retail and leisure facilities.

These offerings form part of a wider mixed-use programme for the complex, which will also contain offices, hotels and residences.

According to Nikken Sekkei, One Za'abeel's "iconic design strikes a clear departure from the existing buildings around it".

One Za'abeel has been designed by Nikken Sekkei for developer Ithra Dubai. The lift of the dramatic cantilever over the highway was carried out over the live highway in 2020.

The project is not the first record-breaking building in Dubai. The city is also home to the 828-metre-tall Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, which was completed in 2010 to a design by architect Adrian Smith while working at architecture studio SOM.

Other habitable buildings with significant cantilevers include the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea, which features a roof with a column-free cantilever of 85 metres, and the observation deck at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which projects 66.5 metres.

The photography is courtesy of One Za'abeel.

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Brazilian architect Marcelo Couto and landscape designer Rodrigo Oliveira have created a cantilevering house with multiple courtyards and an interior staircase with a slide attached in Fazenda da Grama, São Paulo.

The concrete house with delicate wooden screens and heavy weathering steel elements is known as the Serra Residence. Located in Fazenda da Grama, São Paulo, the 12,809-square foot (1,190-square metre) house was completed in 2022.

The house is composed of three linear sections: two running parallel north to south on the ground floor and the third stacked on top crossing the lower floors, creating a U-shaped plan.

"The project was built upon the challenge presented by the clients' program: two twin brothers and their families with children of different ages, all desiring to share and enjoy the house simultaneously while preserving private areas," Marcelo Couto Architecture told Dezeen.

"Independent, parallel, and overlapping blocks with defined uses create built, semi-covered, and open spaces, integrating with lush gardens, water mirrors, decks, pools, all in complete harmony."

The plan is organized into three levels. The lowest level is semi-buried in the site's slope and contains a garage, flexible space and service areas.

The main level is divided into two halves.

The larger bar on the north section features two structural end walls and four large columns.

Floor-to-ceiling glazing runs along both sides creating a breezy, light-filled space for living, dining, and sitting by the large fireplace.

Two staircases float within the space and feature slides that playfully drop down into the underground level.

The smaller bar on the southern side of the plan stacks three-bedroom suites along a long corridor, followed by a sauna with a private garden, and ends in a kitchen.

These lower sections are connected by an expansive covered outdoor kitchen and dining area.

Above, the crossbar contains another four-bedroom suites with either end cantilevering over the main level with portal-like balconies.

"The idea was to create a solution that harmonized with the terrain using transparencies, a fluid relationship between interior and exterior, addressing natural ventilation, sunlight, and controlling high temperatures in the region through the use of louvers, dense landscaping, generous eaves and water mirrors," the team said.

Predominantly finished in exposed concrete and glass, the home also features untreated wood cladding and shading screens.

The retaining and closing walls are made of multi-coloured basalt and white cement to give texture and tonal variety.

Rodrigo Oliveira Paisagismo designed the landscaped areas as "a lush tropical garden that deconstructed the straight lines of the architecture and embraced the house, bringing visual and thermal comfort," the landscape studio told Dezeen.

Within the sloping, tree-lined property are five distinct gardens and five individual water features.

On the northwestern side of the living room section, a lawn leads to a rectangular lap pool and a hot tub.

The central courtyard features lush plantings that transition to a tranquil reflecting pool, spanned by a boardwalk on the northeastern side of the plan.

A private linear garden runs along the southeastern perimeter of the house, accessed through the bedrooms.

On the upper level, two shallow troughs – or "water mirrors" – run along the roof of the living room bar, creating a water-framed terrace with a planted roof and a fire pit. The roof of the bedroom bar is also planted.

"The success of this project undoubtedly lay in the perfect harmony among the architectural, structural, and landscaping professionals and projects," the team said.

Also recently completed in São Paulo is a renovated brick house with a pub in the basement by Goiva.

The photography is by Maíra Acayaba.

Project credits:

Architectural Design: Marcelo Couto Architecture
Structural Design: Modus Engineering
Installations Design: Etip
Landscaping Design: Rodrigo Oliveira Landscaping

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Local design studio McLeod Bovell has completed a seaside home with a dramatic cantilever and multiple lightwells in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Vancouver-based McLeod Bovell Modern Houses designed the 10,940-square foot (1,016-square metre) Liminal House in 2022.

"The 'liminal' is a transformational state between where one thing begins and another ends; the position where something meets, mixes, and merges," the team told Dezeen.

"Liminal House straddles a similar threshold between West Vancouver's natural stony seashore and its suburban residential neighbourhood."

The steep site overlooks the Pacific Ocean, so the team used the house's organisation to choreograph movement toward the shoreline.

Organised as a journey rather than around a singular focal point, the spaces pass between interior courtyards.

Entered from an autocourt on the hillside, the main level features a kitchen, dining and living space with a floating fireplace.

A central architectural stair and planted courtyard garden separate the public spaces from the garage.

Meanwhile, a wall of floor-to-ceiling glazing opens the family areas to a covered terrace and pool with a waterfall edge that disappears into the ocean.

The basement level holds service and recreational spaces with more car storage, an office, lounge space, utility room and a guest suite.

A lightwell brings sunlight deep into the partially underground level. On the south side of the plan, a covered terrace walks out to a spa and lower garden below the pool.

The top floor cantilevers over the main level with an exterior terraced garden that wraps around the plan.

The glazed primary suite looks out to the ocean with a "false beachfront" balcony, while three guest suites are lined along the interior of the plan and open to the terrace. A large opening in the terrace forms another lightwell to the autocourt below.

"Courtyards, cantilevered volumes, and the extension of floor area over exterior space dismantles boundaries between the house and the natural environment," the team said.

"This strategy of mixing and merging, where light is reflected and landscapes are invited towards the interior of the home, collapses normal readings of interior space."

Chosen for their durability in harsh climates, board-formed concrete, black-stained Accoya wood and coated aluminium plate make up the exterior.

The one-inch-thick Accoya boards are biodegradable, recyclable and carbon-neutral over their lifecycle.

"Conceptually, the house is fortress-like in form and function – a hard shell that opens strategically to its surroundings," the team said.

The glazed surfaces – with high-quality, thermally insulated glass and a Low-E coating to reduce heat loss – serve as the "soft counterpart to the exoskeleton," set into concealed frames.

On the interior, large format slabs of non-VOC Lapitec sintered stone cover the floors while European oak millwork, panelling and stair treads warm the space.

"We found that the reflective 'reverberation' created by the deep glazed courtyards animate all the spaces in the house in surprising ways," the team said.

"Unexpected partial fragments of water-view or internal planted landscapes coexist in the interior and exterior spaces alongside furniture, and interior finishes in active ways that change continuously during the day with fluctuating lighting and sky conditions."

Featuring a similar cantilevered response to a sloped site, McLeod Bovell completed the Container House in West Vancouver in 2018 and clad it in custom grey cement-composite panels.

The photography is by Hufton + Crow Photography.

Project credits:

Lead designers: Lisa Bovell, Matt McLeod

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A cantilevered form with thatched surfaces defines Summer House, a holiday home designed by architecture studio RAPA on the shores of Lake Balaton in Hungary.

RAPA used materials sourced locally in Hungary to create the three-storey dwelling, which was commissioned by a family who wanted an intimate and cosy summer residence.

Its design reinterprets local building styles, including thatched-roofed rural longhouses, 1960s flat-roofed stone dwellings and compact summer cabins, while framing views of the nearby lake.

"Lake Balaton holds a special place in the hearts of Hungarians, often referred to as the Hungarian Sea," studio founder Ádám Reisz told Dezeen.

"The design of the building itself responds dynamically and aesthetically to the stunning views of Lake Balaton, translating them into a visually impressive architectural statement."

Summer House has been shortlisted in the rural house category of the Dezeen Awards.

Summer House's layered design is built into the hillside. The lower storey is informed by local 1960s flat-roofed architecture and clad in stone that is mined locally in Tihany.

Its upper storey is a play on the traditional, farmhouse-style buildings found on Lake Balaton's northern shore, which typically have thatched roofs made from reeds harvested from the banks of the lake.

Reed covers all surfaces of the upper storey, including the underside of the cantilever, celebrating the area's centuries-old tradition of applying it as a building material.

The compact concrete middle storey has a sauna and bathing facilities. It connects to a generous outdoor terrace nestled under the overhang of the storey above and to a pool beyond.

"The middle level is designed to create a cosy indoor space that seamlessly extends into the outdoor environment," explained Reisz. "It aims to capture the essence of those small vacation homes on the southern shore."

Inside the house, bedrooms on the lower storey open up onto the garden. Stairs clad in wooden panels lead to the upper storey, where there is an open-plan living area.

"The interior staircase boasts slatted railings, reminiscent of the striped panels seen in those 1960s interiors but presented in a modern, contemporary style," said Reisz.

A highlight of the interior is the large picture window in the upper storey that opens up onto a balcony. Taking up the entirety of the southeast facade, it gives panoramic views across the lake.

RAPA is a Hungarian studio founded by Reisz in 2018.

Elsewhere in Hungary, Kontextus Architecture Studio has completed a holiday home with a monolithic limestone-clad plinth and Béres Architects has used stilts to create an isolated cabin that hides amongst the trees in the Alpokalja forest.

The photography is by Tamas Bujnovszky.

Project credits:

Architect: RAPA
Team: Adam Reisz, Levente Arató, Janka Juhász, Krisztián Varga-Koritár
Interior: Adam Reisz, Levente Arató, Dóra Jakab
Structural engineer: Zoltán V. Nagy (Lapidarium)
Building engineering: Hano-Plan
Building electrics: Vrabély Engineering Office

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Architecture studio Arsenit has designed Piil, a modular wood-and-steel holiday home elevated above the ground at the edge of a forest in Estonia.

The cantilevered house, which the studio describes as a treehouse, was made from steel and metal and was designed to balance on one leg above a wooden terrace.

It features a large cantilever that elevates the living spaces 4.25 metres above ground and creates a sheltered outdoor space.

Piil was informed by Estonia's observation towers, which are often placed in scenic locations, and assembled on-site.

"The architectural brief was for elevated accommodation — so at the start of the project four design options were explored, with only one involving a cantilever and the 'one-leg' approach, a sort of wild-card 'dream big' idea," Arsenit founder Arseni Timofejev told Dezeen.

"Further studies suggested this approach was not only feasible, but also had two key advantages: it reduced ground-level presence to a minimum, and allowed Piil to 'grow' taller by extending the 'leg' up by several levels — to elevate the accommodation further into the tree branches!"

The studio chose to construct the 19-square-metre building from a metal frame with timber cladding to create an organic feel alongside the nearby woodland.

"Using steel as the load-bearing truss-like-carcass minimised the building size – important for transporting modules – helped achieve a cantilevered structure, resulted in a system of modules for quick assembly on site, and could be done by the client, a metal manufacturer, in-house," Timofejev explained.

"At the same time, the aim of the project is to celebrate an escape into nature, so wood was a natural choice — that's why all the steel elements are painted black, to fade into the background and make the wood the main character."

Untreated, thermally modified pine by Estonian company Thermory was used for the exterior of the one-bedroom house.

"Over time, the pine cladding will weather gracefully to a silver-grey, helping the building blend in with its context," Timofejev said.

Inside, the building was "conceived as a large piece of joinery". Finished in white-washed oak, with vertical timber panelling to also reference treehouses, it has one main space with views out to the forest.

From the main sleeping area a staircase leads up to a mesh mezzanine that was designed as a space for Piil's visitors to relax and read with a view of the forest.

Piil, which was constructed off-site, was designed as a private retreat. It is the first of four similar buildings that are planned for the site, which will be rented out.

According to the architect, its modular design made it cheaper and safer to construct that traditional structures.

"The project is designed around the principle of modular pre-fabrication, with all the elements created off-site and quickly assembled in the scenic natural spot," Timofejev said.

"This approach results in a safer and more efficient working environment, reduces material waste, minimises cost and construction time."

Other recent projects in Estonia include a holiday home that references a surrounding forest and a cruise terminal building topped by a promenade.

The photography and video is by Yifan Liu.

Project credits:

Client and contractor: Levstal Group
Architect and lead designer: Arsenit
Structural engineers: SD Engineers, AVC Projekt OÜ
M&E consultants: AS Infragate Eesti, ICEkonsult OÜ, Pat-Pat Projekt OÜ
Joinery: ITB Interior OÜ

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Featuring houses that reach daringly out over steep bluffs and a T-shaped home in Sweden, this roundup collects 10 of the most dramatic cantilevered buildings recently published on Dezeen.

Casa Himmel, Paraguay, by Bauen

Nestled in the forests of Guaira, Paraguay, Casa Himmel features three concrete walls projecting out over the site's lush, hilly landscape.

According to architecture studio Bauen, the glass and steel structure was manufactured in 60 days and assembled in only seven.

Find out more about Casa Himmel ›

The Nova Residence, USA, by Harding Huebner

Located in Asheville in northern California, The Nova Residence includes a cantilevered steel structure that allows it to lean out over a wooded slope.

The L-shaped, two-storey home was designed by US studio Harding Huebner and is made up of rectilinear volumes topped with a low, overhanging rooftop.

Find out more about The Nova Residence ›

Casa Encoique, Chile, by Izquierdo Lehmann

Designed by Izquierdo Lehmann, Casa Encoique includes wood-clad en-suite bedrooms that cantilever out from a circular glass pavilion, which sits within a forest.

Located near Lago Ranco in southern Chile, the building is attached via a concrete walkway to an existing holiday home, allowing the site to accommodate multiple generations.

Find out more about Casa Encoique ›

Wabi Sabi Residence, USA, by Sparano + Mooney Architecture

Wabi Sabi Residence is clad in blackened-cedar and includes two envelopes that slide over a canyon outside Salt Lake City, Utah.

Designed by US studio Sparano + Mooney Architecture, the three-bedroom home's floor-to-ceiling glazed end levitate over the ranch's natural landscape.

Find out more about Wabi Sabi Residence ›

CH73 House, Mexico, by LBR&A

CH73 House, designed by LBR&A, includes a dramatic cantilever overlooking a sloping site located within Mexico City's Bosques de las Lomas neighbourhood.

The residence is designed to "break the imposed paradigms of construction" in a site where development has reportedly had a detrimental effect on the natural landscape.

Find out more about CH73 House ›

Hub of Huts, Italy, by Network of Architecture

The Hub of Huts wellness centre, designed by international architecture studio Network of Architecture, is informed by reflections in water.

Part of the Hotel Hubertus in South Tyrol, it resembles an upside-down village held in mid-air by tree-like columns.

Find out more about Hub of Huts ›

Olancha Drive, USA, by Anonymous Architects

Los Angeles-based The Olancha Drive house by US studio Anonymous Architects features a concrete plinth that cantilevers off the site's steep angle.

The 1,000-square-foot (93 square metre) building balances on friction piles driven into the earth.

Find out more about Olancha Drive ›

T House, Sweden, by Spridd

This T-shaped house by Stockholm architecture studio Spridd is covered in raked concrete and slotted into a sloped site on the island of Nacka in Stockholm.

The central body of the house fits between the surrounding rocks and expands outwards at its top storey, forming two cantilevered structures that house an open-plan living space.

Find out more about Spridd ›

House on a Bay, USA, by Elliott Architects

Maine-based Elliott Architects created a seaside house that includes a dramatic, cantilevered volume stretching towards the ocean.

The upper volume sits astride a similarly proportioned rectilinear ground floor and is supported by stilts at either end.

Find out more about House on a Bay ›

Caddy Shack, USA, by Olson Kundig

The rusted steel-clad Caddy Shack by US practice Olson Kundig includes a stilt system that enables it to hover above a suburban neighbourhood.

Located in Austin, Texas, the building's cantilevered deck contains both a swimming pool and hot tub.

Find out more about Caddy Shack ›

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Raked concrete covers this T-shaped house, which architecture studio Spridd has slotted into a sloped site surrounded by trees on the island of Nacka in Stockholm.

Appropriately called T House, the home was created by Spridd for a family, along with a separate guest apartment for an elderly relative.

To minimise excavation of the steeply sloping, south-facing plot, the studio designed a narrow central body for the house that slots between rocks.

It expands outwards at its top storey, forming two cantilevered volumes that accommodate a generous open-plan living space.

"The T-shape enables a minimal excavation as it only requires a small foundation at the bottom," Spridd told Dezeen.

"The shape also provides an advantageous symmetry in the structure which stands independent of itself without attachment to the bedrock."

T House is constructed from prefabricated sandwich panels covered with concrete. Inside, the panels have a smooth finish while a raked treatment was manually applied externally.

The raked-concrete facades ensure the house is in dialogue with the textures of the rocky cliffside site and the bark of the surrounding trees.

Externally, brown-framed ribbon windows on the south, east and west facades give the home a modernist feel.

Inside T House, a curved staircase leads from the level access ground floor to the guest apartment on the first floor and a main suite on the second floor.

On the third storey, smooth concrete walls, floors and ceilings are teamed with warm plywood joinery in the kitchen, the stair bannister and a dividing wall between the kitchen and living area.

"The interior has a warm character with the exposed wooden surfaces in contrast with the hard exterior," said Spridd.

Large doors in the kitchen open to an outdoor terrace, where metal stairs lead to the roof. Both spaces give views over the rocky hillside and hardy shrubs and trees.

Spridd is a Swedish architectural office in Stockholm that was founded in 2005 by Klas Ruin and Ola Broms Wessel.

Elsewhere in Sweden, Olson Kundig recently used dark timber and stone to create a home on a rocky waterside site, while Claesson Koivisto Rune has created a home with angular roofs clad in red-painted planks of local pine.

The photography is by Mikael Olsson.

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Brazilian practice Studio KUNZ has created a compact gabled house that cantilevers from a sloped site in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Completed in 2022 in the municipality of David Canabarro, Casa Trapézios – or the Trapezium House – is formed by two juxtaposed trapezoidal sections arranged back-to-back in a "reinterpretation of the gabled roof archetype".

Maurício Kunz, who leads Studio KUNZ, used the "oblique angles of trapezoidal forms [to] accentuate the perspective and provide visual dynamism to the facade".

The 1,830-square foot (170-square metre) house is divided down the centre ridge line, with the eastern half protruding over a retaining wall towards the street and the western half set back into the rising slope of the site.

The arrangement creates makes the structure appear balanced atop a slate staircase that provides a rustic base for the home's clean white lines.

Located on the urban edge of the town, the house caters to the client's love of the countryside with warm wood accents that reference the araucaria trees that frame the sloping site.

Vertical wood slats wrap the base and turn into a gate for the ramped driveway, while horizontal slats stack up marking the front door.

"This conjunction of materials and shapes gives to Trapezium House the feel of a country house," the studio said.

"Inclined slabs make up both the roof structure and the internal ceiling, maintaining the oblique lines of the facade in interior spaces," the studio explained.

"To keep the continuous ceiling surface, inverted beams were used throughout the building."

The split facade and doubled structure also mark the division between the private and public areas of the house.

The northern projecting volume includes the primary suite, two smaller bedrooms and a bathroom. The primary suite contains a balcony forming the cantilever and an extension to the east to give the suite more space.

Two steps down, the southern recessed volume includes an open-plan living, dining and kitchen area. A two-car garage is tucked at the rear of the house.

The living room has views in all four cardinal directions including east through a transverse corridor through the private half of the house.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and the continuation of the interior ceiling to the exterior soffit create a subtle transition to the outside, marked by a thin black, metallic frame.

In the dining area, a glass door opens to a wooden pergola that supports climbing plants.

"The palette of materials that unites wood, linen and burnt cement is enhanced by the white walls and ceiling, in a monolithic finish," the studio said.

"The fireplace and the wood stove complement the necessary coziness for the cold winter in this southern Brazilian region."

Other residential projects recently completed in Brazil include Denis Joelson's linear house with circular gardens and FGMF's airy home surrounded by a translucent shell.

The photography is by Ezequiele Panizzi.

Project credits:

Architect: Maurício Kunz
Structural engineer: Henrique Bertolini
Construction: OR Construções

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Local studio Anonymous Architects has completed a residence with a concrete plinth that cantilevers off a mountainside in Los Angeles.

The Olancha Drive house was finished in 2022 in the Mount Washington district of Northeast Los Angeles. It was designed in response to the site's steep angle – which reaches 45 degrees in some areas – and the views afforded by the vantage point.

The hillside parcel challenged the design team to limit the horizontal footprint – balancing the 1,000-square-foot (93 square metre) house on friction piles driven into the earth. The team, in turn, stacked the spaces top-down.

"The sequence of space and program is vertical not horizontal, which is an inversion of typical residential experience in California that blends inside and outside," the Anonymous Architects team told Dezeen.

From the street, the house is appropriately "anonymous" and private.

The home's garage is on the top floor, functioning like a large box truss wrapped in a screen of vertical grey wood. A tunnel-like staircase leads down to the "front yard" – which is a walkable roof terrace space, outlined by a black metal railing.

Framed by V-shaped columns, a trapezoidal swimming pool is tucked under the cantilevered garage. Two square skylights in the deck open the main level to the sun.

The main level appears as a floating box wrapped in white metal and is connected to the hillside by a concrete mass.

"By using only steel and concrete, the construction methods and materials are related more closely to commercial building instead of typical residential wood construction," the team explained, choosing to expose the structure, as well as essential electrical and plumbing infrastructure, as a visual component for the interior design.

The living spaces of the one-bedroom house act as one large room with moveable partitions and sliding doors dividing the public areas from the bedroom and media room. A wall of folding glass doors opens the interiors to a balcony that runs the length of the house.

Since the home has no side windows, all of the spaces are oriented toward the Los Angeles skyline.

While accessed from above, the pool becomes the focal point of the main level with a window from the kitchen into the water. The window brings light into the interiors and breaks up the solid concrete wall.

"Adding a window allowed the pool to become a feature even when it was not being used for recreation, playing into the desire for elements of the house to be dual-purpose," the team said.

"Dual-purpose elements are very important in small spaces. If elements of the design can perform multiple functions, then the space will feel larger because it is capable of doing more."

The raw structural elements were offset by natural wood walls and cabinets and white oak panels that are "plain sliced to give the wood a more organic quality."

Selected by Sarah Rosenhaus Interior Design, the soft furnishings and fabrics designate a colour for each space and add warmth and texture.

The basement level contains barrels for rainwater collection.

Nearby, Anonymous Architects cantilevered another house off a hillside, but the studio also encircled a mature cypress tree with the bedroom and wrapped the home with cedar. In Mexico, architecture studio LBR&A cantilevered a steel-clad house to minimise the impact on the landscape.

The photography is by Taiyo Wantanabe and Marcia Prentice.

Project credits:

Architecture: Anonymous Architects
Interior design: Sarah Rosenhaus Interior Design

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Local studio LaRue Architects and interior designer Kelle Contine have renovated a home in the Rollingwood neighbourhood of Austin with a bedroom that cantilevers over the back terrace.

LaRue Architects originally completed the home, called Rollingwood Modern after the location and style, in November 2015.

After the original owners sold the house, the new clients returned to LaRue Architects for a renovation with Kelle Contine Interior Design (KCID) to update the interiors.

The 6,700-square foot (620-square metre) house sits on a 0.65-acre (2,600-square metre) hilltop site that affords views of downtown Austin's growing skyline.

"The inspiration for this home was a simple farmhouse feel with gable-like forms incorporated with the lower roof wrapped around the courtyard to connect the separated farm volumes,” the team told Dezeen, referencing the cantilevered "boxes" that jut out from the perimeter of the building.

The exterior is wrapped in vernacular charcoal grey Lueders limestone, contrasted with smooth stucco and horizontal metal panels to create "a recipe that roots the building in the surrounding landscape while introducing a timeless modern edge".

The house is organized in an H-shape. This form creates a shaded entry courtyard – that features a custom "AMOR" metal neon sign that was inspired by Robert Indiana's "LOVE" sculpture – on one side of the house and a protected pool area on the other.

The living core runs parallel to the pool with the adjacent primary suite cantilevering above the sloping grade.

The primary suite is "the closest part of the residence to the city, allowing the bedroom to essentially float among the treetops," while looking out at the skyline.

The guest suite sits below and opens onto the lawn, while the additional bedrooms are located on the top level, taking advantage of the steep gabled roof.

On the other side of the pool, the game room opens to a covered entertaining terrace that features Thomas Heatherwick's Spun Chairs.

"Our team aimed to achieve an environment that offered a completely different feeling than the previous home for the new homeowners," said LaRue Architects.

One of the most significant changes was the kitchen remodel, led by KCID's studio director Erin Judge. The updated kitchen features soft black and walnut cabinets and dramatic Diamante Nero quartzite countertops, as well as delicate pendant light fixtures.

The primary bedroom also got a makeover with a dimmable halo, built-in headboard and rich finishes.

"There was a heavy focus on nature and earth tones within the colour palette while mixing matte textures and metals for a more eclectic and collected aesthetic," Judge said.

The design centres around the fireplace artwork – Marilo Carral's "Abstracto en Otono," which the owners purchased in San Miguel de Allende – that is flanked by two Cova swivel lounge chairs.

The spaces also include little surprises like a disco ball, custom record player, and lacquer "Peaceful Buddha Neon" piece by Risk.

"Small touches in each room through wall coverings, feature light fixtures, and unique details really help liven up each space,” the team said.

Recently, LaRue completed a copper-clad lake house in the Texas Hill Country with a facade designed to patina over time as well as a revamped cabin on a nearby lake.

The photography is by Chase Daniel.

Project credits:

Architect: LaRue Architects
Builder: Greg Reynolds, Reynolds Custom Homes; Interior Updates in 2021 by Shoberg Homes
Landscape architect: Landwest Design Group
Interior Design: KCID

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Bands of local stone wrap the Youngmeyer Field Station, which was designed and built by Kansas studio Hutton to integrate with the natural topography and operate off the grid.

Located in eastern Kansas, the building sits within the 4,700-acre (1,902-hectare) Youngmeyer Ranch, which is an active cattle ranch and research site for Wichita State University.

The area's plants, animals, soils and waterways are of interest to researchers, particularly given the ranch's location within Flint Hills – a region known for its important tall-grass prairie ecosystem. Once vast, this type of ecosystem has declined since the 1800s due to farming.

Situated on a rocky bluff, the Youngmeyer Field Station holds a laboratory, meeting space and a garage, along with living quarters to accommodate up to six researchers.

Irregular in plan, the single-storey building was designed to integrate with the landscape and to withstand heavy winds and other natural forces.

"Like the dugouts of the Midwestern frontier days, the field station is partially embedded in the earth to protect the facility from northern winds and to further the contextual camouflage," said Hutton, a multi-service practice in Kansas.

For added protection from both wind and wildfire, the facility is made of concrete and clad in durable and noncombustible exterior materials such as limestone and glass.

Facades consist of four varieties of local limestone, arranged in bands that emulate the layers of sediment in the surrounding hills. One of the stone varieties, Prairie Shell, contains fossilised shells that hint at the story of the prehistoric era.

"Visitors can take a scavenger hunt around the building for fossils preserved and on display in the walls, including a perfect nautilus right by the front door," the team said.

The area's geology inspired other aspects of the building, as well.

"Form, materials and interior details are inspired by the stratified stone underneath the Flint Hills and other natural marvels that can be observed from the building," the team said.

To maintain a discrete profile, the team created a "clean roof line" with a sculpted edge.

On the southeastern edge of the building, the roof cantilevers over the site and visibly disappears when viewed from a distance. The team noted that the closest neighbouring property is a few miles down the road.

Within the building, one finds earthy finishes such as wood and stone and a colour palette evoking natural elements such as sediment, heads of grain and the sky.

The facility encompasses numerous functions within its 3,400-square-foot (316-square-metre) footprint.

The central portion contains bunk rooms, a kitchen, an office and the lab. Flanking this central zone is the garage on one side, and a large gathering space on the other.

The communal room, which looks to the south and east, is afforded sweeping views of the landscape through large stretches of glass.

The facility operates completely off the grid and is not tied to public utilities. Rooftop solar panels generate electricity, and water is collected on-site.

Other Kansas projects include a farmhouse-inspired dwelling by El Dorado that sits on a working ranch and a net-zero, wood-clad home that was created by university students in the Studio 804 design-build programme.

The photography is by Brad Feinknopf.

Project credits: 

Architect and builder: Hutton
Team: Emily Taylor (design lead and project manager), Matt Byrum (design support), Josh Herrman (design principal), Todd Wedel (construction project manager), Mattie Lane (interior design)
Structural, mechanical and electrical engineering: Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC)
Civil engineering: Engineering Consultants

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Brightly coloured volumes and sweeping curves create a playful atmosphere in the Haikou Jiangdong Huandao Experimental School, which Trace Architecture Office has added to the Chinese island of Hainan.

Designed as part of a wider development alongside a kindergarten and student accommodation, the secondary school was created to encourage a retreat from traditional forms of education, with uniquely shaped forms adding a sense of creativity to the campus.

"We aimed to create a nurturing environment that celebrates creativity and interaction rather than examination-oriented learning cultures,” the studio told Dezeen.

"The spaces created stimulate imagination and surprise, instead of simply following the rules and regulations."

The school sits on a playfully sloped site in the coastal city of Haikou and comprises a series of curved volumes and rectilinear forms that intersect under a concrete roof.

Aiming to create spaces that stimulate creativity, Beijing-based studio Trace Architecture Office arranged the school across brightly coloured spaces designed to echo children's playfulness.

"The colour breaks from the white standard, giving the space character. It also has the role of zoning, as in such a huge volume, pure white space is easy to get lost in," said principal architect Hua Li.

Between the classrooms and raised walkways, a range of outdoor spaces shaded by the large roof offer comfortable outdoor spaces in the city's subtropical climate.

"Haikou's climate is subtropical, with very mild or pleasantly warm winters and hot, humid and rainy summers," said Li.

"The design creates plenty of semi-exterior spaces and platforms which actively respond to the local tropical climate, providing shading and protection against intense heat as well as strong wind and rains."

Inside, walkways and ramps bordered by walls finished in vibrant colours run between a series of white-painted classrooms.

Towards the other side of the main building, a triple-height gymnasium is lit by a roof perforated with a grid of skylights punctuated by a series of beams.

Other spaces on the campus include a double-height canteen where voids between intersecting levels create a curved skylight.

Walkways raised on white columns wrap around the room and connect the space to the rest of the school.

Connected to the main school building, a dormitory block features accommodation units wrapped around a bright courtyard spread across several curved layers.

Additional semi-outdoor spaces are created between cantilevered volumes and angled pillars, which the studio hopes will act as informal spaces for learning.

"The ways students utilise campus are not only confined to the use of traditional classrooms, but also the inhabitation of undefined public spaces, which contributes to a huge part of education," said Li.

"As students spend years at school, including the period of adolescence, the architecture of the school has a long-term influence on them. We hope the spaces will stimulate imagination and surprise, instead of simply following the rules and regulations," it continued.

Other schools recently completed by the studio include an elementary school spread across huts with a range of roof forms and a school with zigzagging walkways designed to encourage play.

The photography is by Chen Hao.

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Stables linked by steel bridges and a clubhouse with a cantilevered terrace feature at the Hípico Piedra Grande equestrian complex in rural Mexico, designed by Studio RC.

Located in Huixquilucan in the State of Mexico, the complex includes a rectilinear clubhouse and a block of stables surrounded by gravel roads and green areas and meandering riding trails.

Mexican architecture office Studio RC arranged the building around a central patio and positioned it on the hillside to complement the natural surroundings.

The low-slung clubhouse was constructed from a skeleton of columns and steel beams, which are also exposed on the interior.

The building's facade is defined by rugged stone walls and a timber roof – materials sourced from the area.

"The project seeks to alter the site as little as possible, looking for a contemporary language that in turn was appropriate for the context," said the studio.

A gap was created between the clubhouse's stone retaining walls and its interior spaces in order to create cross ventilation, while the building's terrace gently cantilevers off the hillside.

Spread across three modules on two levels, the stables are positioned below the clubhouse and are connected by steel bridges, which create another open central patio used for walking horses.

Dark grey concrete was used for the angular facade, while each module is characterised by sets of wooden shutters.

The stables' uniform geometry is interrupted only by a sawtooth roof that tops one of the modules and takes advantage of natural light during the day and also captures rainwater for reuse.

Inside, Studio RC chose recycled tire rubber for the stables' flooring, which was designed to control the acoustics as well as provide suitable traction for walking horses.

The clubhouse interiors feature a similar simplicity. Board-formed concrete walls match pared-back neutral furniture while floor-to-ceiling glazing provides expansive views of the surrounding greenery.

Elsewhere in Mexico, 1540 Arquitectura created stables from a series of triangular structures while Matias Zegers Architects inserted a skylight along the ridge of a stable near Santiago in Chile.

The photography is by Cesar Belio. 

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Mexican studio Espacio 18 Arquitectura has balanced an expansive concrete house designed like a "rock carved to create a sculpture" on a hillside in Oaxaca.

Known as Casa del Alma, the 460-square metre (4,950-square foot) house was completed in 2023 as the client's "last refuge" after a "long life of work and travel", according to Espacio 18.

Two concrete boxes – set in the highest up next to an ecological reserve – frame views of Oaxaca City and create a space for "peace, meeting, contemplation, and introspection", Espacio 18 said.

Structural concrete embeds the house in the terrain and the boxy concrete forms jut out in cantilevers from the slight slope.

"This project was inspired by the masters of light, such as [Gian Lorenzo] Bernini or current masters such as Alberto Campo Baeza," the studio said.

"The different uses of light in the space allow the project to evolve during the day, during the year in the different seasons. It's as if it were a rock carved to create a sculpture."

The two halves are divided by a monumental, entry staircase with floating concrete treads and light that filters down between the concrete beams.

"Through vertical subtractions, we work with light, creating domes, beams and windows," the studio continued. "The light expands through the spaces, bathes the walls and shows us the passage of time."

Set primarily within a single level for the convenience of the resident – despite the entry stair – the program is separated into public and private zones on either side of the staircase.

One side – which is slanted deeper into the hillside – holds service areas and the kitchen, dining and living spaces, while the other holds two ensuite bedrooms.

The interior finishes are minimal, leveraging the poured-in-place concrete structure and polished concrete floors with exposed aggregate. Low-profile glass and metal serve as additional detailing.

Large rectilinear skylights illuminate the bathrooms and the circulation spaces, where the repetitive concrete beams reappear.

The spaces that face away from the hill are characterized by floor-to-ceiling glass sliding doors that allow the view to serve as the fourth wall.

The linear balconies have no roof but are wrapped by a deep concrete beam as well as delicate glass railings.

The staircase wraps up to another bedroom and an expansive terrace that looks out to the surrounding landscape and city. An outdoor kitchen is built into the rooftop.

In the basement, the parking area and mechanical rooms are tucked under the concrete cantilever.

The layout allows cross ventilation both horizontally and vertically to mitigate the warm climate of Oaxaca, and a rainwater harvesting system and LED lighting contribute to the home's resiliency.

Espacio 18 Arquitectura also completed a concrete and terracotta beach house in Oaxaca that orients to the sunrise and sunset, as well as a dark grey townhouse with a glazed interior courtyard in Puebla.

The photography is by César Béjar.

Project credits:

Design: Espacio 18 Arquitectura
Interior design: Espacio 18 Arquitectura
Builders: Espacio 18 Arquitectura
Architect in charge: Sonia Morales
Landscaping: Espacio 18 Arquitectura
Team: Mario Ávila, Carla Osorio, Sonia Morales, Karina Flores, Paola Alavez, Marco Farias, Noemié Coquil
Carpentry: Orvesa y diseño
Engineer: LM Estructuras
Steelwork: Alfredo y Ramon
Interceramic: Bathroom Furniture and hardware
CEMEX: Concrete
GEO Iluminacion: Lighting project
Concrete workshop: Terrazo

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Architecture studio LBR&A has designed a residence that "breaks the imposed paradigms of construction" in a Mexico City neighbourhood where development has reportedly taken its toll on the landscape.

The CH73 House is located in the Bosques de las Lomas neighbourhood and occupies a long, slender site that slopes down toward a ravine.

Designed for a retired couple, the full-time residence is meant to stand in contrast to the prevailing architecture in the area.

According to local firm LBR&A, the neighbourhood's natural environment has been severely degraded due to insensitive development. Flora and fauna have been decimated, and impervious surfaces – such as concrete paving – are inhibiting rainwater from reaching the soil.

"Within this context, the CH73 House is born as a self-sustainable proposal that breaks the imposed paradigms of construction in the area," the studio said.

In addition to sustainability concerns, the design was guided by several conditions, including the existence of a 30-metre-tall, masonry retaining wall that was built around five decades ago.

Envisioning the project as an "architectural-structural piece", the studio conceived a two-storey building that is rectangular in plan.

The bottom level has concrete walls, while the upper level is framed with steel. A dark-hued, wax patina was applied to the steel structural elements to encourage "good ageing behaviour".

One side of the house extends 20 metres over the site. Prefabricated components allowed for the cantilevering volume to be constructed without causing any damage to the landscape, the studio said.

The home's facade treatments vary. The entrance elevation, which faces a street, is opaque and clad in Arabescatto Orbico marble. The rear facades are more transparent, with glazed walls that usher in daylight and offer extensive views.

Totaling 1,023 square metres, the house has a mix of public and private spaces spread across its two levels. Spatially, the home is meant to feel "calm and diaphanous", the team said.

The upper level holds the entrance, communal areas and main bedroom. A landscaped garden is found outdoors. The bottom level contains a garage, gym, lap pool, bathroom and machine room.

"The spaces have a flexibility of use, which can be easily adapted to the changing needs of the clients," the team said.

Interior finishes include granite flooring, marble walls and aluminum-composite ceiling panels. The kitchen has a sliding door made of metal and frosted glass.

The house is designed to be net-zero in terms of energy usage.

Passive strategies, such as optimal orientation and natural ventilation, have helped reduce energy consumption. Electricity is provided by solar panels and a "geothermal foundation pile".

"This is essentially a system of underground pipes that are used to extract heat from the ground, which is then converted into electricity via a heat pump," the firm said.

"This allows the house to have a reliable and sustainable source of energy throughout the year."

A biodigester system was installed to treat wastewater, which is then used for irrigating the property and surrounding land.

"Additionally, rainwater is infiltrated into the subsoil to help improve the conditions of the local flora and fauna, particularly in a nearby forest area that has been impacted by human activities," the firm said.

The project also entailed rehabilitating the landscape. The team planted endemic species such as tepozán shrubs, Montezuma pines and avocado trees. Trees that had grown naturally on the site were saved.

"Overall, the house is an excellent example of how sustainable practices can be incorporated into residential design to achieve net-zero energy use and promote ecological well being," the studio said.

Other projects in Mexico City's Bosques de las Lomas neighbourhood include a culinary school by Belzberg Architects that has board-marked concrete walls, and a bathhouse by Arqhe Studio that features a stark composition of grainy white marble.

LBR&A, or  L. Benjamín Romano & Arquitectos, was founded in 1978. Among the studio's notable projects are Torre Reforma, a three-sided skyscraper in Mexico City that rises 246 metres, making it one of the tallest buildings in the metropolis.

The photography is by Frank Lynen unless stated.

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Izquierdo Lehmann has designed a round lakeside house near Lago Ranco in southern Chile that is wrapped in glass with a series of wood-clad boxes projecting from its sides.

Cristián Izquierdo L, a partner at Santiago-based studio Izquierdo Lehmann, designed Casa Encoique in 2021 as a guest pavilion adjacent to an existing holiday home that would allow the site to accommodate multiple generations.

The circular glass pavilion – measuring roughly 125 square meters (1345 square feet) – is embedded in the forest and looks in every direction, and is attached to the main house via an elevated concrete walkway.

The open-plan first floor – featuring living and dining space with a small prep kitchen and 360-degree views – is round. Above, three "boxed" en-suite bedrooms are arranged in a triangle, cantilever out of the circle and are clad in pine that has been dried at 300 degrees Celsius to increase its thermal properties and longevity.

"The main challenge was to solve, in an efficient way, the triangular structure in relation to the circular base," Izquierdo said.

The upper triangular plan is rotated off-centre to reduce the length of the cantilevers and accommodate circulation space between the rooms, which contains a metal and eucalyptus spiral staircase.

"In the end, the project doesn't solve the problem – as Louis Kahn would do it in the Yale Art Center where the triangular stair meets the circle in a perfect way – but it manifests that these two orders are fighting with each other, and sometimes they fit and sometimes they don't," Izquierdo said.

The converging forms are apparent inside the bedrooms, where the box shape juts outward and the ceiling lifts up where the room connects with the circular form.

A window above the bed not only brings light into the room but holds the triangular truss that merges the box back into the curving perimeter wall.

However, modular construction methods helped to maintain a sense of cohesion on the exterior.

"While the structure of the bedrooms and the staircase make explicit the mismatches of the triangular composition, the vertical modulation of the horizontal carpentry coincides in the boxes and the glazed enclosure, masking different materials and shapes in a common module," the studio said.

The cladding, as well as the structural wooden elements, were modelled using the studio's BIM software and precut before being transferred to the remote site, allowing the construction process to be more of an assembly.

Some lines, like the horizontal joints in the exterior glazing, match perfectly to the form.

Additionally, the glass was cut into small modules for transportation to the site and ease of installation for the small on-site crew.

At night, the illuminated form becomes a lantern in the lakeside forest.

Nearby on the east side of Lago Ranco, Max-A also used modular construction to keep costs down on an angled, single-storey holiday home.

The photography is by Cristóbal Palma.

Project credits:
Architect: Cristián Izquierdo L
Collaborator: Pablo Irarrazaval
Structural engineering: FHS (Ernesto Hernández)
Constructor: Constructora Puerto Patagonia

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Local studio Sparano + Mooney Architecture cantilevered two envelopes with blackened-cedar siding over a canyon outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.

The home, called Wabi Sabi Residence and completed in 2020 is a 4,000-square-foot (370-square metre) structure on a nine-acre lot in the Wasatch Range.

Sparano + Mooney Architecture constructed the three-bedroom, 3.5-bath house out of two volumes with floor-to-ceiling glazed ends that float above the landscape.

The north volume is oriented along a direct east-to-west axis and contains the private spaces, while the south volume, rotated 45 degrees along the canyon's axis, holds the public gathering spaces that overlook the landscape and city below.

Board-formed concrete plinths tie the volumes into the landscape and a series of steel wall trusses, set within a 12-inch thermally-broken wall system, support the 18.5-foot (5.6 metre) and 24-foot (7.3 metre) cantilevers.

"We wanted to touch lightly on the site, so the home cantilevers over the site, is grounded at the entrance, and then floats over the landscape as you move through the home," the studio said.

"This projection helped us to minimize the impact on this natural site and reduce excavation."

The house is clad in Western Red Cedar Select that references the landscape and works to reduce construction waste by using 14-foot (4.2-metre) boards that extend from the base of the exterior wall to the parapet without cuts.

Employing the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi – the beauty of the imperfect and incomplete – the north volume uses a natural cedar finish while on the south volume, the cedar has been stained black.

The material philosophy extends to the interior selections, fixtures and furnishings, creating spaces that flow freely from the inside to the outside with combinations of light and dark elements.

Set into the hillside, the basement level incorporates an office space with a private outdoor patio and the living room fireplace mirrors an outdoor fireplace for gatherings.

The outdoor stone floor continues into the living spaces, and large format tile finish and hardwoods conceal a radiant heating system.

The residence was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification through both passive and active systems.

"The exterior window system was designed to incorporate operable openings at key locations to take advantage of natural site ventilation, thereby reducing the need for mechanical heating/cooling and increasing indoor air quality," the studio said.

Additionally, the grading for the home was integrated within the site topography to ensure the existing stormwater run-off remained as unchanged as possible.

The home is topped by a green roof planted with local grasses that camouflages the home in its context.

"The residence sits within its mountain site with minimal disturbance to the landscape, which is augmented with native and drought-tolerant plants and trees," the team said.

Sparano + Mooney previously constructed another residence overlooking Emigration Canyon nearby – this one clad in hundreds of scale-like steel shingles.

The photography is by Matt Winquist unless otherwise stated. 

Project credits:

Architect: Sparano + Mooney Architecture
Builder: Living Home Construction
Civil engineer: McNeil Engineering
Structural engineer: Structural Design Studio

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Metal siding, cantilevers and a rolling window supported by counterweights that slides into the floor characterise Caddy Shack in Austin by Olson Kundig.

Located in Austin, Texas, the rusted steel-clad home was completed for a retired professional golfer. It uses a stilt system to hover above a ravine in a suburban neighbourhood.

The main entry is at the top of the slope. Most of the living spaces are on this middle level, which is accessed from a bridge at the same elevation as the street.

Visitors enter directly into the home's open-concept kitchen, living, and dining room – a large space overlooking the ravine below.

"My favorite part of this project is how the building engages the site," said Olson Kundig principal Tom Kundig.

"We were able to very surgically insert the home into the ravine, leaving the landscape in its natural state as much as possible."

"As a result, we delivered a house that serves the lifestyle of our client and creates a super exciting perch to look out over the hills to the city of Austin beyond," the architect added.

Within the living area, a large glass wall offers views of downtown Austin.

Here, a hand-operated wheel allows the wall to lower into the position of a guardrail. The counterweights were left exposed to "celebrate the engineering" of the "kinetic element".

A pair of doors lead out onto a cantilevered deck, which contains a pool and hot tub.

"This environment easily transitions outside to a generous deck with a pool and hot tub," said the studio.

"A thick panel of clear acrylic at the far end of the pool creates additional views from the water."

The home counts four bedrooms in total. The primary suite is on the main level, in an adjacent, cantilevered wing that faces the pool and deck.

This volume contains an upper floor, with two guest bedrooms and as many bathrooms. In the partial lower level, there is another bedroom.

"Below the master suite, a guest suite takes advantage of the empty volume between home and hillside, hanging suspended from above," Olson Kundig explained.

The interiors are characterised by wood-lined floors and ceilings, which are complemented by custom steel accents.

The staircase that connects the levels is made of bespoke bent steel plates, a detail that is replicated throughout the home in fixtures and other equipment.

"This treatment is repeated in the custom, built-in elements throughout the powder room and study, including a bent steel vanity and sink, trophy case and desk," said Olson Kundig.

Olson Kundig was founded in 1966. The studio's work frequently includes movable steel elements such as oversized doors or sliding panels, such as in a beach house in Australia fronted by operable shutters and a remote home in Tofino topped with a dramatic cantilever.

The photography is by Aaron Leitz.

Project credits:

Project team: Tom Kundig, FAIA, RIBA, design principal; Bob Jakubik, AIA, LEED® AP, project manager; Will Kemper, project architect; Laina Navarro, interior design; Mark Richardson, architectural staff; Francesca Krisli, interior design staff
General contractor: Jon Luce Builder
Civil engineer: Blyel Engineering
Structural engineer: PCS Structural Solutions
Kinetic fabrication: KB Architectural Services
Custom lighting: Resolute Lighting

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NYC-based firm Garrison Architects has completed an animal shelter in Staten Island, which is wrapped in full-height translucent walls that provide even lighting conditions throughout the day.

The Staten Island Animal Rescue Center is located in Charleston, a neighbourhood in the New York City borough of Staten Island. It was completed earlier this year and inaugurated in a public ceremony on 26 October.

The project aims to break from the typical design of an animal care facility, and feel more like a home environment than a hospital.

For this reason, the animal's living areas are placed at the perimeter of the 5,000-square-foot (465 square metres) building.

The building is lined with translucent polycarbonate panels that provide an even, diffuse light.

"This allows our furry friends to get all the sunshine from the full-glass walls," said Garrison Architects.

"Animal shelters are interesting buildings – they reflect broadly our values and relationship to nature," said founder James Garrison.

"The animals we care for are a bridge to the natural world – breaking through our distraction and reminding us of our essential connections," the architect added.

The materials found throughout the building were chosen for their durability, ease of maintenance and affordability.

"The building is designed as a low budget, high-performance facility using locally produced materials with high recycled content," said the studio.

The centre of the building is occupied by service areas, as well as space to run the ventilation conduits of three separate mechanical systems.

"[There are] three completely separate mechanical systems – for well animals, sick animals and surgical operations," Garrison explained.

"The enormous machines that serve this purpose are placed within an elevated courtyard in the center of the building," he added.

"That court is surrounded by a clerestory that allows sunlight to enter throughout the day regardless of orientation."

These conduits are finished in bright colours and feature prominently throughout the building's utilitarian and clean interiors.

Garrison described the building's mechanical and natural ventilation systems as "a machine for breathing".

The building's lobby is named after a New York boy, Tommy Monahan, who died while trying to save his pets from a fire in 2007.

"The creation of the new Staten Island Animal Care Center, initially inspired by Tommy’s incredible heroism, now has the capacity to house more animals than ever," said NYC mayor Eric Adams at the building's inauguration.

The project was partially financed by New York City's Design Excellence Program, an initiative that sought to support high-quality design commissions for public buildings in NYC.Other buildings that this program helped finance include Studio Gang's Rescue 5 Fire Station and a utility building by nArchitects that sits in the NYC Department of Transportation’s Harper Street Yard, in Queens.

Other projects designed by the NYC-based Garrison Architects include Piaule, an Upstate New York retreat made up of 24 cabins that are available to lease, and a prototype for disaster-response homes that was completed after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

The photography is by Eduard Hueber.

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Canadian studio KPMB Architects has completed a campus building in Boston with a series of cantilevered volumes that is the largest "fossil-free building" in the city.

KPMB Architects designed the Boston University Centre for Computing & Data Science to stand 305 feet tall (92 metres) on the Charles River. A series of volumes were stacked in a skewed way so that it cantilevers over all sides of the 19-storey structure.

"[It is] the largest sustainable, fossil-fuel building in Boston," said Boston University (BU). "The vertical campus rises boldly over the banks of the Charles River dramatically reshaping the skyline of Boston."

At the base, a four-storey-tall podium stretches along the river and acts as an "urban porch". Where the podium leads to the central staircase providing access to the tower, an eight-storey atrium was included.

The facade is characterised both by the cantilevers as well as a series of diagonal louvres that were positioned in accordance with the sun and rest on top of the triple-glazed curtain wall that clads the structure.

The cantilevers create a series of eight green terraces, which provide outdoor space for the inhabitant as well as rainwater retention.

Space inside the structure has been divided up according to academic discipline.

"The Center is conceptualized to function as ascending academic neighborhoods with bottom floors devoted to math and statistics, middle floors for computer science and the top floors for interdisciplinary work and public space," said the university.

Interior spaces include 12 classrooms, two computer labs to facilitate the work of the Computer Science department, as well as a cafe on the ground floor. Not yet fully photographed, the interiors take advantage of the floor-to-ceiling windows and include whiteboards integrated into the structure.

At the top of the structure is a pavilion and event space.

According to the team, the fossil-free status of the building was achieved by using a closed-loop geothermal heating system, solar panels and the optimised shading system provided by the louvres.

The geothermal heat pumps provide 300 tonnes of heating and cooling capacity for the building and no gas lines were connected.

"The drive for energy efficiency enabled the shift from burning fossil fuels to using the thermal capacity of the earth as a batter for heating and cooling," said BU's associate VP for sustainability Dennis Carlberg.

"The building provides a powerful example for ourselves and others for how to build for a carbon-free future."

Portland cement and steel were used for the structure, and the team said that structure has achieved a six per cent reduction in embodied carbon via "optimised" building methods and "sourcing steel from the least impactful production sites".

According to the university, carbon reductions were also achieved by partnering with a wind farm in South Dakota.

"This wind farm reduces the University’s carbon emissions by 53 per cent and gets Boston University closer to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2040," it said.

KPMB Architects was founded in Toronto in 1987. Recently the studio announced plans to convert an airfield in Toronto into a smart city.

Other projects in Boston include architecture studio NBBJ's recent announcement to place a high-rise on top of the iconic brutalist Hurley Building, designed by architect Paul Rudolph in the 1970s.

The photography is by Tom Arban. 

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Bohlin Cywinski Jackson used engineered timber and a cantilevered roof for Caymus-Suisun Winery to create a contemporary winery with a "new architectural language for the region".

For a 29-acre (11.7-hectare) site, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson – which has six offices in the US, including one in San Francisco – was charged with creating two buildings: a welcome/retail building and a tasting pavilion.

The goal was to create a relaxed atmosphere and a strong connection to the terrain, which includes orchards, vegetable gardens and vineyards.

"Caymus-Suisun Winery shifts the paradigm on the traditional, prescriptive approach to wine tasting, presenting a laid-back, resort-like pavilion for experiencing the wine and landscape of an undiscovered piece of California wine country," the team said.

The winery is owned by the Wagner family, which established Napa Valley's Caymus Vineyards in 1972.

The family has now expanded to Suisin Valley, a grape-growing region in Solano County, just east of Napa, that is known for its small, family-owned operations.

The architecture studio placed two rectangular buildings around a central courtyard, both of which have a contemporary aesthetic that "establishes a new architectural language for the region," the team said.

To the north of the courtyard is the welcome/retail centre, which is designed to offer an intimate and sheltered setting for exploring Caymus wines.

The 3,500-square-foot (325-square-metre) building holds a welcome bar, espresso counter, wine room, office, kitchen and cold storage area.

Engineered timber, poured concrete and ground-face block establish "a humble yet refined atmosphere fitting for a working winery".

The welcome bar, located in the entry threshold, is made of locally sourced elm and concrete.

The tasting room – which totals 5,500 square feet (511 square metres) – is a glass pavilion looking out at the landscape.

All four sides have retractable glass walls and operable transom windows, enabling the building to open to the surroundings.

In addition to providing natural ventilation, the openings give visitors a firsthand experience of the climate responsible for the region's varietals, including Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Grenache.

"With openings as wide as 30 feet, the glass sliders in the central tasting space invite the hallmark Suisun Valley breeze to flow through the building," the team said.

The tasting pavilion holds three distinct areas: a private tasting room on the east, a communal tasting room on the west and a casual lounge in the centre.

In the lounge – where one can enjoy wine by the glass, which is not traditionally offered at wineries – the team incorporated a curved, concrete tasting bar that "seems to grow from the floor".

Overhead, daylight streams in through a pyramidal oculus.

The communal tasting room flows onto a large terrace, where guests can sit outside and take in the scenery. The space is shaded by a large cantilevered roof that is designed to "hover weightlessly overhead while focusing views to nearby mountain ranges".

In both buildings, the team incorporated artwork and handcrafted furnishings, much of it made by Californians and inspired by the agrarian landscape.

"These thoughtfully designed and curated components offer points of intrigue and resonance for the visitor, conveying a level of intention and artisanship reflective of our client's multigenerational winemaking legacy and pioneering nature," the team said.

Other winery facilities in the US include a Napa winery by Bestor Architecture that takes cues from mid-century modernism, and a tasting building in Washington by GO'C that features cedar cladding and a rigorous structural grid.

The photography is by Matthew Millman.

Project credits:

Architect: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Interior design: The Bureau (led by Sarah Giesenhagen in collaboration with Thad Geldert of Geldert Studios)
General contractor: Cello & Maudru
Structural engineer: Eckersley O'Callaghan
Mechanical engineer: Blue Forest Engineering
Civil engineer: Foulk Civil Engineering
Electrical engineer: Atium Engineering
Lighting designer: EJA Lighting Design

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Maine studio Elliott Architects has created a seaside house that includes a dramatic, cantilevered volume on stilt that stretches towards the ocean and the tree line.

Completed in the spring of 2021, the 6,060-square-foot (563-square-metre) House on a Bay is composed of two distinct bars that sit atop a steep site overlooking a bay in Southport, Maine.

The 3.5-acre parcel originally held a crumbling house, an uninsulated seasonal bunkhouse and a storage garage from previous owners. Elliott Architects demolished the main house and relocated the other two structures to start the design with a clean slate.

"The client was not beholden to the prevailing style of houses in the area, most of which are traditional, vernacular, New England wood-framed structures," the studio said.

"He felt strongly that this building should be singular, much like its site. The genesis was a blank slate, influenced only by the program brief, the surrounding landscape, and our collective imaginations."

The regulatory and topographic site limitations provided an opportunity for the studio to challenge how the house engaged the landscape in multiple dimensions.

The design is a tripartite concept with elements in the ground, on the ground and above the ground.

The ground floor – with living, kitchen and dining spaces, as well as a garage and deck – is firmly anchored to the earth.

The upper floor – with two bedrooms – is rotated and cantilevers over the driveway, "teasing the inhabitant with the prospect of endless horizon all while perched in the treetops," the studio said.

Partner JT Loomis told Dezeen that the rotation allowed the design to expose and engage with the sectional qualities of the ledge.

"The angle of the upper bar and position of the building was sited to save mature trees and accentuate the views both into the bay and into the woods," he said.

The lower bar is board-formed concrete that is carved away with glass and steel, while the upper bar is clad in phenolic wall panels.

The upper bar is supported by angled galvanised steel columns that echo the organic and irregular pattern of the surrounding spruce trees.

"We wanted to keep the palette of materials simple and clean, a clear expression of how the building was made," Loomis said.

On the interior, the architecture studio used a simple palette in line with the client's desire for "white space" on a page.

"This led to a spatial concept grounded in continuous, voluminous, light-filled spaces with varying levels of transparency based upon privacy requirements," the studio said.

The interior is characterized by a large glass staircase with cantilevered treads that turn with the rotation of the upper level.

The living spaces have floating cabinetry and furniture, asymmetrical suspended light fixtures and floor-to-ceiling windows.

"The detailing is equally spare," Loomis said. "A simple set of materials that serve a purpose, express making, and provide a quiet surrounding to be filled with the life, activity and art of the inhabitant."

Other projects along the Maine shoreline include Elliott Architects' house lifted over the water by wooden piers and Berman Horn Studio's cedar-clad coastal retreat.

The photography is by Paul Warchol with drone photography by Ken Woisard.

Project credits:

General contractor: Warren Construction Group
Structural engineer: Thorton Tomasetti
Mechanical engineer: Integrated Energy Systems
Civil engineer: Gartley & Dorsky Engineering & Surveying
Envelope consultant: Building Envelope Solutions
Lighting design: Peter Knuppel
Interior design: Urban Dwellings

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Network of Architecture referenced reflections in water when creating the Hub of Huts, a well-being area that appears to defy gravity at the Hotel Hubertus in South Tyrol.

Supported by large tree-like columns, the structure sits close to a projecting glass-bottomed pool that Italian studio Network of Architecture (NOA) created for the Italian resort in 2016.

Hub of Huts is characterised by a group of inverted and upturned micro-structures with gabled roofs that collectively form a "zen-like refuge" for the Alpine hotel.

Together, the structures are intended to evoke "the architecture of a mountain village" mirrored on water through a play on sightlines and horizons.

"The inspiration came from the element of water," NOA Founder Lukas Rungger told Dezeen.

"We thought about the possible activities such as standing, sitting, swimming, floating horizontally, diving upside down," he added. "Each of these positions have a different horizon, and from this interplay of perspectives, the idea of the project came to life."

According to the studio, the project was a challenge because the hotel "already found its symbol in the swimming pool". Achieving the studio's gravity-defying vision structurally was also no mean feat.

"An imposing steel cantilever structure supports the platform, which even brought the engineers to the limits," Rungger explained.

"The asymmetrical assembly was a huge structural challenge, including a complex allocation of technical compartments hidden inside the houses."

Hub of Huts is located on the southeast side of the Hotel Hubertus, parallel to the swimming pool. It forms a "natural continuation" of the resort's existing well-being zone.

By dividing the facilities across the series of micro-structures, NOA ensured the project was human in scale, aligning with its goal of emulating a village.

"The positioning of the micro-structures recalls the layout of a mountain village," added Rungger.

"One moves from space to space as one goes from house to house, from warm to cold, from dry to wet, from up to down."

Similarly to the neighbouring pool, the extension projects out from the hotel's main building on a platform raised 15 metres above ground. It is accessed by a suspended walkway.

This deck is supported by a cantilevered steel slab and two large steel columns that are clad in larch, disguising them as tree trunks.

On the upper level of the Hub of Huts platform are two pools, alongside panoramic showers and a changing room.

Below, where the huts appear to be anchored upside down, the lower level has a foyer, two saunas, showers and a third outdoor pool. Here, the inverted gables allowed NOA to hide a water purification system for the pools and form the tiered seating for the saunas.

"The lower level of the platform causes a feeling of estrangement in the observer," reflected supervising architect Gottfried Gruber.

"As one descends, the temperature rises, and the environment becomes more protected. It feels like a descent into the centre of the earth, with the poles reversing."

The materiality for the project was chosen to complement the dusky hues of the mountain scenery, with brown-hued aluminium panels cladding the cabins.

On some of the micro-structures, NOA has incorporated a brise soleil shading system in the same material and colour.

Inside is a similar earthy material palette, including light beige ceramics and wooden detailing such as oiled white-oak flooring.

According to the studio, these materials are hoped to create a calming atmosphere while retaining focus on the ever-changing mountain views framed through the glazed openings.

Founded by architect Rungger with Stefan Rier, NOA is an architecture and design studio with studios in Bozen, Italy, and Berlin, Germany.

The cantilevering pool that the studio created at the Hotel Hubertus in South Tyrol aims to offer holidaymakers the sensation of floating and also features a material palette that is designed to echo the mountain scenery.

Elsewhere in South Tyrol, the studio created a "treehouse" hotel that is raised on stilts above a park and completed the Ötzi Peak 3251m viewpoint above a glacier.

The photography is by Alex Filz.

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The latest edition of our weekly Dezeen Agenda newsletter features a cantilevered housing block in Amsterdam by BIG and Barcode Architects. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda now!

Danish studio BIG and Dutch studio Barcode Architects designed the angular Sluishuis housing block above the IJ lake in Amsterdam's IJburg district.

Built on an artificial island, the distinctive housing development – which was described by the architects as a "new landmark" for the neighbourhood –  surrounds an internal harbour with a double cantilever that forms a gateway from the lake.

Other stories in this week's newsletter include the longlist for 2022's RIBA House of the Year award, news of a Finnish "sand battery" that provides a low-cost and low-emissions way to store renewable energy and Kengo Kuma's first residential tower in the US.

Dezeen Agenda

Dezeen Agenda is a curated newsletter sent every Tuesday containing the most important news highlights from Dezeen. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Agenda or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to Dezeen Debate, which is sent every Thursday and contains a curated selection of highlights from the week, as well as Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours on Dezeen.

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Danish architecture studio BIG and Dutch studio Barcode Architects have unveiled the angular Sluishuis housing block above the IJ lake in Amsterdam's IJburg district.

Built on an artificial island in the IJ lake, the square housing block surrounds an internal harbour with a double cantilever that forms a gateway from the lake.

"Our Sluishuis is conceived as a city block of downtown Amsterdam floating in the IJ lake, complete with all aspects of city life," said BIG founding partner Bjarke Ingels.

"Towards the city, the building kneels down to invite visitors to climb its roof and enjoy the panoramic view of the new neighborhoods on the IJ."

Described by the architecture studios as "a new landmark for IJburg" the housing development contains 442 owner-occupied and rental apartments.

The building has a distinctive shape, with blocks on two sides of the square cantilevered to create a cut-out above the water and the other two blocks stepping down to create terraces with apartments opening out on top balconies.

"With iconic architecture, as well as new housing typologies, high-quality outdoor spaces, and breathtaking views of the IJmeer, Sluishuis is a new landmark for IJburg as well as Amsterdam," said Barcode Architects founding partner Dirk Peters.

The four blocks enclose a courtyard that steps down to the water. On the ground floor, opening up to the courtyard, are a sailing school, a water sports centre and a restaurant with a large terrace.

"Toward the water, Sluishuis rises from the river, opening a gigantic gate for boats to enter and dock in the port," added Ingels. "A building inside the port, with a port inside the building."

Above the ground floor the blocks, which were clad in aluminium to reflect the surrounding water, contain a range of different-sized apartments from studios to penthouses.

The top two floors contain duplex penthouses, while the apartments within the cantilever have views directly down to the water.

Where the blocks step down to create terraces they are clad in timber to contrast with the external aluminium finish.

Two long staircases climb the two angled facades leading to a public green roof and garden with a rooftop walkway.

Alongside the housing block, the development contains a pier that has moorings for 34 houseboats and berths for 54 pleasure crafts.

Founded by Ingels in 2005, BIG is one of the world's best-known architecture studios. Other distinctive housing developments completed by the studio include a prefabricated timber housing block in Stockholm designed to be a "manmade hillside" and a "winding wall" of affordable housing in Copenhagen.

The photography is by Ossip van Duivenbode.

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Kariouk Architects has completed MORE Cabin, a dramatic cantilevered structure overlooking a lake in Québec meant to stand out from its natural surroundings.

Ottawa-based firm Kariouk Architects was commissioned to build a secondary residence overlooking Lac du Brochet, a remote lake roughly 100 kilometres north of the Canadian capital.

Its design for an angular, cantilevered cabin was completed in 2021, and is meant to stand out from conventional cottage design – or the typical "romanticized wilderness log cabin".

"Typical cottages are 'woodsy' versions of suburban homes with every modern convenience," explained Kariouk Architects.

"These buildings sustain the myth that appearing to be one with the land equates to a reduced impact on the environment," the architecture studio added.

The 1,000 square-foot cabin is intended to appear contemporary, while also being more sustainably built and consuming fewer resources throughout its usable life.

Because of the steeply sloped site by the water, Kariouk Architects decided to create elevated living spaces.

While the entrance to the home is located at grade, most of the living areas sit atop a structural steel "mast", which the architects said reduces the environmental impact of foundation walls dug into the ground.

"Avoiding a conventional large foundation preserved the watershed and prevented erosion, as did elevating the construction zone," the studio said.

The team secured a zoning variance that allowed them to place the single structural support within the required setback from the water while cantilevering the resident's living spaces much closer to the lake.

"To this end, MORE Cabin touches the land lightly through interpreting the law creatively to uphold its principles," the studio explained.

The cabin has two bedrooms located along a corridor and separated by a bathroom.

At the end of the home is an open-concept kitchen, living and dining room, which has sweeping views of the surrounding treetops through its full-height window walls.

The cabin's structure was constructed from a combination of glue-laminated timber beams and prefabricated structural panels known as CLT.

Both of these technologies allow much of the home's fabrication to occur offsite, which reduces construction waste and guarantees a certain level of quality.

The interiors of the cabin were also finished with wood, lending the interiors a cozy atmosphere. In the colder months, the cabin is heated by a high-efficiency wood stove in the living room.

Other sustainable features that the architects used include solar panels, which generate enough electricity to cover the resident's usage and "bat pods" included in the steel mast that offer a nesting place for a local species of endangered brown bats.

MORE Cabin is an acronym made up of the names of the client's four grandmothers.

Other cottages in Canada include a large home built into a rocky hillside in British Columbia by Woven Architecture and Design, and a ski chalet by Montreal-based Naturehumaine that appears to have been split down the middle.

The photography is by Scott Norsworthy.

Project credits:

Design team: Paul Kariouk (principal), Chris Davis (project architect), Adam Paquette (intern architect), Frederic Carrier (design associate), David King (design associate), Sarah McMurtry (design associate), Steven Schuhmann (design associate), Joel Tremblay (design associate), Mark Meneguzzi (design associate)
General contractor: GPL Construction
Structural engineer: Daniel Bonardi Consulting Engineers
Heavy timber consultant: StyxWorks
Heavy timber assembly: Laverty Log Homes
CLT, Glu-Lam, and specialty steel: Zublin Timber

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Materials intended to blend with the natural landscape and interior finishes made from a single tree feature in a wood-clad home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina designed by American studio Harding Huebner.

The Nova Residence is located in Asheville, a town in the mountainous western part of the state.

Designed by local firm Harding Huebner, the home sits on a sloped, forested site that overlooks the downtown district and the mountainous terrain.

L-shaped in plan, the two-storey home totals 3,276 square feet (304 square metres) and consists of rectilinear volumes topped with a low, overhanging roof.

"An all-glass wrapper conceals a complex, cantilevered steel structure that allows the house to float lightly above the steep terrain," the studio said.

There are two balconies with glass railings on the upper storey and an additional terrace on the lower level.

For the foundation, the team used concrete made with sand from local waterways. Exterior walls are clad in garapa – a tropical hardwood – without any type of coating of stain or paint.

"We chose exterior materials that would both weather naturally and gracefully, but also blend with the surroundings," the team said.

The interior features a compact layout and immersive views of the terrain.

The upper level holds an open-concept kitchen, dining area and living room, along with the main bedroom suite.

Furnishings in the public space include a Steinway piano, a Florence Knoll marble dining table with Saarinen chairs, and a Barcelona daybed. The bedroom features an Eames lounge chair and a bed and nightstands from Roche Bobois.

Downstairs, there are two bedrooms, a gym and a media room.

The home’s two levels are connected by a staircase made of bent steel plates with oak treads.

The stairs are supported by vertical rods that rise up to form a guardrail and are topped with bronze caps.

The team used earthy materials that would not detract from the surrounding landscape.

Finishes include pale-toned natural stone slabs, blonde oak floors, and clear-stained walnut supplied by a single tree.

Other houses in North Carolina include a Raleigh dwelling by In Situ Studio wrapped in glazed brick and charred cypress, and a cypress-clad residence in Durham by Smitharc Architects that reaches out toward its wooded surroundings.

The photography is by Keith Isaacs.

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Concrete and darkened cedar make up the facades of a Seattle home that was designed by architecture studio GO'C for a family of eight.

The Sound House is located on a sloped property in the city's Magnolia neighbourhood – a site that offers vistas of the downtown district and the Puget Sound. The dwelling sits atop an existing plateau that formerly held a house dating to the 1920s.

The architects had several guiding concerns, including capitalising on views and respecting the area's density and scale of surrounding buildings.

They also needed to create a spacious atmosphere for a newly blended family of two adults and six children. The father owns a record label, and the mother is a best-selling author.

"An emphasis was placed on providing large shared spaces to enjoy together and smaller areas of retreat for all members of the family," said local firm GO'C, formerly known as goCstudio.

The team devised a 5,500-square-foot (511-square-metre) home that is roughly L-shaped in plan and rectilinear in form. The building has two levels and a basement.

The northern elevation, which faces the street, consists of stacked, horizontal bars and an adjoining box that holds a garage. The southern elevation is more dynamic, with volumes that push outward and retreat.

"The massing of the house allows it to appear in scale with neighboring properties on the north side and opens up to the south as it cascades down the site," the team said.

The home's two layers have different facade treatments.

The lower portion has concrete walls that ground the building to the site, while the top level is clad in vertical, tight-knot cedar slats with an ebony stain. Over certain windows, the slats form screens that pivot open and closed.

Set back from the street, the entrance leads into a wide hall that offers a sightline through the home.

The ground level holds an open-plan kitchen, dining area and living room, all of which connect to a rear terrace. A fitness room and library are also found on the ground floor.

The double-height living room has ample glazing, bringing daylight deep into the home. A steel staircase with wooden treads leads to the upper level, where there are two wings connected by a bridge.

The east wing holds the parents' bedroom suite and cantilevers over the backyard, while the west arm encompasses the kids' sleeping area.

"The kids' side functions as a bunkhouse of sorts, with six small bedrooms arranged around a sun-filled central play space with a large skylight above," the architects said.

The children's play area extends outdoors to a terrace built atop the garage. The upper level also contains a small office.

A staircase within a light monitor leads to a roof deck, where the family grows vegetables and herbs in a 500-square-foot (46-square-metre) garden.

"The roof serves as an additional gathering space for the family and also houses an 18-panel solar array to offset energy usage," the team added.

The basement contains a game room, movie room, wine cellar and laundry facilities, and leads directly to the swimming pool.

The home has energy-saving features, including extra insulation and a radiant-hydronic heating system.

For the interior design, the team used durable finishes that could withstand daily use from a family of eight. Creating a cosy yet refined atmosphere was also important.

"Natural warmth was derived from the texture of the interior plaster, the use of warm woods, and the patina of the concrete and steel," the team said.

GO'C was founded in 2012 by Jon Gentry and Aimée O'Carroll. Their other projects include a winery tasting room that features cedar cladding and a rigorous structural grid and a Seattle apartment that doubles as a photographer's studio.

The photography is by Kevin Scott.

Project credits:

Architect: GO'C
Design principals: Jon Gentry, Aimée O'Carroll
Architectural staff: Ben Kruse, Yuchen Qiu
Contractor: Thomas Fragnoli Construction
Structural engineer: Swenson Say Faget
Civil engineer: J Welch Engineering
Lighting design: Niteo

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UK architecture studio Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has revealed designs for an office block in Vilnius that will be cantilevered over a new square.

Located on Konstitucijos Avenue on the south bank of the Neri River alongside the city's planetarium, the seven-storey business centre will contain 16,000 square metres of office space.

Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in collaboration with engineering studio Buro Happold, the building will consist of two offset horizontal slabs.

The upper slab will project out from the building to cover a public plaza, designed by landscape architecture studio Gillespies, below.

The studio designed the building to combine the workspace with public space.

"We have worked closely with the engineers and landscape architects to create a modern and environmentally conscious workspace that engages with the surrounding city, brings public space into the heart of the new workspace and creates a new location that focuses on nature and wellbeing," said Jack Newton, associate partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

A "covered public street" flanked by cafes and shops, which will be open to the public, will run the length of the ground floor of the block.

Six floors of office space will be located above this, arranged around a large sky-lit atrium crossed by platforms and containing wide stairs.

The building will be topped by a series of roof gardens.

The steel and glass building will have its structure clearly visible on the exterior and will be wrapped in a "hybrid double-skin facade" that incorporates automated solar shading.

Overall Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners hopes that the building will integrate with the surrounding buildings that were built in a variety of styles.

"What is striking about Vilnius is the juxtaposition of buildings of different periods, whereby two-storey wooden houses, baroque churches, grand neoclassical ensembles, modernist buildings of the Soviet period and sparkling new glass high rise buildings sit cheek by jowl," said Simon Smithson, partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

"The site for our building reflects this heterogeneity with the buildings on each of the four boundaries pertaining to different eras in the evolution of the City. Our design aims to meld these diverse contexts together shaping a route between the old Vilnius and the new."

Founded by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers, who passed away last year, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners is one of the UK's best-known architecture studios.

Recent projects revealed by the studio include a Kentucky distillery and a terminal for an airport in Shenzhen.

The images are courtesy of Plomp.

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The two wings of this house on the shores of Michigan's Lake Superior intersect at an irregular angle, offering a variety of views of the surrounding forest and waterfront.

Named X-House after its layout, the home was conceived by Minneapolis-based firm Snow Kreilich as an isolated retreat for a large family that had been coming to a nearby property for several years.

The site is perched on the shores of Lake Superior, near the city of Marquette, Michigan. "It is adjacent to a property that had been in their family for years, a multi-generational cabin along the south shore of Lake Superior, on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula," said Snow Kreilich.

"Remembering long summers spent on the shore, our clients wanted a legacy home for themselves and their children - similar to the family cabin, more comfortable and convenient, but just as enduring," the team added.

The contemporary black cabin is laid out on a single level. This keeps the building's profile from protruding above the surrounding pine trees, while also considering the owner's future needs as their mobility diminishes.

One of the wings is for communal functions, while the other accommodates three bedrooms. The entrance is at the intersection of both volumes, and offers a glimpse of the expansive living area.

"The house sits on a rocky promontory between two coves with sandy beaches," said Snow Kreilich.

"Two intersecting bars of the house balance on the promontory, cantilevering toward the water and into the forest, creating captured landscapes and embedding its occupants in the landscape," they added.

The open-concept kitchen, living and dining area is wrapped with full-height glass panels on three sides. As the site slopes down towards the lake, the building becomes raised above the ground.

A terrace runs along this volume overlooking the lake and offering an outdoor lounge area that connects to the living room.

"Living spaces hover over the rocky point with large panels of glass connecting the family with the beach coves, forest and the expanses of Lake Superior," said the architects.

In keeping with their intention of providing a more contemporary setting for the residence, the architects kept to a restrained palette of white, grey and black finishes.

Many of these material selections — such as stone accent walls and blackened wood — are used both within the home and outside, lending an impression of continuity with the natural environment.

Within the primary bedroom, Snow Kreilich included a secondary terrace, which occupies the end of the sleeping wing.

The architecture firm was founded by Julie Snow in 1995, and earned an AIA Honor Award in 2018 in recognition of its work in the US.

Other homes in Michigan include a waterfront home near is namesake lake by Wheeler Kearns Architects, and a secondary home for a Chicago family topped with deep wooden overhanging roofs.

The photography is by Gaffer Photography.

Project credits:

Design team: Julie V Snow, lead designer & principal in charge; Matthew Kreilich, principal; Tyson McElvain, project architect; Carl Gauley, project designer & architect; Mary Springer, architect; Pauv Thouk, project manager
General contractor: Gregg H Seiple Construction (in collaboration with Hall Contracting)
Landscape architect: Flourishes
Structural engineer: Meyer Borgman Johnson
Consulting architect: James Larson

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Barrionuevo Villanueva Arquitectos has designed a house outside of Buenos Aires with a cantilevered upper floor that projects towards the nearby Lujan River.

The Obra Virazón project is located in Tigre, a town just north of Buenos Aires that is part of its larger metropolitan area.

The 310-square-metre home was completed in late 2021 by Córdoba-based architecture firm Barrionuevo Villanueva Arquitectos.

The architects designed the project to fit a typical residential lot, roughly six metres wide and 22 metres deep.

The ground floor has a slightly reduced footprint that creates a parking space for residents, while the upper floor cantilevers out to offer more interior space.

From the street, the home is entered underneath the large overhanging upper floor, through a full-height glass door. This leads to a foyer, which acts as the main circulation space for the home.

"[Each area] has its own condition and use, but the fact of putting them in relation produces a series of spaces and interstices that link them, relate them, and give them particular qualities," said the architects.

"This ends up generating new areas that coincidentally turn out to be the most important of the programme," they added.

The architects sought to highlight this circulation space by creating a double-height void in the centre of a home. A concrete bench runs along one side, and a variety of planters are placed underneath the sculptural staircase.

The kitchen, living, and dining spaces are at the back of the property, overlooking the Rio Lujan – a river that converges downstream with Buenos Aires' Rio de La Plata.

The living room is located in a secondary volume, which helps define an interior courtyard between the parking space and the back yard.

"[The patio] does not demand a physical action to constitute itself, but articulates the horizontal and vertical uses of the entire work," said the architects.

The architects created a varied palette of finishes, including richly patterned wood floors and cabinetry, exposed concrete for most of the walls, and black steel for the window frames and mullions.

Upstairs, the three bedrooms are laid out along a corridor. The landing at the top of the stairs includes a desk and plenty of plants, creating an informal place to work as needed.

The corridor connecting the primary bedroom at the back of the property to the two other bedrooms at the front is fronted by tall wooden staves, which cast dynamic shadows throughout the interiors.

"As you walk through the house you can discover spaces, finding projections of light and shadow, and the life that the operation of the home proposes," said the architects.

The main bedroom juts out towards the nearby river and includes its own terrace. Similarly to the side of the building, this room is fronted by operable wooden shutters to protect the residents' privacy.

Barrionuevo Villanueva recently completed a home in Córdoba Province with a communal area also wrapped by tall wooden shutters.

Other residential projects in Buenos Aires include a block of row houses by Estudio Mola that was built above the grade of surrounding streets to offer residents more tranquility, and a "subtle" renovation to a historic home from the 1930s by Torrado Arquitectos.

The photography is by Gonzalo Viramonte.

Project credits:

Architects: Nicolás Barrionuevo, Juan Villanueva
Clients: Marcelo Pose, Christian Espiga, Alejandro Trufelman
Engineering: Andrés Moscatelli

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David Adjaye's upside-down supertall skyscraper proposal for New York has raised eyebrows, but it's not the only tall building that increases in size as it rises. Here is a roundup of 10 other top-heavy buildings.

Vancouver skyscrapers by Heatherwick Studio

UK-based Heatherwick Studio designed two irregularly-shaped towers that, when built, will grow upwards from a bottleneck into tall structures studded with balconies.

The high-rise buildings are planned for Vancouver and will feature clusters of plants on their balconies, which many of the British architecture firm's recent skyscrapers also do.

Find out more about the Vancouver skyscrapers ›

Walkie Talkie by Rafael Viñoly

Officially named 20 Fenchurch Street after its location in London, Rafael Viñoly Architects' concave skyscraper is known as the Walkie Talkie for its distinctive form that has larger floor plates on its upper levels than those closer to the ground.

While still under construction, the Walkie Talkie's gleaming glass facade acted as a curved mirror that overheated and damaged parked cars below it.

Find out more about the Walkie Talkie ›

Greenpoint Landing by Jason Long and OMA

Architecture firm OMA collaborated with architect Jason Long to design two adjacent residential buildings for Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighbourhood in New York.

The pair of buildings are stepped to give the impression that the individual buildings were torn apart. While the northern tower gets smaller as it rises, the south tower increases in size as the skyscraper ascends.

Slated to be complete by spring 2022, the Greenpoint Landing towers are currently under construction, and topped out in May.

Find out more about Greenpoint Landing ›

Era by ODA

Also planned for New York, American office ODA designed a 20-storey apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side that cantilevers outwards from a small footprint.

Scheduled to be complete by next autumn, Era was designed to have a communal rooftop area, while the volume at the busy street level will require the least amount of space.

Find out more about Era ›

Marsk Tower by BIG

Architecture studio BIG designed a spiralling viewing tower for Denmark's Wadden Sea National Park that features a dramatic double helix structure.

The tower is constructed so that visitors can navigate one way up and another way down via opposite staircases.

Made from Corten steel, Marsk Tower gradually expands outwards from a seven-metre-wide base to a 12-metre-wide viewing platform that provides panoramic views of the surrounding marshland.

Find out more about Marsk Tower ›

Camp Adventure tower by EFFEKT

Another helical tower is located at Denmark's Camp Adventure, the country's largest climbing park. The Camp Adventure tower is accessed via a spiralling staircase that widens as visitors reach the top of the viewpoint.

Copenhagen-based studio EFFEKT designed the wood and weathering-steel tower with an hourglass shape that is defined by the evolving curvature of the winding ramp and offers treetop sights of the landscape below.

Find out more about the Camp Adventure tower ›

The Tulip by Foster + Partners

British architecture practice Foster + Partners has proposed creating a 305-metre-tall viewing tower named the Tulip in central London.

If constructed, the building would feature a long "stalk" topped with a bulbous viewpoint, or "flower head," that would house various public attractions.

Find out more about the Tulip ›

Vessel by Thomas Heatherwick

British architect Thomas Heatherwick designed Vessel, a honeycomb-shaped viewpoint in New York's Hudson Yards development that is formed from a web of interlinked staircases.

Vessel's shallow arrangement of staircases creates an overall rounded structure that widens at each of the tower's new levels.

After opening to the public in 2019, Vessel was closed on 29 July following a series of suicides committed at the viewpoint.

Find out more about Vessel ›

Fifteen Fifteen by Büro Ole Scheeren

Fifteen Fifteen will be a stacked residential skyscraper in Vancouver composed of boxy volumes that will jut outwards as the tower ascends.

Designed by German studio Büro Ole Scheeran, the project is scheduled to be constructed from 2022 and will feature cantilevered observatories wrapped in floor-to-ceiling glass in order to provide residents with views of the Canadian city below.

Find out more about Fifteen Fifteen ›

Belvedere Tower by René van Zuuk

Belvedere Tower is a Dutch apartment building in the town of Hilversum that accommodates more living units on its upper storeys, thanks to its cross-shaped plan that expands as the tower rises.

Architect René van Zuuk designed the apartment block to blend with the postwar apartment buildings surrounding it and respond to its location's urban character.

Belvedere Tower includes a series of chunky balconies that cantilever from the structure, which looks as if it is growing outwards as it ascends.

Find out more about Belvedere Tower ›

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Architecture studio Adjaye Associates has designed a supertall skyscraper in New York, which has a series of cantilevers to give it a dramatic form.

Named Affirmation Tower, the skyscraper was designed for a 1.2-acre vacant plot of land at 418 11th Avenue in Manhattan where New York State has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) in order to fill the site.

Adjaye Associates designed the 1,663-feet-tall (498-metre) supertall skyscraper – a building over 300 metres – to cantilever outwards five times so that the upper levels are much larger than the lower levels. This would give it an inverted appearance compared to a traditional skyscraper.

Outwardly defined by these stepped blocks, the building would include two hotels and office space, as well as an ice skating rink and an observation deck.

Local developer Peebles Corporation has submitted the supertall to the Empire State Development Corporation in a bid to build the skyscraper on the vacant site, which is called Site K.

It is positioned next to Manhattan's Javits Center, one block away from the city's High Line, as well as the Hudson Yards real estate development and Number 7 subway line.

If built, the project would be Adjaye Associates' tallest tower to date, and would also be the second tallest building in Manhattan after One World Trade Center.

According to the studio it would be the first skyscraper built by a team of Black architects, developers, lenders and builders in New York City's history.

There are plans to house the headquarters of the NAACP's Mid-Manhattan branch within the building.

"Unfortunately for most of New York's history, African-Americans and people of color have been rendered as mere economic tourists who gaze upward at one of the greatest skylines in the world with the intrinsic knowledge they will never be able to participate in what really makes New York unique," said Rev Dr Charles Curtis, Head of NY Interfaith Commission For Housing Equality.

"The awarding of this project to this team will send a statement across the globe that architects, developers, engineers and financial professionals of color are now full participants in this great miracle of global capitalism called New York City."

The supertall would be the second New York tower designed by Adjaye Associates following 130 William, a concrete residential skyscraper designed by the firm, which was founded by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye in 2000.

The building would be the latest in a series of supertall skyscrapers built in New York with buildings over 300 metres designed by BIG, Foster + Partners and SHoP currently under development in the city.

The images are courtesy of the Peebles Corporation. 

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A full-size basketball court and a 200-metre track are among the spaces found inside a large, metal-clad building designed by US firm Olson Kundig on the Nike campus in Oregon.

The LeBron James Innovation Center is part of the 300-acre (121-hectare) Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. The new facility is named after the basketball star LeBron James, who has been affiliated with Nike since 2003.

Encompassing 750,000 square feet (69,677 square metres), the expansive building houses offices, design studios and the Nike Sport Research Lab, where data about athletes' performance is collected and analysed.

The structure was designed by Seattle-based Olson Kundig, which aimed to create an atmosphere that promotes exploration and innovation.

"It's a place for creatives to come in and realise, I'm working for a large company, but there's a sense here that they're looking for the next horizon," said firm principal Tom Kundig.

Roughly rectangular in plan, the four-storey building has two layers of cladding – black steel mesh and gold-painted sheet metal.

On the south end of the building, the top portion cantilevers over the lower level. Visible from below is a concrete waffle slab – a type of slab that helps support a floor with a particularly heavy load, the team said.

"The waffle pattern is also an unmistakable nod to Nike's innovation legacy," the team said, citing the company's first sneaker, which had a sole design inspired by a waffle iron.

Running alongside the building is a 500-foot-long (152-metre) ramp with a 15-degree slope, which is used for workouts on Nike's flat campus. The ramp has concrete steps, plants and a synthetic track.

The building has several entrances. The primary one leads into a shoebox-shaped vestibule, where LeBron James-branded footwear is on display.

Floors one, two and three hold workspaces, meeting rooms, design studios and social areas. At the heart of the building is an atrium that rises 93 feet (28 metres).

Interior finishes include concrete flooring, metal railings and wood accents. Several colourful murals are found in the facility.

The top level houses the Nike Sport Research Lab, where data is collected to help develop products.

The lab encompasses a full-size basketball court, a 200-metre endurance track, a 100-metre straightaway, and an artificial-turf training pitch. The lab's sloped ceiling rises 48 feet (15 metres) at its highest point.

Performance data is collected via high-tech equipment such as a motion-capture system comprising 400 cameras, and dozens of force plates that measure the force exerted by the ground when a body comes into contact with it. The lab also has four climate chambers that mimic various weather conditions.

The building has a number of sustainable features, including water-efficient fixtures and over 900 rooftop solar panels. The flooring inside the research lab is made from Nike Grind recycled material.

Other Nike buildings include a flagship store in Manhattan with a rippled glass facade, and a headquarters building in New York that features an indoor basketball court and a rooftop garden shaped like the brand's swoosh logo.

The photography is by Nike.

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Paraguayan architecture office Bauen has completed a house in the forests of Guaira, which cantilevers off three concrete walls to project over the site's steep and lush landscape.

Casa Himmel, or Cloud House, was designed for a Paraguayan couple to settle down in for their retirement.

After identifying a steep and isolated site in the Guaira region, roughly 200 kilometres from the capital city Asunción, they enlisted local architects Bauen with the brief that the home should be as light on the landscape as possible.

"The clients found the ideal spot in a remote region, in which the main character would not be the architecture but the landscape itself," said Bauen's founder Aldo Cristaldo Kegler. "Keeping in mind these premises, 90 per cent of the house was already solved."

Three concrete walls are set into the slope, creating a platform from which steel-and-glass structure cantilevers.

Because of the difficult access to the site, Bauen chose to use shorter steel sections that would be easier to transport.

According to the architects, the primary structure was manufactured in 60 days, and assembled in only seven using bolted connections.

"The structural spans become the windows and are simply closed with glass," explained Kegler. "Every square metre of the project allows the striking surrounding view to pass through."

Roughly cross-shaped in plan, the interior living spaces are delineated by only a few walls.

Running perpendicular to the slope, the home's open-concept kitchen, living and dining room welcome visitors as soon as they enter through the front door.

On either side of this volume are the private areas: the owner's living quarters to one side, and a home gym on the other.

At the highest point of the building, a covered terrace looks out over the mountainous landscape beyond. An exterior staircase leads up to a secondary roof terrace that is open to the elements.

Bauen's interiors were completed in a minimal palette of reflective white surfaces, with little furniture or other elements to distract from the views.

"Having the advantage of a 360-degree view of the mountain range, designing the house was not an arduous task," Kegler said.

Other projects in Paraguay include a home with a mechanically operable roof that tilts open like the lid of a box, by Javier Corvalán, and a synagogue in Asunción that was completed out of board-marked concrete and weathering steel.

The photography is by Federico Cairoli.

Project credits:

Lead architect: Aldo Cristaldo Kegler
Other participants: Dina Agüero, Luz Serena Hiebl, Saúl Acosta, Fátima Estigarribia
Structure calculations: Alfredo Espínola
Structural assembly: Metales Procesados

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American office ODA has released renderings of a residential building with cantilevered upper storeys, scheduled to be built on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Called Era, the 20-storey apartment building will have 57 units, each with two to five bedrooms, and cover 136,639 square feet (126,94 square metres).

The 250-feet-tall (76 metre-tall) project is estimated to be completed by next autumn at 251 West 91st Street, according to New York-based firm ODA.

Central to Era's design is a footprint that will increase from small to large as the building's upper storeys cantilever outwards at each higher level.

"The building's cantilevered design will allow for more space as the building rises, which will create much more communal rooftop space," said ODA.

To make use of this large surface area, Era will feature a rooftop swimming pool with views of the Hudson River.

Other communal areas built for the building's residents will include a fitness centre and yoga studio, as well as a library, a lounge and a children's playroom.

Era will be clad in limestone surrounding the large windows that cover the facades, while balconies will be clustered together on various corners of the building that jut out.

"Deep windows with elegant and timeless mullions will blend seamlessly into the surroundings, but upon closer review, the windows will be much larger than average for the area, inviting more natural light into the space and opening the building up to surrounding views," explained ODA.

According to the firm, the interiors will aim to echo the shapes and angles found across the exterior, creating cohesion across the project.

"The building marks a new era on the Upper West Side," said ODA, explaining the tower's name.

Era is one of several New York buildings designed in a blocky formation by ODA, which was founded in 2007.

The firm recently completed a concrete residential building in Brooklyn formed from irregularly stacked boxes, while another housing complex on Manhattan's Lower East Side includes a top-floor footprint that is twice the size of the building's ground-level.

The renderings are courtesy of ODA.

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Architects Pedro Livni and Rafael Solano have created a psychologist's office behind a tall concrete wall in Ciudad de la Costa, Uruguay.

Located within the garden of an existing property, the low-slung structure encompasses 35 square metres and is hidden by a wall that runs its full width.

Only a door and a circular aperture, which was informed by the work of American artist Gordon Matta-Clark – who was known for cutting holes in existing buildings, breaking through the concrete wall.

While the door leads into the psychologist's office, the circle connects the larger garden with a small private courtyard space.

"Located at the back of a parcel, a wall is built that hides the room and defines a garden inside another garden," explained Livni and Solano.

"Thinking of Matta-Clark, a big hole breaks through the wall and connects both gardens."

The main facade is defined by an oversized sculptural gutter, which cantilevers over the entrance and directs rainwater from the roof onto a boulder that was placed beside the front door.

Patients enter below this overhang office into a small waiting area, which adjoins a kitchenette and restroom.

The psychologist's office itself occupies roughly half of the small building and has a row of windows that look out onto the enclosed courtyard space.

The office is clad Eucalyptus-panelling, chosen by the architects as an economical choice that matched the owner's budget.

A doorway connects the space directly to the garden allowing patients and the doctor to use the outdoor space during their sessions.

There is a young tree planted in the middle of the garden, which echoes the circular opening of the main wall, and a simple bench running along the facade, beneath the windows.

The exterior was finished with cementitious fibre panels, which was also chosen as a budget-friendly decision.

These long, thin panels were laid horizontally to accentuate the building's low profile.

Ciudad de la Costa is a mid-sized city in Uruguay that is considered part of the metropolitan area of Montevideo, the capital.

Other projects in the South American country include a parking garage topped with a verdant terrace and a beach house on stilts that is clad in blackened timber by FRAM Arquitectos and Delfina Riverti.

The photography is by Marcos Guiponi.

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From a tubular holiday home to the Balancing Barn, we've rounded up 10 of the most impressive cantilevered houses from Dezeen's archive.

Holiday home by Sergey Kuznetsov

This tubular holiday home cantilevers over a hill in Russia's Nikola-Lenivets Art Park.

Moscow's chief architect Sergey Kuznetsov clad the 12-metre-long building in a continuous sheet of stainless steel and claims that its structure is held together using only six bolts.

Find out more about this holiday home ›

Living-Garden House by Robert Konieczny

Located in the Polish city of Katowice, Living-Garden House by architect Robert Konieczny includes a cantilevered upper storey

Set at 90 degrees to the house's ground-level volume, the upper section is supported by a  reflective podium designed to create an illusion that it isn't supporting the structure.

Find out more about Living-Garden House ›

Balancing Barn by MVRDV and Mole Architects 

Dutch studio MVRDV and British firm Mole Architects collaborated to design the Balancing Barn holiday home in Suffolk, UK, which has a swing hanging from the end of its 15-metre cantilever.

Completed in 2010, the building balances on a central concrete core. The portion of the house that rests on the ground is made from heavier materials than the half that suspends in free space.

Find out more about Balancing Barn ›

+node by UID Architects

This wooden house in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, has a dramatic cantilever on its first floor that extends above the forest.

Japanese studio UID Architects created a hole at the end of the home's cantilever to allow trees to grow through it.

Find out more about +node ›

Headland House by Atelier Andy Carson

This house on the top of a hill in New South Wales, Australia, was designed by Sydney-based studio Atelier Andy Carson.

A pair of rooms, supported by angled pillars, cantilever over the hillside and include large windows that provide visitors with views of a nearby beach and bay.

Find out more about Headland House ›

House in Monzaraz by Aires Mateus 

Portuguese architect Aries Mateus designed this house in the country's Monzaraz region to be largely concealed within the landscape and topped with a green roof.

Where the house protrudes from the hillside a cast concrete roof is cantilevered to form a canopy that shelters a window with views of the surrounding landscape.

Find out more about House in Monzaraz ›

House by the Sea by Pitsou Kedem Architects

House by the Sea in Israel has a cantilevered upper level that extends towards the Mediterranean Sea and houses a bedroom that offers coastal views.

Tel Aviv firm Pitsou Kedem Architects clad the house with stripy aluminium walls that create harsh shadows in the bright sun.

Find out more about House by the Sea ›

The Cantilever House by students at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design

Designed by Students at the University of Arkansas' Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, Little Rock house is formed of two cuboid structures stacked perpendicular to each other.

The house's cantilevered upper storey is supported by a lightweight steel truss.

Find out more about The Cantilever House ›

UF Haus by SoHo Architektur 

UF Haus in Bavaria by German studio SoHo Architektur has a cantilevered upper storey, partially supported by a V-shaped steel beam

Many of the materials used to build the home were left in their raw state, which is reflected in the property's name – a German abbreviation of "unfinished."

Find out more about UF Haus ›

Ski chalet by Strawn + Sierralta 

Designed so that every level of this three-storey house is accessible from the neighbouring ski run, Strawn + Sierralta's Californian ski chalet features several cantilevers arranged at dramatic angles.

The holiday home, which can sleep up to 17 people, has large glass windows that offer panoramic views of its snowy surroundings.

Find out more about this ski chalet ›

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Moscow's chief architect Sergey Kuznetsov has completed a pipe-shaped cabin, constructed like the hull of a ship and balanced on the edge of a slope in Russia's Nikola-Lenivets Art Park.

The holiday home was conceived for the annual Archstoyanie festival, known as Russia's Burning Man, and will remain in place after the event to provide accommodation for visitors of the outdoor art gallery, which is set in a nature reserve near the city of Kaluga.

Clad in a single, continuous sheet of stainless steel that reflects the surrounding forest, the building is 12 metres long and weighs around twice as much as a fully-grown elephant. But Kuznetsov claims its structure is held together using only six bolts.

"The idea was to create something with an element of magic," he told Dezeen.

To create the impression of the cabin hanging in mid-air, its foundation is concealed inside a small hill that had to be almost completely demolished during excavation, before being rebuilt and reinforced with sand cushions.

Kuznetsov and construction company Krost devised the cylindrical structure mounted on top by drawing on a shipbuilding technique known as transverse framing.

In lieu of traditional wall studs, this involves a system of closely spaced, circular ribs that run along the length of the entire building.

Cut from sheets of stainless steel and connected by horizontal guides known as stringers, they create a strong yet lightweight frame that is able to support itself without breaking.

"The entire structure consists of six cylindrical modules, simultaneously manufactured and then connected to each other," Kuznetsov explained. "The same thing happens in shipbuilding. Separate sections of the hull are made in the workshop before being assembled into a single structure on a dry dock."

"The biggest challenge at this stage was to put the cylinders together – precisely, coaxially, with virtually no tolerances," he added.

Underground, a concrete slab foundation extends in the opposite direction of the cabin to act as a counterweight.

This also houses the plumbing and electricity, with the kitchen and bathroom located directly above while the bedroom occupies the far end of the building that floats above the forest floor.

Kuznetsov says no one on his team knew whether the structure was going to hold up in its cantilevered position until it was physically installed on-site, due to the complexity of the construction.

"The designers calculated potential deformations but due to the lack of relevant experience, no one could say with confidence how the structure and most importantly its cladding would behave when installed," Kuznetsov said.

"After removing the supporting structures, the bottom of the console dropped by 22 millimetres within a calculated maximum tolerance of 30 millimetres, which caused an incomparable feeling of joy and relief for everyone involved."

Kuznetsov is one of the co-founders of Russian practice SPEECH Tchoban & Kuznetsov alongside Sergei Tchoban. Before leaving the firm in 2012, he completed a number of international projects including the Museum for Architectural Drawing in Berlin, as well as representing Russia at the Venice Architecture Biennale on four separate occasions.

In his role as chief architect of Moscow, Kuznetsov has overseen the refurbishment of the city's Luzhniki Stadium by SPEECH as well as Diller Scofidio + Renfro's Zaryadye Park, which Russian government officials have accused of corrupting the local youth after a number of couples were caught having outdoor sex.

The photography is by Ilya Ivanov.

Archstoyanie is a festival for large-scale landscape art and architecture that takes place in the Nikola-Lenivets Art Park every year. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Architecture office Estudio Galera has formed the Casa Jacaranda holiday home on the coast of Argentina by stacking and rotating concrete boxes that step out on every floor.

Located in the beach town of Cariló, the monolithic concrete home was configured as several distinct volumes that are stacked and angled relative to one another, reflecting the interior use of the space. According to local firm Estudio Galera, this arrangement provides more flexibility, while adhering to the area's strict zoning regulations.

"A game of boxes is devised as a project strategy since it allows for grouping, stacking and skewing; boxes that can grow, shorten, expand or comprise depending on the need," said the firm in a project description.

"This exercise generates great flexibility and ensures versatility on the project proposal."

The lowest level is also the smallest, as it serves only to access the rest of the house. An exterior staircase along the main facade, facing Jacaranda Street, leads upstairs to the main kitchen, living, and dining area.

On this level, two volumes intersect. One contains a bedroom, while the other is for the home's communal spaces, which are laid out in an open-concept configuration.

Full-height sliding glass doors open towards the back of the house, where there is a rooftop pool framed by the L-shaped building. "Contrasting with the connection to the street, the strategy in the interior is of a full opening, both in the treatment of the shape and in the space delimitation," the architects explained.

Because of the shifts in the floor-plates' size and orientation, covered walkways and terraces are created throughout the home, which allow residents to enjoy the outdoors for more of the year.

The top floor contains three additional bedrooms, which face the street, as well as a multifunctional room overlooking the back yard and pool.

"The structural logic is inverted due to the needs of the program, stacking the boxes, from the smallest one which is buried to the largest ones on top," said the architects.

Most of the construction is made of cast concrete, which was finished with different types of formwork that imprinted various textures into the material. For instance, some walls have a pattern of horizontal boards, while others bear the mark of sheets of plywood, like the floor slabs.

Estudio Galera describes concrete as "a material that never ages and which does not require great maintenance since it looks as it is from the very beginning," adding that it is both "simple and imperfect."

The architects also preserved some of the existing trees on site, forming the structural concrete elements around their trunks and integrating them into the architecture.

Other projects in Argentina include an apartment building in Buenos Aires by BBOA that is covered in light pink bricks and a residence by PSV Arquitectura that combines natural stone with long concrete beams.

The photography is by Diego Medina.

Project credits:

Architecture: Estudio Galera
Estudio Galera Team: Ariel Galera (architect), Cesar Amarante (architect), Francisco Villamil (architect)
Collaborator: Carla Pierrestegui (architect)
Project supervisor: Pablo Ahumada
Structural engineer: Javier Mendia
Surveyor: Claudio Deramo
Landscaping: Pasesaggio
Contractor: HM Construcciones – Hugo Marin
Electricity: Gabriel Jaimon
Sanitation: Christian Carrizo
Heating: CARILO Ingeniería
Ducts and sheet metal: Rubén Calvo
Custom metal working: Juan Rascione – Marcelo Herrero

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London-based production studio Unit9 has created a tensegrity structure at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed that can be transformed into a race track using an augmented reality app.

Named Lotus Aeroad, the 50-metre-long sculpture was built outside Goodwood House as the centrepiece for the motorsport festival, which took place from 8-11 July.

The lightweight tensegrity structure was informed by the design philosophy of British car brand Lotus, which sponsored the structure.

"Lotus Aeroad is inspired by Lotus founder Colin Chapman's philosophy of 'simplify, then add lightness', which led us to use tensegrity as a design and engineering principle," Unit9's creative director Kate Lynham told Dezeen.

Balanced on a supporting frame, the structure was made from steel tubes held in tension by stainless steel cables.

According to the designers, it forms a cantilever that mimics the "rooster tail" shape of the Lotus Evija, which was the brand's first electric hypercar.

"The sculpture employs the engineering concept of tensegrity – a structural principle where tension and opposing forces create exceptionally strong and rigid structures with minimal mass," said Lynham.

"We wanted the structure to be made more from air than any other material."

The team developed the structure using computer-based form-finding techniques. The designers decided on the direction and form of each component, and then a computer programme was used to create a structure that would be able to stand on its own.

"In order to follow the correct shape and hence ensure each member carries the anticipated force, the erection has to be extremely accurate," said Stephen Melville, the founding director of Format Engineers.

"This has to be carried out in empty space, akin to an unstable 3D jigsaw puzzle that needs many of the elements to be in place before it stands under its own weight," he continued.

Visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed could download the Lotus Aeroad app to transform the structure into two race tracks using augmented reality.

Unit9 believes that this created "a richer experience and bring additional elements to the sculpture, without increasing the weight or load".

"In-person attendees can use the AR app to transform the sculpture into a dramatically curved race track that brings to life the Lotus Elise, Evore, Exige and, most excitingly, the brand-new Lotus Emira as it zooms around the feature," said Lynham.

Virtual attendees at the Goodwood Festival of Speed were also able to download the app and watch the cars race around the structure from their phones.

"At-home digital viewers can view the entire structure in AR, scaling it to fit their environment wherever they are in the world," explained Lynham.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a motorsports festival that takes place once a year at Goodwood House in West Sussex, England. Previous installations at the motorsports festival included Gerry Judah's Aston Martin's structure which was designed to celebrate the Aston Martin DBR1 car.

Another tensegrity structure that has made news headlines recently is Project Bunny Rabbit's All Along the Watchtower. The bamboo structure is one of two winners of the Antepavilion architecture competition, which happens every year.

In June, police threatened to remove the structure from its location on the roof of the Hoxton Docks. Police raided the building on the hunt for members of climate activist group Extinction Rebellion.

The group is known for its tensegrity structures and supporters of Extinction Rebellion had attended workshops at Antepavilion to help build All Along the Watchtower.

Project credits:

Client: Goodwood Festival of Speed
Brand partner: Lotus Cars
Digital innovation and production partner: Unit9
Construction: Format Engineers
Fabrication and installation: Littlehampton Welding

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A slender roof cantilevers from all sides of The House of Wisdom, a tech-filled library that Foster + Partners has designed in Sharjah, UAE for the "digital future".

The two-storey building is located 10 kilometres from the city centre in a new cultural district and counts a "book espresso machine" that can print and bind books on demand among its key features.

Its rectilinear form and the distinctive roof that overhangs by 15 metres in all directions are designed by Foster + Partners to complement its desert surroundings.

"The House of Wisdom in Sharjah is a forward-looking conception of what a library should be in the 21st century – embracing a digital future while playing a crucial role as a community hub for learning, underpinned by innovation and technology," said Gerard Evenden, head of studio at Foster + Partners.

"The straight, minimalist lines of the building complement the dunes of the desert, set within a lush landscape. The House of Wisdom is set to be an oasis for the local community, led by research and innovation, at the heart of a new cultural district."

While characterising the concrete and steel building, the cantilevered roof also helps shade the library's large transparent facades from the city's hot climate.

This works in tandem with fixed aluminium screens that filter the low sun in the evenings and movable bamboo screens inside that occupants can use to control glare.

Foster + Partners has supported the roof with four concrete cores positioned near each corner of the building. This design provides open, column-free interiors and is a similar approach used by the firm in a number of its Apple Stores, such as Apple Michigan Avenue and Apple Central World.

Two of these building cores, positioned closest to the entrance, are filled with large sculptural staircases leading to the top floor.

Visitors to The House of Wisdom enter along its western edge, where they are greeted by a double-height reception that has a planted courtyard at its centre.

This courtyard helps bring light to the depths of the building and also doubles as a cool and quiet outdoor space for events or contemplation.

The House of Wisdom's book-printing machine is positioned in a reading area on the ground floor, alongside exhibition spaces, a cafe, archival areas and a children's education space.

On the top floor, the studio has designed a series of "pod spaces" that are used as quiet reading rooms, exhibition spaces, women-only areas and a prayer room. Some of these project out over the central courtyard.

Alongside the planted courtyard, the building is complete with two outdoor gardens. One of these is described as "a knowledge garden", while the other is a children's playground with water fountains.

The knowledge garden is a formal and "geometrically arranged" landscape, with a series of gardens and shaded walkways.

Its centrepiece is a giant spiralling sculpture by British artist Gerry Judah named The Scroll. The artwork is a contemporary interpretation of the ancient Arabic scrolls made from laser-cut rolled steel plates, treated to prevent erosion during sandstorms.

Foster + Partners is the architecture studio of Norman Foster, founded in London in 1967. Today, it has offices around the globe.

Its completion of The House of Wisdom follows its recent announcement that it has begun construction on the Red Sea International Airport. This airport will serve a tourism development on an archipelago of Saudi Arabian islands for which the studio is also developing a series of resorts, such as ring-shaped hotel on stilts.

It is also currently nearing completion on its 425 Park Avenue skyscraper in New York, which architectural photographer Alan Schindler recently captured in new photos.

Photography is by Chris Goldstraw and drawings are courtesy of Foster + Partners.

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Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Rogers has completed his final building – a gallery that cantilevers 27 metres out above the hillside at the Château La Coste vineyard in southern France.

Named The Richard Rogers Drawing Gallery, the project was the last work produced by the architect before his retirement from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) – the studio he founded in 1977.

The 120-square-metre art gallery is almost entirely suspended off the ground with only four small footings touching the ground.

It is supported within a bright-orange structure that is visible on the outside like many of the seminal buildings designed by the high-tech architecture pioneer including the Centre Pompidou and the Lloyds building.

"The gallery embodies many of the core design principles found throughout the work of Richard and RSHP," explained Stephen Spence, associate partner at RSHP.

"This includes 'legibility' – you look at the building and can read its components parts – you understand how the building works and the function of each element," he told Dezeen.

"Flexibility is always key – the design needs to cater for future exhibitions yet unplanned."

The small pavilion is the latest architectural intervention at the Château La Coste vineyard, joining buildings by fellow Pritzker Prize-winners Tadao Ando, Jean Nouvel and Renzo Piano as well as Frank Gehry's 2008 Serpentine Pavilion.

Rogers chose to place the gallery pavilion, which projects 27 metres from the hillside, at the edge of the vineyard alongside a former Roman road to take advantage of views across the site.

"The desire was for the gallery to have 'a view' – a view over the Chateau La Coste vineyards and the Luberon mountains beyond," said Spence.

"To do so, the gallery had to literally 'soar' through the tree tops. The viewpoint identified was a heavily wooded steep ridge," he continued. "The site therefore necessitated a more ambitious structural solution."

The structure and form of the gallery, which contains one white room that ends with a full-height, full-width window, was derived from the desire to frame this view.

"The visual impact is a consequence of the decisions taken through the design process," explained Spence.

"The client, from seeing the initial sketches, was adamant that no compromises were to be made to the design concept and so the result is more the logical conclusion rather than a preconceived intention."

The gallery, which is accessed across a short bridge, was designed so that it only touches the ground in four places.

Two pivot points were placed at the edge of the hillside, while two sets of tension rods tie the building to the ground to create the cantilever.

"Given the beauty of the Provence landscape it was always the intention to minimize any 'man-made' intervention – the building was to 'touch the ground lightly' minimising the building footprint," said Spence.

"Contact with the ground is only made in four locations."

The steel structure was fabricated by Bysteel as a lightweight kit of parts that could be transported to site on a tractor and assembled by hand.

As the structure was designed to be on show, the studio aimed to create elegant joint details.

"With all the connection details visible, considerable time and effort was taken to ensure that this articulation was refined to a sophisticated level – all connections were designed to be hand fixed," added Spence.

Overall Spence believes that The Richard Rogers Drawing Gallery is a fitting final project for Rogers.

"For Richard, the importance was always to get a good client, a good team and then through dialogue, a good brief," he said.

"Only by asking the right questions would you get the right answers. Each building, therefore, became the consequence of a discussion – importantly, one which could then be explained and defended – as is often required – with a strong conviction and resolve," he continued.

"As such, the Rogers Gallery fits perfectly."

High-tech pioneer Rogers is one of the world's most well-respected architects. Along with the Pritzker Architecture Prize he has been awarded the Royal Gold Medal, American Institute of Architect's Gold Medal and Praemium Imperiale, while his studio won the UK's Stirling Prize twice.

Last year he retired from the studio, which was renamed Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in 2007, after 43 years.

Photography is by Stéphane Aboudaram / We Are Content(s) unless stated. Main image by James Reeve.

Project credits:

Architect: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Local architect: Demaria Architecture
Client: Chàteau La Coste/Paddy Mc Killen
Structural engineer: Lang Engineering Consultancy
Project manager: Rainey + Best
Steel Works: Bysteel
Building enclosure: Setanta Construction
Specialist engineering: Hasson Engineering Solutions
Bureau d'études structures: ATES
Internal fit out: SCEA Château La Coste, IDME France, ACM France

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A cantilevered upper storey with symmetrical, glazed dormers is the focal point of House on 36th, which Beebe Skidmore has completed for a young family relocating to Portland, USA.

The sculptural dwelling overhauls an existing one-story cottage on the site that was built in 1945 but required a contemporary update and more space to meet the needs of the family.

Beebe Skidmore's design involved introducing an upper storey and brighter living spaces to the house but focused primarily on developing a new "unexpected" exterior that challenged the aesthetic of typical family homes in the area.

"We approach every project with the intention of making an unexpected, dynamic, and endearing shape that catches the eye of passersby and is delightful to live in overtime," explained the studio's co-founder Doug Skidmore.

"We also wanted to challenge the traditional way in which single-family houses present a centralized composition, often with a projecting porch or front door being the focal point," he told Dezeen.

House on 36th retains the original cottage's concrete basement and foundations, as well as parts of its wood framing and plumbing.

The new cantilevered first floor, which overhangs the front of the house by 2.5 metres, was modelled on the North American garrison – a type of house with a slightly overhanging first floor.

This added more living space to the house without encroaching on the garden, and it also breaks up its building's massing so that it does not appear out of scale in comparison to the neighbouring dwellings.

The blackened wood cladding for the house was chosen by Beebe Skidmore to emphasise the home's sculptural form, while also helping to unify the levels and metal window frames.

This wood was stained rather than painted so that its natural textures and patterns are still visible.

"We created a material palette that puts the visual emphasis on the total form as one cohesive object rather drawing attention to individual details and elements," explained Skidmore.

"The dark exterior colour also makes the voids formed by the big windows visually pop, especially in the evening and at night."

The house is entered from below one of the first-floor cantilevers, which creates a deep weather-protected porch area.

This opens out into the heart of the house, where there is a large open-plan living area and kitchen, which is visually connected to the street, garden and first floor via a sweeping staircase.

"[The client] is an avid cook so they wanted a really functional and generous kitchen that they could eat in and live in by themselves and with friends," Skidmore said.

"When they were in the kitchen, they wanted it to feel socially connected to the rest of the house."

The house also contains three bedrooms, two bathrooms, first-floor seating areas and a bike store at the rear.

The children's bedrooms are located behind the two large wall dormers on the first floor, which are used as cosy reading nooks, while the master suite is tucked away downstairs.

The material palette for House on 36th is deliberately pared-back, with a white "gallery-like" aesthetic chosen by the client that contrasts with its exterior.

However, to enliven the minimalist finishes, Beebe Skidmore has punctured large windows throughout to maximise natural light and also frame changing views of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Other recent projects by Beebe Skidmore that feature large windows include the Lincoln Street Residence extension, which is fronted by a grid of glazing and sliding doors, and a dark green dwelling that takes cues from Arts and Crafts architecture.

Canadian studio Post Architecture recently added a protruding window box to a century-old brick house during a renovation of the property near downtown Toronto.

Photography is by Jeremy Bittermann.

Project credits:

Architect: Beebe Skidmore
Architect team: Doug Skidmore Heidi Beebe Pooja Dalal
General contractor: Owen Gabbert LLC
Structural engineer: Structural Edge

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RX Architects incorporated part of an unfinished building into this house with a cantilevered upper story on the Rye Nature Reserve in East Sussex, England.

Called Druim, the house was built over an existing foundation and ground floor.

The previous owners of the site had been unable to secure permission for two planned properties due to the area's protected status, and opted to sell the site complete with a half-finished structuree

RX Architects built on this existing masonry base with a cantilevering upper-storey clad in Siberian larch, positioned to maximise views across the landscape out towards the sea.

"When the [new] owners commissioned us it was on the basis of completing the existing house, but I quickly came to the conclusion the proportions of the house were all wrong to meet their brief," project architect Rob Pollard told Dezeen.

"A key move here was to re-use the existing foundations and external load-bearing ground floor walls, then place a new steel structure over it so that the first floor could cantilever out."

The house is split horizontally, with a living, kitchen and dining area opening onto two terraces at ground-floor level and bedrooms on the first floor at either side of a library space.

This library space opens out onto a deeply recessed balcony through glass sliding doors, framing a panoramic view across the site.

"We clad the ceiling in this [balcony] space with the same narrow larch batten strips on the external soffits to create a sense of being partially outside," said Pollard.

"It almost has the feel of a bird hide overlooking the nature reserve."

A single-storey games room with an adjacent studio flat has also been created to the west of the main house, accessed via a garden path.

On the ground floor, the existing structure of engineering bricks has been retained and painted with black Keim paint, usually used for marine environments and lighthouses.

"[The Keim paint] seemed fitting for this very exposed coastal location, and the dark colour would compliment the first floor cladding," said Pollard.

"The top floor will naturally weather and silver and appear very rough and textured, whereas the ground floor will retain a very robust and solid datum feel."

Above, the more lightweight first floor projects over this base with a steel and timber structure.

The cantilever shelters the entrance and south-facing elevation below.

This contrast continues internally, with a more "robust" and tactile ground floor and a bright, calm upper floor.

"We wanted to keep a calm palette so everything felt very natural in the environment but didn't detract from the views over the landscape," said Pollard.

RX Architects was founded in 2016, and is led by Rob Pollard and Derek Rankin.

Also in Sussex, Paul Cashin Architects recently completed the refurbishment of a 19th-century cottage in the seaside village of Sidlesham Quay.

Photography is by Richard Chivers.

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Floating Island Restaurant by C+ Architects features a glazed dining room on stilts cantilevering from a hillside overlooking mountains in Chongquing, China.

Originally designed for the inaugural 2019 Wulong Lanba Land Art Festival, the restaurant is described by its creators as part-architecture, installation and exhibition.

A footbridge with glazed balustrades leads from a winding mountain road to the venue.

To enter Floating Island Restaurant visitors pass through a glass-walled waiting lounge that looks back out across the road.

"The behaviour of people crossing the bridge is more like a process of approaching the landscape and the mountains, paving the way for the subsequent experience of entering the interior of the building," said C+ Architects

While this guest area sits on the ground at the top of the slope, the rest of the structure extends outwards, supported by two concrete columns and ending in a seven-metre cantilever.

C+ Architects designed Floating Island Restaurant as a blend of dining and a dramatic journey to the views.

"Chef Gilles Stassart specialises in blending food with social games to explore the relationship between people," explained the studio.

"Through several exchanges with Gilles, [we] clarified the design concept: using the architecture as a medium, with the help of the terrain, to guide the diners to experience the surrounding natural landscape while tasting the food."

Once inside, two passages along either side of a central kitchen block create moments of compression.

The passages open out to reveal the dramatic dining space, with a large 16-seat table at its centre.

"The sight of the diners, from the familiar scene of the park, through the transition of the middle passage, is finally settled in the pure valley landscape," added C + Architects.

"The central space of the restaurant is composed of functions such as the operating table, storage room, bathroom and equipment room, which also plays a role of blocking and diverting sight lines."

The external cladding also works to execute this concept of a grand reveal.

A central portion of the restaurant covered with a white metal grille that offers glimpses outside, before giving way to a fully-glazed end section.

This grille also creates a play of views from the outside, revealing those inside when viewed straight-on while appearing opaque from an angle.

"The aluminium alloy material on the facade can reflect the change of the weather to a certain extent," said the studio.

"From sunrise to dusk, the exterior colour of the building changes with time, and even merges with the white mist."

White finishes and a wooden floor have been used to create a minimal interior, animated by the pattern of light and shadow created by the metal cladding.

While the building was designed for the festival, it will remain open for reservations.

C+ Architects was founded by Cheng Yanchun and Li Nan in 2014.

A similar concept of blending dining with an experience was recently used by Studio Duncalf in their designs for the Alchemist restaurant in Copenhagen, featuring atmospheric, planetarium-style scenes projected on the ceiling.

Photography by Gao Tianxia

Project credits:

Design firm: C+ Architects

Architect in charge: Cheng Yanchun
Project team: Bo Chen, Cao Pengfei, Chen lvming, Liu Jianlong
Structural design: Zhang Jinbin, Tang Lida

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A rippling timber roof cantilevers from the Dolunay Villa in Muğla, Turkey, designed by Foster + Partners to complement its rugged coastal setting.

Positioned on the coast of the Aegean Sea, it is the first private family house designed by Foster + Partners since completing Leedon Park House in Singapore in 2006.

Dolunay Villa's giant undulating timber roof is designed to appear like an extension of its rocky, beachside setting.

Its terraces are sheltered by the home's overhanging roof, which has a 7.5-metre-wide cantilever. It relies on solid structural oak beams that rest on steel columns and was designed in collaboration with Blumer Lehmann.

"We were fascinated by the local landscape and wanted it to flow through the interior spaces and effectively disguise the building," said Foster + Partners' head of studio David Summerfield.

"Even though it gets incredibly hot in the summer, we wanted the building to be able to breathe naturally," he added.

"The landscaped open courtyards within the house allow the prevailing sea breeze to gently move through the villa. These are simple ideas that have come together in an elegant way."

Huge areas of glazing on the south side of the home  open out to the sea and invite in the coastal breeze.

Dolunay Villa comprises two storeys divided into private and shared spaces, surrounded by landscaped gardens. These gardens feature fragrant plants such as thyme and lavender, chosen to create a "multi-sensory experience".

The home is accessed from a meandering approach on its north side, where it is disguised as a closed-off, low-rise dwelling.

Its full scale is revealed by following the gradient of the sloped site to the south side, where it switches into a two-storey structure, partially embedded it into the landscape.

The unexpected transition between the one and two-storey sides to the villa is reflected externally in the buildings material finishes.

Its windowless north side is lined with stone and timber slats, while the south sea-facing side is enveloped by large areas of glazing.

"There's a real split between the public forum and private," explained the architecture firm's partner Niall Dempsey.

"A sense of discovery and a richness of experience comes through in the way the spaces change as you walk through the site."

Inside, the main entrance guides visitors directly to the centre of the villa, which is flanked by the private quarters on its east side, and the public areas to the west.

Here there is a feature spiral staircase that is made from solid Portuguese limestone, and provides access to the lower ground floor.

Along Dolunay Villa's south-facing facade, the glazing slides open to provides access onto shaded terraces.

These terraces offer an connect the interior and exterior, and also help naturally ventilate the home.

This main outdoor terrace links to the shared living areas, and is connected to a linear swimming pool.

Throughout the home, the interiors are complete with a natural material palette dominated by stone, wood, leather and bronze.

Many of its finishing touches are bespoke, including hand-carved solid timber doors and ceramic tiles and basins in the bathrooms.

The home is complete with a "sunset pavilion" positioned closer to the coast.

This pavilion also features an earthy material palette of stone walls, wooden tables and a bamboo soffit.

Foster and Partners is an architecture studio with offices worldwide and headquarters in London. It was founded in 1967 by Norman Foster.

Other recent projects by the studio include a luxury residential tower in London, Philadelphia's tallest building and an Apple store in Miami with an undulating white concrete roof.

Photography is by Nigel Young/Foster + Partners.

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Clavel Arquitectos has released a film of its founder Manuel Clavel swimming in a 42-metre-long pool that cantilevers from a casino complex under construction in Murcia, Spain.

The swimming pool, which will form part of the Odiseo casino and leisure complex, cantilevers 20 metres on each side of central supports.

According to Clavel Arquitectos this makes it the longest overhanging pool in Europe.

Studio founder Clavel Rojo took the first swim in the pool to mark the completion of its construction.

"We looked to the tradition whereby the creator has to test first his own creation," he told Dezeen. "This is something really imbricated in the pop culture, just think about the crazy scientist that tries some new vaccine on himself."

"Obviously the structure is totally safe but definitely there was some reluctancy to be the first to try it," added Clavel.

"So we thought it was powerful that I was the first to try it – jumping into the pool inn speedos in frozen water, that talks about the way we see life and architecture in my office."

When the building is complete, the swimming pool will be located within an elevated forest that is being built as part of a leisure complex on the outskirts of the town of Murcia.

The forest, which will be enclosed by a latticework of pipes to help shade the plants, will stand on top of the three-storey building that will contain a casino, as well as a nightclub and restaurants.

The swimming pool will be part of a raised platform that is cantilevered on either side of two lift cores.

According to Clavel, the pool's large overhang was a result of the client making the decision to add it to the project once construction had begun.

"Even though the pool was in the first sketches of the building the client discarded it before we started the detailed design," he explained.

"They only decided to build it when the project was halfway of the construction process. That meant the structure was not ready to resist that new weight, so we came up with the idea of supporting it over the two more rigid existing elements, the stairs cores."

"We strictly reinforced those foundations, not been able to touch the building in any other point. On the other side we clearly had to go through the façade to get views from the pool to the horizon," continued Clavel.

"Once it was clear that it was going to be a very extreme structure we just pushed it a little further, to the limit, producing this really fun experience for the users of swimming in a 20 meter cantilever, second in the world and probably the slimmest as far as we know."

Clavel hopes that the building can bring excitement to the city of Murcia, which was heavily impacted by the financial crisis.

"Consider that Murcia, the city where Odiseo is being built, is as a small city, far from everywhere and extremely hit by the last crisis that devastated not only the economy but somehow the citizen's self-esteem," he said.

"Cities like this have heritage, great architecture since Roman times. The question is: What is the architecture we are building for the next generations? Not every building but specifically some public architecture has the responsibility of being meaningful and fulfil the human need for monumentality."

Clavel Arquitectos has offices in Spain, Miami and Dubai. The studio previously designed a concrete house near Murcia that has a ten metre cantilever.

Photography is by David Frutos and videography is by Gonzalo Ballester.

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American architect Eric J Smith has used stone, oak and glass in this poet's writing studio, to "reinforce its sense of belonging" in the Connecticut woods.

Located on a wooded property in Connecticut town Greenwich, Writer's Studio was built for retired banker John Barr, who served as a longtime president of the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation. A bard himself, the client has published several books of poetry.

The studio was built several hundred yards away from the home of Barr and his wife. The poet turned to New York architect Eric J Smith to create a tranquil space where he could read and write, while nestled within the trees.

The client also needed room for his 1,700-volume poetry collection.

In response, the team created a "deeply meditative environment" that provides an escape from modern life. Rectangular in plan, the 650-square-foot (60-square-metre) building partly cantilevers over a rocky hillside, which slopes down toward a narrow ravine.

The architect clad exterior walls in fieldstone and bluestone with the aim to blend the structure with the natural terrain. The irregular, rocky pieces are assembled in a way that evokes a dry-stacked stone wall – a common feature in historic New England.

"The building is understated in every way, and the materials and extraordinary level of craftsmanship reinforce its sense of belonging in the woods," Smith said.

The unit is entered through a glass pocket door, which is protected by a sliding panel made of distressed oak. One passes through a corridor lined with oak bookshelves and arrives at a quiet room designated for reading and writing.

The room is lightly furnished with wooden decor, including vintage pieces by the Californian woodworker Sam Maloof. Glazed walls bring in daylight while enabling the client to feel immersed in the serene, forested landscape.

It is not uncommon to see wildlife passing by the window.

"It's virtually impossible not to feel a deep sense of peace sitting at the simple desk along a 16-foot window wall," the architect said.

Beyond the writing area, the building features a kitchenette with a small fridge, coffee maker and sink, along with a discreet bathroom with an incinerating toilet.

Rough-hewn stone walls and wide-plank oak flooring are found throughout the studio.

A wooden staircase leads up to a rooftop terrace, providing an additional spot for contemplation. Tucked under the staircase is a trundle bed, which the client can pull out when naptime calls.

The interior temperature is kept at a comfortable 68 degrees, made possible by a geothermal system for heating and cooling.

"The design of the studio allows for absolute comfort within a restrained space, where the owner can spend long days," Smith said.

While provided with electricity and running water, the studio is meant to feel off the grid. Power cables and fibre optic cables are concealed, and light bulbs are hidden within reveals. A small well provides fresh water.

"There's no evidence of technology or modern systems," the architect said. "Without any external equipment, the building and site are silent."

The team took care to minimise disturbance to the environment during construction. Trees were preserved when possible, and boulders were moved and then put back into place.

"The construction team virtually tip-toed into the site via a temporary corduroy road, where workers and machinery were ferried into the site and work was carefully choreographed to disrupt as little of the native forest as possible," the team said.

"The result is a woodland that fully healed itself within three months, with no remnants of construction efforts."

Other buildings designated for writing and reading include a small, cedar-clad pavilion in a Brooklyn backyard, and a home extension in Montreal that contains a writing space overlooking a river.

Photography is by Durston Saylor.

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A cantilevered upper floor and a glazed gable end feature in a house in Berkshire, England, by architecture practice Spratley & Partners.

The rural house is covered in pre-weathered burnt timber and brick, topped by a steep pitched zinc roof.

Called Field House, the project is and located in the large grounds of an existing property.

Spratley & Partners were able to achieve planning on this green belt site by originally proposing a small end-of-garden outbuilding, or shed.

With this approved, the project grew after further applications were submitted for a basement and first floor.

Extensions were then allowed through permitted development.

By drawing on the appearance of the agricultural sheds nearby, Spratley & Partners were able to keep the visual impact of Field House to a minimum even as its volume grew.

"The entire village and planners tried to resist this new house as it was contrary to policy and could set a precedent," director Jeremy Spratley told Dezeen.

"However, we managed to persuade the planning committee on the night of their meeting to agree that it was a sensitive building and that the physical presence of this house was not more impactful than the consents we had achieved for the garden building."

At ground floor level the living, dining and kitchen area, a snug and a boot room are arranged around a central wooden stair, along with a small entry hall and bathrooms.

All this sits within the footprint of the outbuilding that was originally proposed for the site.

With the plan being relatively tight, these rooms lead directly into one another through sliding doors.

Large areas of built-in wooden storage lining areas of the interior maximise the available space.

The double-height living area ends in a glazed gable-end with views out across the garden and the Thames valley beyond.

Doors open onto a paved terrace that leads to a winding garden path.

Below, the basement houses a cinema room, plant room and store.

This underground level is illuminated by a thin lightwell topped by walk-on glass on the terrace above.

Field House's L-shaped first floor has three en-suite bedrooms.

Each bedroom is oriented to look out at a different aspect of the garden surrounding the home.

The landscaping of this extensive garden was designed by Andy Sturgeon.

It is split into three distinctive areas, comprising a wildflower garden, a formal lawn and a south-facing gravel garden.

In the western bathroom, a small window overlooks the double-height living room.

The eastern bedroom looks out towards the gravel garden as it wraps around the side of the home.

White wooden panelling lines the roof of the kitchen and dining area, wrapping around to cover the upper storey bathroom.

Elsewhere, white walls and pale wood or stone floors create bright bedrooms and living spaces.

Many architects working in rural contexts turn to agricultural buildings for inspiration.

In Australia, Lovell Burton drew on the surrounding hay sheds in its designs for a new house, and in Yorkshire Tonkin Liu repurposed an old barn to create a home around a large library space.

Photography is by Andrew Beasley unless otherwise stated.

Project credits:

Architect: Jeremy Spratley, Marcus Van Heerden, Spratley & Partners
Landscape designer: Andy Sturgeon Landscape & Garden Design
Structure engineer: Centrespace Design
Interior design: Louise Holt Design

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