More from Contemporist Newsletter
In the green hills of Ibiúna, a quiet rural town about 90 minutes from São Paulo, architect Rodrigo Ohtake has built a family retreat unlike any other. Designed for weekends away with his wife Ana Carolina and their three children, the home is both a restful hideaway and a bold experiment in modular, eco-conscious design. The result? A prefabricated house that feels anything but prefabricated, joyful, fluid, and in sync with nature.
Blatto Boat is a newly constructed Floating On Water Residence (FOWR) located on the north end of Seattle’s Lake Union. Designed by Seattle studio GO'C, the houseboat is built within the exact footprint of an existing 12-by-40-foot vessel, making efficient use of every available inch.
Just off the coast of Seattle, a young family found their rhythm on Orcas Island, a lush, bluffside site in Deer Harbor where the forest meets the horizon. With the help of Syndicate Smith, a Washington-based architecture firm known for its sensitive, site-specific work, they built a grounded retreat that’s both elemental and modern. Designed to be built efficiently by the homeowner himself, a general contractor, this house reflects a deep connection to nature, family, and the quiet rituals of island life.
Tucked into the misty woods of North Bend, Washington, Forest Pavilion blurs the boundary between shelter and site. Designed by Signal Architecture + Research for a pair of professional landscapers, this home doesn’t impose on its environment, it folds into it. A structure of quiet resilience and elemental beauty, it honors the messiness of life and the wildness of nature in equal measure.
More in architecture
25 years of earthquakes, Google’s 2013 efforts to build a phone in the US, bear attacks in Japan, coal seam fires, and more.
In the green hills of Ibiúna, a quiet rural town about 90 minutes from São Paulo, architect Rodrigo Ohtake has built a family retreat unlike any other. Designed for weekends away with his wife Ana Carolina and their three children, the home is both a restful hideaway and a bold experiment in modular, eco-conscious design. The result? A prefabricated house that feels anything but prefabricated, joyful, fluid, and in sync with nature.
An early version of the US Senate budget bill which passed last week included a provision to sell off between 2 and 3 million acres of federal land in western states, ostensibly to be used for homebuilding.
Brighton Sands is a four-storey family home in Melbourne designed by mckimm, blending inspiration from the LA hills with a distinctly Australian sense of place. Defined by sculptural architecture, natural materials, and a seamless connection to the outdoors, the residence offers a tranquil retreat grounded in light, texture, and flow. It’s a considered balance of form and function, where luxury is quiet, and every detail enhances daily life.
Speculative fiction about our next million years of existence.