© Alejandro del Castillo
This small modern house is located near Villarrica, Chile and has a view over a valley to the Villarrica Volcano. For a relatively small house, it has a fairly complex and dynamic shape. The house consists of two opposing shed-roofed volumes separated by a small courtyard. Architect Rodrigo del Castillo of Chilean studio DOM designed the two volumes to correspond to the client’s request for a house with a separate flexible-use space.
This small house occupies a clearing in the forest near the Habuka ski area in the Japanese Alps. The wedge-shaped home was designed by architect Satoshi Irei to be used as a ski cabin. The Habuka mountain retreat is a modest dwelling but it is well-built and provides its occupants with warmth and shelter from the winter weather. It features an exposed timber-frame that was finely crafted by builder Mori no Koubou.
photo by FG+SG
This cluster of small cabins is located at a new resort, the Pedras Salgadas Spa and Nature Park, in northern Portugal. Pedras Salgadas is a spa town where people go to rejuvinate in its mineral waters. Architects Luís Rebelo de Andrade and Diogo Aguiar collaborated to design the cabins for the resort.
Pedras Salgadas Spa and Nature Park wanted a variety of different cabin layouts to suit the individual sites on which they’d be placed, so the architects designed the cabins using a modular system. Each cabin consists of three modules, a living area module with the kitchen and a sitting area, an entry module that also houses the bathroom, and a sleeping module with a bedroom and flex space. The living and sleeping modules can join to the entry module in a variety of ways. The result is a system that is standardized yet flexible, yielding dozens of possible cabin plans. Each cabin is adapted to its specific setting, adjusted to fit between the existing trees.
Today we have a small vacation house located in the south of Sweden. Working within a tight budget, architects DinellJohansson came up with a plan inspired by the luxurious villas designed by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio for the Venetian nobility. The architects say that it shares with Palladio’s villas the “idea of summer life as an utterly joyful experience”.
© Michael Dean Photography
River Road house is a small timber frame dwelling in Oregon designed by Nir Pearlson, Architect Inc., a small firm with an interest in green design. They were asked to create a comfortable and energy-efficient home built from sustainable materials. The clients, a couple nearing retirement, also wanted a home that would work for them as they aged, hence the decision to build a single-story house.
With an efficient layout that maximizes views between spaces, the small house feels deceptively large. In reality it is only 800 ft2 (74.3 m2), and that includes two good-sized bedrooms. Vaulted ceilings contribute to the perception of space and openness.
La Luge is a small vacation cottage in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec. Not far from a major ski hill, it was designed by Yiacouvakis Hamelin Architectes as a retreat for enjoying the winter season and its activities. To ensure comfort in cold weather, the cottage is equipped with a fireplace, cozy built-in beds, a sauna and a hot tub. Window walls on all four sides connect the occupants with the landscape while the surrounding forest maintains their privacy.
This unique small house can be found on the western coast of Scotland’s Isle of Skye. It was designed by the architects from Rural Design Architects to fit in with the vernacular crofters’ cottages and barns of Skye while having its own modern identity. The owners also wanted a low-impact house that would make efficient use of water and energy resources. Building a small house, just 72 m2 (775 ft2) in this case, goes a long way toward achieving that goal.
The house has a shallow-pitched shed roof and a boxy shape that narrows towards the sea, reducing its exposure to the frequent high winds. It is clad in locally sourced Scottish larch boards. The architects raised the house on concrete piers to minimize disturbance of the site. Neighboring residents dubbed it the “Hen House” during construction due to its supposed similarity to the local chicken coops. A small wooden bridge leading up to the entrance door completes the chicken coop imagery.
The clients for this small house in Japan had one key wish, a bath with an outside view. To meet that request on a small lot, architect Naoko Horibe designed a courtyard at the front of the house. The courtyard provides light and fresh air to both floors of the 85.6 m2 (921 ft2) house while maintaining the occupants’ privacy.
