Into the Woods: Retreats and Dream Houses

For those who crave the tranquility of nature, fifty houses selected from around the world with the most ecologically sustainable and innovative breakthroughs in architecture and design.

Seeking the perfect escape from city life and congestion? This book is filled with environmentally low-impact homes and retreats using eco-friendly materials and technology that reduce the carbon footprint and lower its energy needs, all built within the past ten years. The broadening interest in back to nature and homesteading plays a role, and many new structures are examples of sustainability that are in touch with nature, far from the madding crowd but not only for the select few.

International in scope, the book is an A to Z of ideas for the twenty-first century, from a pavilion in Argentina to a forest house in New Zealand, all designed to have minimal architectural traces–made with local materials that harmonize with the surrounding environment. An outdoor care retreat outside Oslo provides space where visitors can benefit from the therapeutic qualities of nature; a residence in Tottori, Japan, adapts with the changing seasons; a treehouse in Cape Town uses cylindrical towers that are elevated on stilts, offering views among the trees; and in Quebec, three geodesic domes were designed as part of an eco-tourism project to highlight the area’s natural beauty. Each house is paired with photographs and plans.