Houses have been the field of experiment of talented architects for more than a century because they require fewer means than larger buildings, and because they rely on single clients as opposed to government bodies or corporate boards. Often objects of privilege, even if now coloured with the green spirit of environmental concern, the houses here are not anecdotal spin-offs of the “real” work of modern architecture; they are the starting point, the source of inspiration. These forward-thinking buildings were designed by capitalising on technological advances such as video conferencing and 3D printing, fostering inventiveness and imagination, and yielding sustainable, site-specific homes.
This pointy cabin in the Chilean rainforest was inspired by a 20th-century design icon: Kazuo Shinohara’s 1974 Prism House, a triangular mountain hut