The design alone is breathtaking – beautiful prairie-style horizontals, organic materials and abstract modern compositions that shift from every perspective. Add to that its self-sufficient and site-specific considerations and you really have a dwelling to write home about.

Set in rural northern Ontario, this glass, stone and wood wonder rises right up out of the bedrock atop a multi-story cliff overlooking a series of lakes and forests far below.

Sustainable strategies are integrated throughout the series of split-level floors that interlock to form cozy interior volumes.

Passive lighting and circulation are complimented by natural heating and cooling as well as active solar photovoltaics and water heating, powering mellow and diffused area lights at night as needed.

Traditional fireplaces also help heat the house during the coldest months of the year, while concrete walls absorb daytime heat via their thermal mass and orientation then release it at night.

Thermal glass holds warmth in during winter while a green roof keeps things cool in the summer, reinforcing with materials and nature the other cycles and systems regulating temperature within the building. Design by Altius Architecture.