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Completed in 2021 by Invisible Studio, “Beezantium” is a fun project acting as an apiary for honeybees on the grounds of The Newt in southwest England’s Somerset hotel. Hives built into its walls accommodate the buzzing insects, which are visible from inside through panes of glass. But the structure also serves as a wildlife center for visitors, creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere lined with polished honey oak. The educational showcase inside was created in collaboration with Kossmanndejong, an Amsterdam-based design agency.

The whimsical design of the exterior takes inspiration from traditional “follies,” strikingly ornate buildings commonly seen in English and French landscape gardening that are purpose-built as ornaments. Not having a purpose is part of the point, actually. Beezantium’s unusual silhouette, fish scale-shaped copper roof tiles, two oval windows, and raw cladding pay tribute to these structures, but it’s not just for decoration. Nearly every feature aims to draw in bees of all kinds.

The oversized timber panels are made of unseasoned oak, which allows the bees to enter their hive either through natural holes or copper pipes built into the structure. Beekeeper Paula Carnell consulted on the project to make sure it would be welcoming not just to the honeybee hives relocated to the apiary, but to wild bees, solitary bees, and other species, as well.

From far away, the apiary looks much smaller than it really is. It’s not until you enter that you realize its true scale, with a copper-lined ceiling that rises all the way to the peak of the roof. The exhibits and seating inside were arranged so that you wind your way through, taking it all in before reaching the final reward: the view. Invisible Studio designed the picture window so it juts out from the wall, its glass floor offering a view straight down into the water below.

Best of all might be the fact that the architects successfully crafted this lovely attraction on such an unlikely site. Occupying a former landfill, the apiary certainly makes better use of the lakeside location.

“The Beezantium has been designed to provide a sensory, otherworldly experience,” says Piers Taylor, director of Invisible Studio. “It appears jewel like, quirky, and playful – almost like a folly in landscape with a glowing copper roof, but instead of being only about pleasure, the Beezantium is a purposeful building designed to house bees in observation hives in the external walls, that can be viewed in a range of habitats internally. There is a huge extraordinary interactive and immersive exhibit that describes the world from the bees’ perspective, that is hung from the ceiling and contained within a honeycomb structure, enabling visitors to understand bees and their place in the world.”

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That’s what architecture firm KRADS has achieved with its “Holiday home by Þingvallavatn,” which perches on a densely vegetated hilltop sloping in the direction of Lake Þingvallavatn. This lush, intensely green landscape, with views of viridian and black hills in the distance, informed the shape, appearance, and layout of a vacation home for a couple. The design consists of three staggered planes following the contours of the terrain, almost as if the home were a natural extension of the hill.

“An essential part of a good building is a good client, they say,” explain architects Kristján Örn Kjartansson and Kristján Eggertson of KRADS. “This general principle felt particularly present in the process surrounding Tina Dickow’s and Helgi Jónsson’s holiday home. As performing artists, they showed an unusual understanding around the creative process, and all the aspects it involves. This led to a journey that was characterized by an enthusiastic exchange of thoughts and ideas which were anchored in a common understanding of materiality and general expression. This created an atmosphere of mutual trust and openness between the architect and the client that one rarely experiences. We hope this feeling is conveyed in the finished house.”

The north-facing facade of the home faces the sparkling lake, poking up and out of the hill like new growth. The roof, planted with grasses and moss in the Icelandic turf house tradition, slopes down toward the ground on the south side, interrupted by a void that separates this section of the building into two volumes. KRADS designed the layout to take full advantage of the lake view while integrating the home into its surroundings. A southwest-facing terrace ringed by trees provides peeks of the mountains Jórutindur and Hátindur.

The design team explains that “apart from the terrace, the immediate surroundings of the building are so densely vegetated that they are close to impenetrable. Preserving the landscape as pristine as possible was a major intention in both the design process and during the construction of the house. In return, the greened roof is established as an accessible plane. Access to the roof can be gained from inside, from the house’s sleep and play loft, or from the outside where the slope starts at the foot of the integrated boat shed. Following the ascend, standing at the top of the roofs edge above the trees, the landscape opens up in a magnificent and ever-changing panorama towards the lake and the surrounding mountains.”

Inside, an older turf home dating back to the 18th century or earlier would most likely consist of either earth, stone, or timber panelling (usually imported, since Iceland doesn’t have a lot of timber of its own). But this home is all contemporary luxury with its smooth white walls, whitewashed wood floors, and timber details. A sunken living area and an adjacent tile-clad tub hidden beneath bench seating enjoy some of the home’s most stunning views.

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The lake was emptied to perform maintenance for the systems of a nearby power plant, allowing visitors a chance to see a piece of forgotten history. Located at the juncture of Italy, Austria, and Switzerland, the sunken village of Curon in the South Tyrol area was purposely flooded in 1950 to create a lake to provide hydroelectric power for the surrounding territory.

South Tyrol was annexed from the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I, turning the region’s native German speakers into Italians overnight. The government of dictator Benito Mussolini immediately started plans to produce more energy in the area by merging two natural basins in the Resia Pass, wiping out Curon, and installing a hydro-electric power facility. World War II delayed those blueprints, buying the 150 families in the town a little more time.

But despite resistance from the city’s roughly 1,000 inhabitants, the project to submerge the town moved forward some five years after the war ended. With most of the villagers speaking only German, they were confused by the Italian communications relating to the plans and were only offered small sums of money to move to the neighboring town of Curon Ventosa. In the end, more than half the residents left the area entirely.

Today, all that remains of the life that existed there over the past centuries are some hollowed-out cellars, stone steps, and debris like rusted gates and pipes. The most striking feature is the beautiful bell tower dating back to 1357, the top of which has always been visible above the surface of Lake Resia. In fact, when the water freezes over in winter, tourists come from all over to walk up and touch the medieval structure. The tower is so iconic for the area that it was even chosen as the centerpiece for the Curon Ventosa coat of arms.

The unsettling story of the underwater town was the inspiration for a 2018 novel by Italian author Marco Balzano entitled Resto Qui, in which he states that the drowned city represents “a problematic memory that spreads from that tiny village to the rest of Italy, taking us back to difficult times.” And in 2020, Netflix released the supernatural drama series Curon, based on the same eerie setting.

With the last residents walking the streets more than seven decades ago, there are few left who remember life in the village, even among the 2,500 inhabitants of nearby Curon Ventosa. Those who visit the ruins mostly come out of curiosity rather than any personal attachment.

Unfortunately, this peek into the past did not last long. The power company started releasing water back into the valley in mid-May, and the entire lake was refilled within a couple weeks. Once again, the rising bell tower stands as the only sign that the lake is home to more secrets below.

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The family commissioned architecture studio Hamish & Lyons to come up with a solution that would transform their house from what felt like a disaster waiting to happen into a restful refuge that addressed the special needs of their kids, three of whom live with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“Stepping Stone House” does all of that and more. The architects not only added a stunning new swimming lake to the grounds, but they also designed a series of small additions to make that lake a focal point of the family home.

Fittingly named for the way the volumes cascade out over the water, the home is now designed to provide relaxing, daylight-rich spaces filled with plenty of opportunities to interact with both the land and other people. The kids can hop over the surface of the water on a stone path, dive in from a cantilevered platform, and even swim right under the new additions. When flooding occurs, the lake can accommodate the extra water, protecting the home from incurring any damage.

Set on stilts, the new additions hover right above the gleaming water of the lake. Brick ties them to the main house aesthetically while a glassed-in bridge offers seamless and virtually invisible access from one to the next. It took five planning applications over a three-year period to finally get permission to build new structures within the conservation area running through the property, but once it was finally obtained, construction was quick thanks to the use of prefabricated modules.

The new volumes appear lighter than air with lots of glass and long, narrow skylights running along the peak of each roof, almost seeming to split them in half to open them up to the sun. The smaller structure acts as a guest house and contains its own kitchen, living space, bedroom, deck, and bathroom, while the larger building offers multipurpose space primarily intended for use by the kids. Both buildings can be opened to each other since all the glass can slide open, but they’ve also both been equipped with blinds for total privacy after dark.

“Our landscape design is integral to the concept of engaging the family with their surroundings and included the swimming lake as well as creating a continuous route around the buildings,” say the architects. “The path snakes through a sheltered garden of large, primordial tree ferns two to three meters high and then leads out onto the stepping stones in the lake.”

“Steps rise up to an elevated tree fern walkway and the bridge, which connects the two buildings. At night time, the exterior lighting design highlights mature trees in the garden to create longer views out from the buildings, whilst jets of water form an archway of illuminated lights over the stepping stones.”

The result is a perfect example of how architecture can be designed to meet special needs without compromising on beauty, quality, or functionality.

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For Dutch architectural practice Mecanoo, this spot along Lechlade-on-Thames in Cotswolds, England offers an opportunity to commune with the water from virtually every room in a new nature-centric home. Measuring 600 square meters (6,458 square feet), “Villa on the Lake” features floor-to-ceiling glazing on all four sides, a rooftop deck topped with greenery and solar panels, and cantilevered boardwalks leading up to the drive. While it might seem like one’s privacy would be compromised in such a transparent home, being tucked into a private lagoon and shielded from the road by mature trees ensures that only passing boaters ever get a glimpse of the family inside.

Besides, the benefits of gazing out onto this scenery from three levels of living spaces easily beat out the concerns about prying eyes. On top of that, the glass panels are just reflective enough to partially camouflage the home into its environment from afar. Aquatic plants alternate with stepping stones along the shore to guide visitors to gardens, and the bridge connecting the lakeside villa to the road curves to allow nearly every tree on the site to remain intact. Terraces on all sides of the home provide plenty of room for sunbathing, diving, and barbecues. The rooftop terrace even boasts a glass balcony so “one can enjoy panoramic views as if floating quietly over the expanse of the lake,” according to the architects.

Inside, private spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms are contained within opaque volumes that help divide the open-plan spaces without cutting any area of the home off from the surrounding environment. A full-height void within the center of the house contains the staircase, which stretches up to a generously-sized skylight on the roof, and a sunken basement, which contains a private cinema. All of the materials and color schemes are kept muted and minimalist to keep the focus on the scenery.

“The guiding design principle was to create a house that combined transparency with sustainability, forging a strong relationship between the villa and the landscape. The harmony between landscape and interior, architecture and nature, was a key design determinant, particularly regarding sight lines, materials, colors, and lighting. The house is designed from the inside out, creating uninterrupted views to the surrounding nature while providing shelter and intimacy. All these aspects work together to ensure the house’s sense of timelessness.”

For a home that’s occupying a potentially delicate aquatic ecosystem, “Villa on the Lake” sits lightly upon its plot, only minimally altering it. Though it’s set on pillars rather than pontoons, this glassy modern residence feels much more like a boat house temporarily anchored to the shore than it does a permanent structure.

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Many architects working within the same parameters would have made “Nojiri-ko Nature Platforms” a two-story cottage with shared spaces on the ground floor and closed-off bedrooms upstairs. But Sugawaradaisuke, an international firm of creatives led by Daisuke Sugawara, would consider that a wasted opportunity. The collective sees its architectural works not as shelters or objects, but as “narrative landscapes” that tell a story and lead to a “nostalgic future.” You know, the kinds of spaces you’ll inevitably reminisce about later.

For them, this 559-square-foot vacation home near the shore of Lake Nojiri isn’t just a place to eat and sleep — it’s also a place to interact with the landscape and each other. The guests are the hub in a wheel of relationships with the things around them, including the materiality of the space itself, the furniture, the other items contained within it, the rhythms of nature in continual progression outside, and the friends and family they’ve brought along for the adventure.

With that goal in mind, the floorpan has been left completely open, and split not into two stories but five platforms at various heights to serve various purposes. No matter where you are inside the home, you’re sure to have a visual connection to both the people in your group and to the happenings outside all those floor-to-ceiling windows. From sunrise to sunset, through all four seasons, you can take in the subtle shifts in the world just outside these four walls. No rooms are cut off from the light in this house.

At the very lowest level is a space full of stacked firewood that functions like a mudroom, which opens up to the first platform via a set of sliding glass doors. This platform, which features a swing, is mostly outdoors. The second platform spans the full width of the house and peers down at these spaces through low windows. It also houses the kitchen and a long tabletop surface, which itself extends straight out from the floor of the fourth platform. This platform contains the home’s living area and easily enjoys the best views.

A cube set within this space hides the bathroom, a transforming couch/bed nook, and a private bedroom hidden just around the corner. The roof of this module also acts as the fifth and final level of the house, which itself is comprised of a lofted sleeping area with views of all the other nooks and crannies. The result is a compact space that feels a lot larger than it really is.

“These platforms create different openness, thermal conditions, and perspectives with layering structure according to ground undulation and forest landscape,” the architects explain. “The layering platforms rearrange the hierarchy of landscape/site/building/furniture/object and create a new living space in nature.”

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Traditional boathouses usually consist of little more than a roof and perhaps two or three walls raised above water level on stilts or pontoons. Sometimes, they’re modified to include living quarters, and many older boathouses have even been adapted to include restaurants, bars, and other leisure facilities. Regardless of whether they’re imbued with humility or enhanced with all the luxury trappings of an adjacent mansion, boathouses are rarely as stunning as this recent project in Canada, which was completed in 2016.

Located on Lake of the Woods in Manitoba, just across from the U.S. state of Minnesota, this 2,500-square-foot structure by Cibinel Architecture features an airy streamlined modern silhouette that contrasts with the rougher textures of the rocky coastline bristling with lush, vivid evergreen trees and dramatic cliff faces. Its shape recalls the refreshing minimalism of mid-century modernism, looking almost like a house that’s been stripped of its walls altogether.

Cibinel’s clients requested a modern structure that evoked the classic lake lifestyle and offered a focal point for social gatherings, capturing sunlight from every angle throughout the day and spotlighting spectacular northeastern views of the water. It would have to offer parking for multiple boats and year-round storage, too. The architects describe the resulting design as “playful,” noting its appeal across all four seasons.

Horizontal steel planes clad in warm unpainted wood sit on narrow supports, cantilevering a third of the structure over the water in an intentional echo of a boat’s profile. Two small custom-shaped niches nestle the clients’ boats when they’re not in use, making it easy to climb in from the sturdy docks around them. The upper deck is half sheltered, half open to the sky, so guests can sunbathe on it or lounge on cozy couches beside a warm wood stove in rainy weather.

Mosquitoes are no problem thanks to a sliding curtain that can screen in the covered half of the upper terrace at a moment’s notice. A glass wall at one end protects against strong winds and eliminates the need for a guard rail, opening up the view. Doesn’t it make you wish you had a boat or two of your own, even if just to hold an epic party at a boathouse like this?

Cibinel Architecture is a professional consulting firm based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that attracts clients who are looking for clever solutions to unique design challenges. They’re known for their work on a number of heritage, academic, institutional, cultural, commercial, and residential projects.

The post Lake Life: Gorgeous Modern Boathouse in Canada first appeared on Dornob.

Luckily, The Floating Hotel by Salt & Water lets you do just that. Designed for lakes and other inland bodies of water, the hotel consists of individual catamaran “apartments,” a floating dock, and a stationary central volume full of common spaces. The idea is that you can enjoy the hotel’s café, meeting rooms, and other public areas whenever you want, and then retreat back into your own private luxury vacation pod, either remaining at the dock or floating off to another section of the lake to be alone.

That makes it ideal for both group getaways and solo/couple trips. You get to enjoy nature and all the water-based recreational activities you can handle from a boat that doubles as a hotel suite, and you’ll have total control over how much you interact with other travelers. Each catamaran fits two to four people and contains its own bathroom, salon, galley, hall with storage space, and sleeping area. The beach platform on the back of the boat lets you swim, dive, fish or sunbathe to your heart’s content. If you don’t feel comfortable piloting the electric-powered catamaran yourself, you can hire a skipper to navigate for you.

Salt & Water says it envisioned the project as a way to “promote tourism on inland waters and to reach intact parts of (often neglected) nature.” Unfortunately, that statement conjures visions of tourists making a lot of noise and producing waste and pollution in previously untouched natural environments, which doesn’t sound ideal, but it does seem like The Floating Hotel would work nicely on bodies of water that are already frequented by human visitors. After all, lakes and bays that aren’t popular with tourists aren’t so much “neglected” as they are protected.

Still, the concept is an intriguing one, and it would be fun to see it built in the real world. Salt & Water design director Svetlana Mojic hopes to bring the idea to life sooner rather than later, explaining: “We are open to working closely with potential investors to bring this project into reality. Though it is not currently in production, we hope that it soon will be!”

If built, The Floating Hotel would join a number of other mobile water-based hotel operations, including the stunning Boat Hotel in Cocoa Island, Maldives. Salt & Water’s concept won the 2015 Millennium Yacht Design Award (MYDA) in the “Dream Boat” category, with the jury praising it for “an elegant interpretation and enhancement of a houseboat in an intelligent housing solution. Maximum utilization of the interior layout.”

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From rustic shacks to glassy light-filled modern homes, houseboats offer cozy and private accommodations enhanced by the gentle movement of the water. Occasionally, they can even be rented by the public to see what it’s like to live on the sea, in a harbor or on a lake. ‘Modern Houseboat’ in Berlin is one such vacation rental, a quiet and unique place to stay in one of Europe’s most cosmopolitan cities.

This rectangular, glass-fronted houseboat floats on Lake Rummelsburg, a small bay in the river Spree. It feels out of the way, yet provides views of the city lights and easy access to all Berlin has to offer. It features one double bedroom, with an additional bed in the living area to sleep up to two adults and two children.

The open-plan interior space also includes a kitchen and bathroom, full of clean simple lines in shades of white, gray and pale wood. Guests can look out all those windows at Berlin’s famous TV tower. Custom-made furniture ensures optimal function without clutter in this 645-square-foot space.

While summer is the best time to take advantage of the sun glimmering on the surface of the lake, winter has its benefits, too, especially with that modern fireplace to keep the boat cozy. “Often the water is frozen and covered in snow, it is a really peaceful and quite interesting atmosphere,” says owner Chris.

Via Wallpaper:

“Owner Chris Laugsch and architect Bertjan Diphoorn have managed to pack in an open kitchen, custom-made furniture, fireplace and natty Condesa chair into just 60 square metres. Watch the ducks paddle by or charter Stadbote’s retro speedboat ’El Tigre’ to zip to the Reichstag, the double-decker Oberbaumbrücke bridge by Otto Stahn or the numerous beach bars on the river Spree. The conceptual art gallery Sammlung Haubrok and hip restaurant Pauly Saal are within peddling distance if you take one of the Bella Ciao bikes available. Sleeps two adults and two children.”

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If given the choice, it seems that most people would prefer to live in a beautiful home surrounded by the peace of nature than in a cramped, noisy city. The only problem is finding a balance between that home and the natural setting in which it sits. Design Workshop achieved this delicate balance in the Over Water house in Pune, India.

The building site is located between the mountains and a lake. Building any structure in such a lovely location detracts from the natural beauty of the place, which is why the designers tried to make as little impact as possible on the surroundings.

The house sits perched like a bird on two columns, with the back facing the mountains for privacy. The glass, wood and steel home includes a large balcony on the water-facing side to allow for stunning, unobstructed views of the lake.

Enclosed on all sides by glass walls, the home offers privacy in the form of wooden shutter-like slats outside of the glass. Natural light is allowed to flow naturally and to touch every surface of the home’s interior.

The designers seem to have succeeded in their quest to create a home that is livable and inviting, but which only causes minimal interference with the natural beauty around it.

Here’s what Design Workshop has to say about their design:

“To build on the lake surrounded by mountains is always a challenge, cause whatever one builds and however beautiful it may be it still takes away that much from nature. The strategy then is to build a glass house perched on the land and providing privacy for the inhabitants, at the same time to make sure the lake view gets highlighted from inside for the inhabitants.”

“The structure is wood steel and glass, supported on 2 RCC columns, perched like a bird on land.”

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An angular wood-paneled office with built-in work surfaces and dramatic red lighting is just one standout element of this luxury lake house on Lake Austin by Bercy Chen Studio. The dark and insular qualities of the office make it feel like a womb-like space for daydreaming and concentration, in stark contrast to the bright openness of the rest of the home.

Like much of the home, the office is lined in Massaranduba Brazilian hardwood. Its most intriguing feature is a niche that seems to extend out into the yard; it holds a mattress and is topped by a skylight with a sliding cover.

Situated on a peninsula within the lake, this tranquil and luxurious contemporary home boasts a wrap-around reflecting pool and adjacent swimming pool that come right up to the glass walls of the living space, making it seem as if you could step right out into the water. In fact, you can – stepping stones lead from a clear acrylic exterior door to the lawn.

With the wall of glass on the bottom level, a terrace on the second floor, and an angled solarium with a louvered screen that lets in daylight, water and sky are undoubtedly the focus of the home.

“The Peninsula Residence on Lake Austin has a north-south orientation opening up the house to a beautiful lakeside setting—a reveal similar to that of unrolling a three dimensional Chinese scroll. To mitigate the western exposure, an extensive shading strategy was employed, blocking 85% of heat gain without hindering views.”

“Through the use of glass, steel, detailing, and light the home has been adaptively reinvented. Reflection, translucency, color, and geometry conspire to bring natural light deep into the house.”

“A new solarium, green roof, and pool are tuned to interact with the natural context. Exterior materials and refined detailing of the roof structure give the volume clean lines and a bold presence, while abstracting the form of the original dormers and gable roof. Further connecting the home to its site, the roof begins to dissolve where a glass-clad chimney and slatted wood screen stand in relief against the sky.”

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