A Chilled View; Housed In A Beautiful Landscape

We are surrounded by traffic, relentless chatter, a parade of footsteps; an urban symphony that creates the chaotic heartbeat of city life. Noise Noise Noise. Everywhere. Yes exciting, but does it nurture many of our inherent needs for the quiet calm of natural environments? After the ensemble cities got built into a crescendo, along came the idea of organic architecture. A unification of our living habitats and the natural world. Find out more in A Chilled View; Housed In A Beautiful Landscape

Thinking about our ancient ancestors living in rock formations and using tree branches to build homes, it seems they had a good idea. Even though we’ve made a lot of progress, the basic concept of living in harmony with nature still holds true, don’t you think?

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was a pioneer of organic architecture, who believed in the marrying of human habitats into the natural world. Houses mingled into waterfalls, buried beneath soil or suspended among the trees; homes blended at one with nature.

This term organic design, describes space that blurs the boundaries between inside and outside. Buildings that visually sit in keeping with the natural world around them.

This design philosophy not only celebrates the beauty of natural environments but encourages us to build our relationship with the world around us.

No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together, each the happier for the other”.

Frank Lloyd Wright, 1932.

In our age of urbanisation the desire for city living has become far less popular. Alongside this is the rise of eco-sustainable priorities. The scale, age, and diversity of these are joined in force by their beautiful landscapes.

Fallingwater, United States

Famously constructed amidst a waterfall in rural southwestern Pennsylvania USA, this is ‘Fallingwater’ by Frank Lloyd Wright himself. He designed the holiday home for his good friend Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr out of locally sourced sandstone, making for an interior inspired by its rugged exterior.

In 1991, the American Institute of Architects bestowed upon the house the title of the “greatest work of American architecture of all time.” The house has gained much notoriety since its construction in 1935, with architects from around the world visiting the striking structure.

Its stunning and seamless integration into the natural environment is emblematic of his philosophy, a belief that connects nature with mankind. The cantilevered balconies jut out over the water, and you feel like you’re living right in the middle of nature’s symphony.

Casa do Penedo ‘House of the Rock’, Portugal

Image Pablo Garcia Chao

What about a rock as a house? Or a few rocks as a house? The unorthodox Casa do Penedo (Portuguese for ‘House of the Rock) sits between the Marão mountain range and the stunning mountains of Sameiro and Penha, effortlessly blending with the surrounding alpine landscapes.

Dubbed ‘the strangest house in the world’, Casa do Penedo was constructed by the Rodrigues family in 1972, who built their holiday home far from the bustle of the city between four large boulders that have sat on the range for centuries. The house has no electricity, no telephone and no television, refreshingly off the grid and connected to its surroundings. There are even guided tours available.

Casa Organica, Mexico

You may feel as though you are entering the core of the earth, upon stepping into the other-worldly ‘Casa Organica’, which is nestled just north of vibrant Mexico City.

Mexican architect, Javier Senosiain, created this psychedelic surrealist escape in 1984 with the philosophy of creating harmony between humanity and nature, an idea inspired by Wright’s design philosophy and ideas from transcendentalism ( an ideology believing everything is connected, everything is one.)

Natural light pours through gaping, organically shaped windows into an embryonic interior; a shape which echoes the innate sphericity and oneness of the universe. Senosiain used curvilinear plastic forms to achieve this look, which are more pliable than rock or concrete. The landscaping produces excess oxygen, maintaining a pure air quality due to a process that filters out pollution in the air.

Treehotel, Sweden

Or maybe something more futuristic takes your fancy? The Treehotel labelled one of the world’s best travel destinations by Time Magazine 2018, resides deep within the heart of Swedish Lapland (an arctic province in northernmost Sweden). A tantalising getaway set up in 2010 where one can be unified with the woodland and the northern lights.

Norwegian architects, Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård, aimed to seclude guests high up into the towering pine trees in what resembles a levitating glass cube. With just a sheet of glass between you and the woodland, you are immersed into peaceful, frosty surroundings where suddenly, you’re not just an occupant; you’re a part of the ecosystem.

With concerns about the woodland’s natural life, transparent stickers visible only to birds are used on the mirrored glass to prevent them from flying into the building.

Green Magic Homes

If you’re looking for a DIY getaway, Green Magic Homes offers the perfect solution to your fantasies of remote serenity. Designed to withstand harsh weather conditions and built for natural insulation from fibre-reinforced plastic, these small houses encourage a serene, minimalist lifestyle.

They allow an appreciation for the natural world by designing homes that become a part of the landscape, whether it be snow, soil or sand.

Integrating homeowners into their surroundings has been shown to elevate mood and improve cognitive function. Nevertheless, these houses are not primitive to any extent; you have access to all the essentials: electricity, water pipes, ventilation ducts, and even a hot tub.

Lake Þingvallavatn

Image Marino Thorlacius

Cleverly camouflaged within a lush Icelandic landscape, this remote holiday home on Lake Þingvallavatn blends seamlessly into its environment, maintaining an unobstructed view of the outlook.

It is oriented for an optimal viewpoint of verdant greenery, where you can look out on an open vista with an infinite landscape. Exposure to these natural surroundings has been linked to reduced stress levels, improved mood, and an overall sense of well-being. Yet the prevalence rates of mood and anxiety disorders are significantly higher in urban areas.

This remote holiday home constructed in 2020 by KRADS architects, Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård, perfectly captures the essence of tranquility that this holistic environment represents.

Rådhuset metro station, Sweden

Image Julian Herzog

Buildings from outside that slot effortlessly into their environments are one thing but what about buildings inside a natural environment? Are you walking through lava or commuting to work? Rådhuset metro station supplies a surreal travelling experience with your morning coffee.

Michael Granit and Sigvard Olsson designed the structure in 1975, painting the unsculpted rock with various striking colours and murals in stations throughout the city. This echoes a rich history marked by the hues of pink in the Swedish mountains and ancient relics buried in the earth.

The mishmash of noise, of built-up eye lines, of fume-filled air can be damaging for our physical and mental health. But living in areas that blend seamlessly with their surroundings helps in enabling calmness. The unity of organic architecture may be almost 100 years old, but it’s still a concept that extends to every leaf, every gust of wind, and every sunrise, that can heal our very souls.

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