Donald Chong Studio
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Photo © Bob Gundu

Operable Boundary Townhouse
Dean/Wolf Architects
Brooklyn, New York

Photo © Peter Aaron

Potrero Hill Residence
Aidlin Darling Design
San Francisco, California

Photo © John Sutton

Rockefeller Partners Architects
Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles

Photo © Eric Staudenmaier

Tea Houses
Swatt | Miers Architects
Silicon Valley, California

Photo © Tim Griffith

Waipolu Gallery and Studio
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Oahu, Hawaii

Photo © Nic Lehoux Photography

Sprinkle & Company Architects
Port Aransas, Texas

Photo © Mark Menjivar

Kurreki @ Seal Rocks
Bourne Blue Architecture
Seal Rocks NSW, Australia

Photo © Brett Boardman

Lopez Island Cabin
Stuart Silk Architects
Lopez Island, Washington

Photo © Steve Horn Photography

Under the Sky - Architects often tuck houses into hillsides or hollows to establish a feeling of protection. But the four houses featured here express a freedom from the constraints of cover. By occupying valleys, meadows, or prairies exposed to the elements, they afford expansive landscape views and dramatic sky panoramas.

• House on Hooper's Island - Hooper’s Island, Maryland - David Jameson Architect
• Shobac Cottages and Studio - Upper Kingsburg, Nova Scotia - MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
• Casina - Northern Illinois - Alfred Swenson Pao-Chi Chang Architects
• Zen Garden House - Crestone, Colorado - David Jay Weiner Architect

Photo © Manuel Schnell