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Poetic Living in the Countryside: How Design Can Lightly Integrate with Natural Environments—From Japan to Italy

Release Time:

2025-11-30

Poetic Living in the Countryside: How Design Can Lightly Integrate with Natural Environments—From Japan to Italy

In rural development, there often prevails a tendency toward rough construction methods and a lack of visual quality, leaving people lacking in-depth reflection on the environment, human settlements, and aesthetics. Yet, design serves as a crucial force for meeting diverse needs—it can strike a balance among cost-effectiveness, flexibility, functionality, and aesthetic appeal, thereby fostering harmonious coexistence between human settlements and the environment.

In this issue, our carefully selected 5 one #Rural Residence The case studies, originating from Japan, Spain, Poland, Italy, and Chile, respond to local environmental conditions and lifestyle aspirations through diverse strategies: some achieve spatial flexibility and adaptability for future uses by means of modular combinations; others sustain local textures by employing low-tech, locally sourced materials; and still others optimize energy efficiency and landscape interactions through thoughtful site planning and orientation. These case studies demonstrate... Design not only enhances the quality of living but also gently and humbly integrates with the natural environment, revitalizing rural architecture.

An open, shared space beneath a grand roof—both independent and interconnected.

Japan: Roof House

Company: Tamada & Wakimoto Architects

The site is located on the northern fringe of the Kanto Plain—a region where urban factories and rice paddies blend seamlessly into one another. For many years, it has been home to a large farmhouse surrounded by hardwood shrubs in the background, covering a total area of approximately 2,000 square meters. According to the owner’s requirements, The design team has created a house that seamlessly integrates with a semi-outdoor garden, bringing together the site’s rich natural environment, its surrounding context, and local activities. 。

The design divides the building into several volumes that enclose a courtyard, with a single roof covering the entire structure. Under the roof, a shed-like rooftop platform is created, along with a nested series of rooms featuring large skylights.

The houses have also been divided into separate buildings, so that when the owner moves to another city, the building with bedrooms and bathrooms can be retained as a vacation home, while others can use the remaining parts of the house as shops or galleries.

The design team hopes that the courtyard will become a place where new ideas emerge through casual interactions among people. Life will no longer be confined to indoor spaces but will extend outward into the courtyard and beyond. Daily life will unfold amidst the site’s natural environment and climate, creating a home that fosters rich connections with local residents and culture.

Modular design makes homes more flexible and cost-effective.

Spain: GJ House

Company: Alventosa Morell Arquitectes

A young couple has the opportunity to build their first home on a plot of land that was once part of their family’s estate. The design proposal is based on a modular approach that adapts seamlessly to the surrounding environment, ensuring both privacy and optimal use of living space. Matadepera is a tranquil suburban town nestled at the foot of the Catalan mountains. This 600-square-meter corner lot is flat, south-facing, and dotted with a few trees; it is flanked on two sides by two detached houses.

The design team configured the house as nine identical structural modules arranged along an interlaced east-west axis, while preserving the existing trees. This approach maximizes the number of south-facing rooms and ensures privacy from neighboring buildings.

The module’s flexibility and multiple connection options allow the house to be used either as an open space or divided into separate areas. The staggered layout enhances visual connections in all directions, creating a sense of spaciousness and establishing a strong link with the garden. At the heart of the house, the central module rises above the surrounding areas to maximize solar energy absorption during winter and improve ventilation in summer.

The building has a simple structural design, featuring load-bearing brick walls, concrete floors, and arched ceilings. The design aims to build a building with high thermal mass, combining ample solar energy absorption in winter with effective ventilation in summer to ensure optimal thermal comfort throughout the year.

The houses are connected to the garden via trellises that echo the structural grid, creating outdoor spaces that provide climatic shelter while also encouraging people to interact with the surrounding natural environment.

Guided by the principle of sustainability, we create comfortable and healthy living spaces tailored to local conditions.

Poland: Country House

Company: IFAgroup

Honors: Residential Category – Residential Interiors, Nominated for the 2025 A+Awards

In a picturesque village in northern Poland, the building sits on an expansive plot of land covering 8,000 square meters, seamlessly blending into the tranquil lakeside setting while complementing the nearby quaint houses with their traditional gabled roofs.

The facade design of the building has been carefully conceived. Due to the presence of a peat layer underground, some parts of the building rise only 1.4 meters above ground level. This ingenious design makes the house seem to merge seamlessly with the earth, while the buried sections of the retaining walls provide essential thermal insulation. The exterior of the building features locally reclaimed wooden planks sourced from an old barn. This material choice is not only environmentally friendly but also closely ties the house to the region’s traditional architectural style.

In terms of functional layout, the design divides the house into distinct zones: the east-facing terrace boasts stunning lake views, while the west-facing terrace offers a serene vantage point overlooking the forest. This layout not only allows residents to connect closely with nature but also encourages them to enjoy outdoor living more fully. The bedroom’s large windows feature a locally traditional style, while the extensive glass surfaces in the public spaces ensure a seamless interaction between indoor and outdoor views.

Sustainability is the core design philosophy. The building features a reinforced concrete structure, and its flat roof has been ingeniously designed as a green terrace, which not only enhances thermal insulation but also promotes biodiversity. The design fully takes into account the environmental context, sustainability, and respect for the natural environment, bringing not only a comfortable living experience to its residents but also positive impacts to the entire community.

Revitalizing Old Farmhouses: Preserving Historical Charm While Integrating Modern Functionality

Italy: Casolare Biordo Vecchio

Company: Studio Bressan

This project involves the regeneration of an old rural building, which has been transformed into a modern residence while preserving its original rustic charm. This farmhouse is situated on a natural slope within a small residential cluster, facing directly onto a public road. After passing through the entrance gate, the house reveals itself in a modest yet elegant manner. Its original stone facade preserves the building’s historical character while ensuring the privacy of the interior spaces. Only three small circular windows punctuate the stone, brick, and masonry walls—providing just the right amount of natural light while maintaining the home’s intimate atmosphere. The surrounding vegetation forms a natural backdrop, enhancing the sense of tranquility and serenity. It’s only when you round the southeastern corner that the farmhouse gradually unfolds, revealing its spatial layout and its ongoing interaction with the landscape—a feeling of openness and connection to the surrounding environment.

The project retains the traditional proportions and architectural features, with a particular emphasis on extending the south-side porch into a double-height glass volume. The new porch creates a fan-shaped opening that brings greenery into view, transforming the living area into a bright space that breathes in harmony with the surrounding mountains, fostering a continuous dialogue between indoors and outdoors, as well as between living spaces and the landscape.

The interior is warm and bright, with oak flooring, travertine flooring, light-colored plaster finishes, and exposed beams that evoke a deep connection to tradition. Natural light streams in through spacious openings, creating a soft and gentle atmosphere, while the porch serves as a vibrant frame, bringing the serenity of the mountains indoors.

The spatial layout follows a clear and practical logic: the living area unfolds into a single, fluid space with visual continuity toward the outdoors, while the bedrooms upstairs maintain a more private and intimate character.

Achieve harmony and balance between human habitation and the environment through simple and unadorned design.

Chile: The Arboreto House

Company: Camila Pineda Architecture

Located in a forest in Chile, this project aims to create an introspective space that is closely connected to nature. The design challenge lies in striking a balance between the lush natural landscape and the everyday living spaces. Given that the local environment has previously been damaged, The design addresses this issue by minimizing land use and preserving most of the land in its natural state, thereby striking a balance between residential development and the conservation of forest biodiversity.

The houses are arranged around two large porches, which frame several indoor spaces—or “boxes”—each serving a specific function, such as the kitchen, bathroom, office, and laundry room. In contrast, The porch serves as a space for rest and recreation, including the living room, dining room, barbecue area, family activity room, and bedrooms, thus creating a dual structure that balances functionality with leisure. By adopting Chile’s traditional porch design, natural light filtering through the trees enters the interior, making the house an integral part of the natural environment and creating an atmosphere of contemplation and shelter.

The orientation of the house takes full account of the surrounding environment: the service areas are located on the southeast side, sheltered by the forest, which acts as a natural barrier, blocking the afternoon sun, optimizing thermal comfort, and protecting privacy. Meanwhile, the north and west wings house bedrooms and public spaces, maximizing natural daylight and offering unobstructed views of the forest, thus fostering a continuous interaction between the interior and the landscape.

In terms of materials, thermally treated wood cladding is used to connect indoor and outdoor spaces. The ventilated exterior wall enhances thermal efficiency and protects the wooden structure. The entire building has been treated with Cutek wood preservative to enhance its weather resistance. The continuous concrete floor provides thermal mass, while the integrated benches enhance the practicality of the home.