Reddish-brown corten steel compliments surrounding dark browns and lush greens in this Ukrainian forest retreat, its horizontal planes pushing the building out to meet the surrounding trees.

Known for their use of weathering steel, Sergey Makhno Architects wrapped their latest work with a combination of corten and mesh, the latter to foster the growth of ivy, further connecting nature and architecture.

In the center of the house sits a wild garden as well. As temperatures rise, this greenery will slowly grow up and out, fostering building-climbing plants from both the interior and exterior of the structure.

Notably, this is not the design teams first attempt to weave manufactured materials with a natural setting. Certain formal similarities (large stretches of uniform surface, strong geometric rhythms) can be seen in one prior work in particular.

In a lot of ways, this latest work is a more elaborate extrapolation of earlier and simpler models, like the “Rain” house constructed primarily from corten steel and glass with a much simpler layout.