Extending down the hillside from an existing hotel, a series of matte black structures rise from the deep green landscape like spikes. Without revealing many details, Peter Pichler Architecture has unveiled its vision for unique sustainable “Tree Houses” in the Italian Dolomites – though they’re quite unlike most of the tree houses we’re used to seeing. Taking inspiration from the sharp, dramatic shapes found within these forested mountainous environments, the elevated huts offer sweeping views from two stories of expansive glazing.

Spiked on both ends, the cabins almost seem to have been hammered into the ground. Each one measures 35 – 45 square meters (about 376 – 484 square feet) and features a small sitting area on the lower level and a bedroom and bath on the top floor. Made of local wood with blackened timber exteriors, the structures appear to be quite open to each other, though they might ultimately face in slightly different directions to give the occupants more privacy.

“We believe that the future of tourism is based on the relationship of the human being with nature,” says the Milan-based studio. “Well integrated, sustainable architecture can amplify this relationship, nothing else is needed.”

Though certainly sharper and more dramatic, the new structures aren’t dissimilar from a previous project of Pichler’s. The Obereggen Mountain Hut contains a new restaurant adjacent to the cable station Oberholz in Obereggen, Italy with direct connection to a ski slope. The architect envisions it as a growth emerging from the hill like a fallen tree, with three main branches creating “a symbiosis” with the landscape.

Replicating parks in the middle of largely-concrete cities or merely connecting tropical homes to the lush vegetation that’s already growing right beyond the walls, these homes integrate living plants, water features and direct access to the sky. Prioritizing a connection with nature – and all the natural daylight that comes along with it – these modern home designs are breezy and bright yet private, often placing their courtyards centrally like secret gardens or building around existing mature trees.

Rattan House, Sun House, Water Lily House, Willow House & Cluny House by Guz Architects

Has any architecture firm mastered the form of the nature-influenced luxury tropical home quite like Guz Architects? Working primarily in temperate climates like that of Singapore, this firm consistently produces jaw-droopingly beautiful residences full of lushly planted courtyards, green roofs, swimming pools that transition into seemingly natural decorative water features, living trees and lots of blurred lines between indoors and out. For example, the center of Cluny House is a generous fish pond filled with tiny tree-covered islands overlooking a lap pool. Willow House features a ground-level reflecting pool with glass walls to make water a more visual element of the home, with greenery dripping down from the edges of the terrace above.

Jardins House by CR2 Arquitetura

The fittingly named Jardins House by CR2 Arquitetura is an oasis in the middle of a city, replacing an industrial building. The architects created a series of voids within the structure to house gardens that would be naturally illuminated from above without compromising the privacy of the residents.

Mirante House by FGMF Arquitetos, Brazil

Every sightline in Mirante House by FGMF Arquitetos is directed through the glass to the valley below, with an open scheme of interior spaces divided by transparent walls. Nature seems to invade the home at every turn, with planter boxes installed in every space and most rooms looking down onto the central courtyard.

Living Garden House by KWK Promes

While glassed-in ground floors connected to the outdoors aren’t unusual in tropical settings, this home by KWK Promes uses the scheme a little differently. Rather than opening onto swimming pools or courtyards, the glass room at the base of the home is part of the lawn, so residents can feel like they’re still lounging in the warm grass even in the middle of winter. The glazing opens this lounge to the open air when desired. The home consists of two volumes, one essentially cantilevered over the other (supported by this glass room) while the street-facing facades are nothing but brick for privacy.

Sunken Pavilion by Act Romegialli

Take the steps on the lawn or navigate a subterranean tunnel to access an enclosed swimming pool and gym from the original home in this addition by Act_Romegialli. The swimming pool structure is essentially sunken into the ground with its glassed facade peeking out at an artificial pond full of water lilies. This keeps the structure naturally cool and focuses views on nature rather than neighbors.

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Green House 17 Residential Designs Intertwined With Nature

Tree houses aren’t just rustic wooden huts slapped together around a living trunk – they also come in the form of elegant modern residences incorporating the forest into their design, whether by building around existing trees or integrating them right into the floor plan. These 14 modern tree house designs blend into their forest environments and make vegetal views top priority.

Casa Vogue by Alessandro Sartore

A tree called ‘Bethany’ is the centerpiece of this home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, passing through a three-meter hole in the floor slab and up through the ceiling of the living room. Casa Vogue by architect Alessandro Sartore also accommodates a second tree in the garage, keeping as much of the original landscape intact as possible and bringing the natural landscape indoors.

The Urban Treehouse by Baumraum

German architecture firm Baumraum is responsible for many of the world’s coolest modern treehouses, including a pair in Berlin that function as a mini-hotel. The Urban Treehouse preserves the trees on a 650-square-meter privately owned wooded property within the city limits, integrating nature and architecture.

Between the Trees by Sebo-Lichy

The design of ‘Between the Trees’ by Sebo-Lichy mimics the look of natural tree trunk supports, elevating a portion of the home to work with the steep terrain. It’s built around three chestnut trees and overlooks a forest, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a rooftop terrace blurring the lines between outdoors and in. The house was inspired by Mies van der Rohe’s famous Tugendhat Villa in Czech Republic.

Modern Austin Treehouse by MF Architecture

This entire Austin home was essentially designed around views of trees in the front yard and on the back terrace. Each of the rooms of the house by MF Architecture look out onto the oak in the backyard, which shelters the entire outdoor area.

Urban Treehouse Apartment Complex by Luciano Pia

The last place you’d expect to find a treehouse is in the middle of an urban Italian city – let alone an entire apartment building planted with dozens of trees on every level. 25 Verde by Luciano Pia has a load-bearing steel structure shaped like tree trunks as its base, with 63 wooden-shingled dwellings staggered around 50 trees. In addition to looking really cool, the trees help reduce air and noise pollution for the residents.

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Arboreal Architecture 14 Houses Built Around Within Trees

We’ve seen tree houses that function as oversized sculptures, play structures for kids, sky-high tea houses and elevated retreats for work or meditation, but how many tree house designs actually fulfill dreams of living in the forest canopy full-time? These 12 residential tree houses range from traditional huts built over a hundred feet above the forest floor to a stunning ultramodern cylindrical glass house that envelops an entire tree.

Amazing Cylindrical Glass Treehouse

This ultramodern, all-glass cylindrical house isn’t just in the trees, it contains one. ‘Tree in the House’ by Masov Aibek is a four-story residence in the woods of Almaty City, Kazakhstan with a spiraling staircase leading to each completely transparent level. A few plasterboard walls provide privacy for the bathroom and sleeping areas. The house will be available for rent, and though it may seem like it’s only suitable for exhibitionists, its location deep in the forest makes privacy less of a concern.

Traditional Residential Treehouses of Asia

Papua New Guinea’s Korowai Tribe is just one example of people who have traditionally built their homes in the canopies of trees, some as high as 115 feet off the ground. The houses are typically built in a single sturdy Banyan tree, with poles added for extra support. Each house accommodates as many as a dozen people. Elevated houses can also be found in flood-prone areas of India, Cambodia and other Asian nations.

Finca Bellavista Treehouse Community, Costa Rica

A couple went to Costa Rica in search of a small plot of land and ended up saving 600 acres of rainforest from the chopping block. Uncertain at first what to do with all that acreage, they began to envision a network of tree houses that soon became ‘Finca Bellavista,’ a sustainable treehouse community with individual residences connected by zippiness and suspension bridges. The self-sustaining complex includes a dining hall, open-air lounge, campfire, bath house and ‘wedding garden.’

4Treehouse by Lukas Kos

Looking a bit like a Japanese lantern when it’s illuminated at night, the 4Treehouse by Toronto designer Lukasz Kos is a modern take on the classic wooden tree house with a facade of slats that provide shade and privacy. A semi-detached staircase on casters provides a stable, steady entrance to the home no matter how much the structure itself may be rocking in the wind.

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The High Life 12 Incredible Residential Tree House Designs

Daydream about an ideal fairytale retreat in the forest, and what you envision will likely look a lot like these 14 amazing arboreal creations. There’s simply no other word for these tree houses but ‘magical,’ and UK-based builder Blueforest has that style down pat with conical towers, Gothic windows, quirky cedar shingles and swaying rope bridges.

Living the Highlife Tree House

Two separate retreats, one for kids and one for adults, are lofted high into the sky and connected by a canopy walkway at the ‘Living the Highlife’ treehouse. The adult section features a castle-style conical thatched roof, while the kids’ has three medieval towers, one of which contains a games room accessed by secret trap door.

Willow Nook Tree House

How much relaxation can you even handle? The Willow Nook Tree House is not only a tranquil getaway set among flowering greenery, it’s got a wood stove, a cedar hot tub on its deck, and a beautiful handmade swing.

Alice in Wonderland Tree House

Inspired by the off-kilter architecture seen in the classic story Alice in Wonderland, this treehouse in Spain includes “handmade wonky windows,” a copper turret and cedar lining that was cut to look like melting chocolate. The air-conditioned interior room has a TV and storage for toys.

Alton Towers

Looking like something out of a fantasy movie, the Alton Towers Treehouse village is a series of 5 luxury treehouses for the Alton Towers Resort, the UK’s leading theme park. Each sleeps up to 8 people and contains its own open-plan living space and en-suite bathrooms.

Quiet Tree House

Don’t be fooled by the rustic feel of the Quiet Treehouse, which Blueforest calls “an entirely new concept in arboreal living.” While it’s made to resemble a tree, it comes complete with next-generation sound engineering to be equally at home in a natural woodland environment or modern urban setting, and it’s sound-proofed. It’s also full of the latest ‘quiet’ gadgets from companies like Bose, Smeg, Samsung and Dyson.

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Fairytale Retreats 15 Magical Blueforest Tree Houses