Into The Wild
I have always loved architecture and blog about it whenever I can, especially houses that blend in creatively with nature. People often dream of owning big houses in big cities; who would have thought that a small house in the middle of nowhere would be so appealing? It’s amazing how creativity can turn something simple into something desirable and attractive to many.
I really enjoy looking at all these beautiful pictures of houses. In fact, ever since I was a young child, I have been drawn to nature’s beauty and greenery, and architecture that brings a sense of closeness to nature. It gives me inspiration and also ideas of ergonomic, economical and yet beautiful retreat houses that we can build in Kechara Forest Retreat.
I found this marvellous article which features incredibly unique houses in nature. Do take a look and be inspired. We should continuously expose ourselves to new ideas and innovations so that we realize that most things are possible, although we may believe otherwise due to fear of failure. Take for example the house on the cliff: 50 years ago, such an idea would be unthinkable, but it is possible today. Always keep an open mind. Do visit their site and read up more.
Tsem Rinpoche
Into The Wild: 12 Secluded Homes And Structures Built Away From Civilisation
Every now and then, we all dream of living a peaceful and quiet life off the grid. Maybe the thought creeps up on us when work is starting to feel like Groundhog Day, or perhaps it’s just an ongoing internal longing for some real isolation.
On this note, we’ve gathered some of the most secluded homes and structures in the world, all located off the beaten path, among Mother Nature, and deep into the wild.
So take a few minutes and venture away from the cramped crowds and tedious traffic by picturing yourself relocating to these dwellings far, far away from civilisation – even if it’s just through the land of your imagination.
1. The Crystal Mill Shack
Our first thought when laying eyes on photos of The Crystal Mill; is this place even real? The good news is that yes it is, however the bad news is that it’s not actually a house, rather a “power plant” on Colorado’s Crystal River. The site may remain privately owned and not open for public inspection, but this doesn’t stop us from playing make-believe.
Photos by Lady Lone Ranger
2. Village of Gásadalur
Located on the island of Vágar in the Faroe Islands, the village of Gásadalur possessing breathtaking views holds a small population of 18. Its inaccessibility makes the site difficult to visit only becoming accessible by car in 2004.
Photos by Shadowness
3. Finnish Micro House in the Woods
Finnish designer Robin Falck built this cabin in the middle of a forest so small it doesn’t even require a permit. According to Finland regulations, you are allowed to build a dwelling without a permit if it’s less than 96–128 square feet (depending on the location). The micro house features uniquely angled windows giving the interior a lot of natural light and allows the owner to see the stars at night.
Photos by Robin Falck
4. Fallingwater Kaufmann Residence
Fallingwater, also known as the Kaufmann House, is one of the most famous houses in America, built by Frank Lloyd Wright. Once used as the family weekend home between 1937 to 1963, it was then donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1964 and opened to the public as a museum. Reportedly, Angelina Jolie brought Brad Pitt to the home for a two-hour private tour for his birthday in 2006. Apparently, Pitt wanted to experience Fallingwater due to holding a keen interest in architectural history.
Photos from www.fallingwater.org
5. Casa do Penedo (House of Stone)
The House of Stone is a two-storey home built among four large boulders in an open field in Portugal. The house was built in 1974 as a family’s rural retreat but in recent years it has attracted the attention of tourists and architecture enthusiasts to the point that the owner, Vitor Rodrigues, has had to move to find solace once again from the curious visitors.
Photos from www.amazingplacesonearth.com
6. House on the Drina River
For over four decades this bizarre little house has survived everything that nature can throw at it. Balancing on a rock in the middle of the Drina River in Serbia, the house has been pounded by floods and high winds – yet stood strong. Built by a group of young swimmers out having a splash in the river who simply wanted a place to rest, they found the rock and started using it regularly. Then as time went by, they wanted a more comfortable place and began to build the house one board at a time.
Photos from www.alamy.com
7. Cliff House
For people who like to live on the edge comes a home with a distinctive seaside view. Inspired by barnacles which hang off a ship’s hull, ‘Cliff House’ is a three-bedroom home anchored to a sheer cliff face, designed by Australian architectural firm Modscape. So far, the Cliff House exists only as a digital day dream, but while getting a planning permit could be challenging, the design team is adamant it is feasible.
Photos by Modscape
8. Thousand Islands Single House
Set in the middle of Canada’s Saint Lawrence river sits the self-explanatory named Just Room Enough Island, a tiny island which has enough space to support one house and nothing else. When the tide is high the water of the river laps against the house’s walls, however at low tide, the owners are able to set up their garden furniture on their porch and soak up the sun, neighbour free.
Photos from www.visit1000islands.com
9. The Holy Trinity Monastery
High up in the rocky hills of Meteora lies not one but six inhabited monasteries, all of which are still fully functioning today. This gravity defying construction which overlooks the Greek town of Kalambaka can be reached by a series of 140 steps which sum up to about 400 metres high and are carved directly into the cliff face.
Photos by The Independent Tourist
10. The HemLoft Secret Tree House
After graduating with a degree in software development, owner of the self-made and self-funded HemLoft secret tree house, Joel Allen went to work for a start-up company that would eventually fold in 2006. Jobless and without direction, he then met self-taught carpenter ‘Old Man John’ at a festival who went on to inspire Joel in pursuing his passion for carpentry. And the rest as they say is history.
Photos from www.thehemloft.com
11. The House in the Island of Elliðaey
On the island Elliðaey, lies one lonesome and mysterious cottage with only a few stray cattle that loiter about its grassy rock in sight. Isolated from the rest of the world, not a great deal is known about the island or the house that occupies it.
Photos by Amusing Planet
12. Romantic Tiny Forest Home
To end this list on something more achievable for the common folk; this romantic forest retreat was built by a man who promised to build a tree house for his soon to be wife after a few too many glasses of wine one New Year’s Eve. The tiny getaway home was built in six weeks for $4000.
Photos from www.herrlecustomcarpentry.com
[Source: http://news.domain.com.au/domain/domain-news/features/into-the-wild-12-secluded-homes-and-structures-built-away-from-civilisation-20150716-gicqnd.html]
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Looking at those very unique house been built simply stunning. Creatively with nature indeed , salute to those architecture who has such a wild ideas and innovations building such an incredibly unique houses in nature. No easy though but everything is possible.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing .
These were all so amazing, beyond imagination nature build of homes. I loved the creativity design and extraordinary ideas to make these marvelous unique houses, they do look very cozy.
Where you live, and what you build it out of is determined by how much you can afford to spend on the your dream house. If I had a chance to build one on hill top, I will make sure the environment is save to live and has all the modern facilities.
https://bit.ly/3txeUQH
Love these interesting photoes and extraordinary looking houses. Especially some that caught my eyes are..10. The HemLoft Secret Tree House. 3. Finnish Micro House in the Woods. 4. Fallingwater Kaufmann Residence. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this unique looking houses in the wild.
Amazing houses and complicated architecture in a such a beautiful places. It is amazing that houses are built at the edge of the cliff, at high mountainous, on the trees and etc.
Things that we think is impossible were made possible by the designer and builders. Once again proves that when there is a will, there is a way.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing these beautiful and amazing houses…very unique architecture surrounding by nature.Do enjoy looking at those beautiful pictures and the scenery as well.Can see and wonder how those houses was built at that time when there is not much machinery.The Holy Trinity Monastery is one of them when it was built on a cliff.They some how did it.
Thanks again Rinpoche .
Dear Rinpoche
Thank you for sharing these amazing houses. Really enjoy the houses and scenery by looking at it. They are amazing. I wonder how the photographer found it out.
While going through the pictures. I was thinking how these people build it. Some of the architecture was so complicated. Like the house on Cliff, the Monastery on high hill and the tree house. How about the basic facilities and electric supplier where do they get it. Well, maybe I am just too use to city lifestyle that supply everything to our convenient.
Come to think about this, this attachment towards the conveninces have brought me laziness and attached to the concept must have this or that then only can be success. Those beautiful house just build like that in middle of no where. No facilities that make the house easy to build and yet the houses are build and beautiful!
This pictures actually correct my wrong view. As long as we wanted it, everything can be done.
Thank you Rinpoche for this post.
With folded hand
Freon
An amazing eye opener and joyful to see all these homes that have been designed to give people space from a lot of people.
I’ll trade place for any of those secluded homes anytime, except maybe the cliff house. Too much of a cliffhanger. My favorites are the House in the Island of Elliðaey, the HemLoft Secret Tree House and the Finnish Micro House in the Woods. There’s something very appealing about living in a tiny space in nature. Human really only have few basic needs such as oxygen, food, water and shelter. As far as shelter goes, we actually need very little space. That’s why Buddhist practitioners like Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo can spent 12 years living in a small cave in the Himalayas.
It is not always possible nowadays for nature lovers to live freely in the wild with the concept of property market and land ownership being enforced on civilization. It is obvious that many still crave living a peaceful and quiet life off the grid. While many of us are born into a concrete jungle and grew up surrounded by four walls, there are still among us that are born in the wild. Some of us considered them fortunate while others may find them under-privileged, even uncivilized.
Does introducing television and internet to a remote village in Africa do more harm or good? Does it serve humanity if Africa become a developed country? Does it serve humanity if the Amazon, the Himalaya, the Galapagos are developed? Or should these pristine nature be spared from mankind’s greed and lust for materialism, power, ownership? I only hope that in mankind’s quest for civilization, modernity and technology advancement, we do not end up sacrificing nature entirely.
Dear Rinpoche,
My favourite architect is Frank Lloyd Wright and I love his work especially how he makes his structure respond to the nature in its pure way. These are so beautiful houses and locations Rinpoche. I loved the way simplicity and the natural way of design and the most beautiful thing is solitary. Would be so peaceful and blissful to live in those places. So many hardships and commitment might have given by the people who brought up such beautiful architectures. Thank you _()_
My favorite architecture is Fallingwater aka Kaufmann Residence because it was built by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright who was known for blending his architectural design with nature and humanity. My other favorite architecture is The HemLoft Secret Tree House because it resembles a gigantic fruit hanging amidst the trees.
All the architectures in this blogpost are of distinctive form with organic aesthetic features, which are a joy to look at.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this wonderful blogpost with us.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella
Some of these homes are absolute works of art. But more than their beauty, I appreciate a lot of them for the solitude that they offer.
The older I get and the less I have, the more I realise the little I need. A few weeks ago, I went to clear my things. A third of my stuff, I threw away and another third, I donated to Jace’s flea market. The last third were dharma books and items so I kept them.
It took me a while but I came to the realisation that I am never going to go back to my old life and be okay with it, so all of these possessions I hang on to, I don’t need at all. Look – if I haven’t used it in three years, am I ever going to use it again? So why do I keep my diving gear and my gowns, other than because I’m clinging to some false past and its remnants which I already wanted to leave behind because I requested Rinpoche to be a nun and shaved my head?
And that’s really all of us. If we really get down to the nitty gritty, much of what we surround ourselves with is completely unnecessary to our daily living. What of our things do we actually NEED in order to live? We hang on to it because we ascribe some false value to it but if we examine our possessions objectively, will they matter to us and hold the same value to us 5, 10, 20, 50 years down the line?
So does the isolation of these places featured in this blog post scare me? Do I worry I’ll have nothing to do, that it’ll be boring? Do the size of some of these homes worry me? Not really. I would LOVE to live in the romantic tiny forest home because honestly, that’s all the space anyone needs. If we need to distract ourselves with possessions, and we need to fill our lives with it, what are we trying to run away from in our minds? Just something to think about.
My favourite house would be The House in the Island of Elliðaey, I like the fact that it’s totally isolated from others and stands by it’s own. I love to live in places where it’s quiet and lush, and this is like a dream house. I can imagine myself waking up to such a lush green view, with a few dogs running around the premise freely. There isn’t a word to describe how exciting I am when I think of myself living in that little hut there, I’m so thrilled! I have good imaginations hehehe
I must say that I’m really impressed by the architecture and the engineers who build all these houses. They are definitely not easy one of those easy projects especially that one house that ‘hangs’ by the cliff, it requires a lot of safety measures and professionals to come up with something like this.
It requires a lot of studies and experiments to make sure that the buildings are long-lasting or durable especially when most of them are directly exposed to harsh conditions like for example, the houses in the woods especially have to be termite-free or else the termites will definitely eat up the whole house and that is pretty scary. But in short, I love all these houses, very eco-friendly and simple.
The house that surprises me the most is The House in the Island of Elliðaey. Because from the picture shown, there are not much materials to even built a house like this. I have seen a picture like the first one before but not the rests and I also didn’t know that the house is on an island of nowhere, I only thought that the house in somewhere faraway near a cliff of someplace. This house really gives me a lots of thought and it is making me eager to go into the myself. I have questions like: are there still anyone living in there? How did the person or these people managed to built such a wonderful house? How did they get there? How long has the house been there for? Judging from my point of view, I believe this cottage hasn’t been over a century because of the design of the cottage.
As for the Cliff House, I feel that it is kinda dangerous to live there, yes it is stable, but what happens when the owner has over 50 companies with him in the house and someone is weird enough to jump and stomp the floor very hard. Won’t the house shake a lot? And for long term, won’t the bars that is supporting the house get rusty and break down?
Other houses also look astonishing and breathtaking. They look old fashion, very secretive, defining physics, dream clubhouse or tree houses. This shows us what humans are capable of making just by using their creativity. The one house that still fascinates me the most and I wish to visit the The house in the island of Ellioaey. Only if I am able to go there. Hehe