As massive and looming as it may be, this set of stacked boxes is a home with a huge emphasis on tiny details. Strategic material choices, structural supports and fine-grained textures bring it back down to human scale, making it livable despite its lofty overarching appearance.

Weathered wooden slats have the same monolithic effect as board-formed concrete, giving the horizontal top-story box a vertical emphasis through thin seams and wood grain and reinforced by a mixed pattern of slotted window slices. Lighter knotted-wood accent shutters at the end of the element also serve to soften its dominating look as it hovers over the landscape.

Created by Colboc Franzen for a semi-rural plot in France, this three-volume design is all about transitions too. The first floor, tucked halfway into the ground itself, features an entryway, office, and service spaces (garage, basement and laundry room).

-Via Dornob