Financial Times, 24 Feb 2026

How to design a home in collaboration with nature

Cutting-edge approaches are enabling those who revere Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier to take their vision of remote living to the next level — sometimes quite literally

“At the best of times, building a home from scratch can be a white-knuckle ride of exhilaration and terror. Challenges are inevitable, but there is a rare breed who choose to up the ante, electing to build homes on cliff edges or vertiginous slopes, around ancient trees or giant boulders. Often driven by a desire to enjoy a breathtaking view or for complete privacy, these doughty few achieve the almost impossible by designing homes in collaboration with nature. Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier are the pioneers who serve as inspiration, but cutting-edge techniques enable their ethos to be maximised.” — Ruth Bloomfield

“No house should ever be on any hill . . . It should be of the hill, belonging to it, so hill and house could live together, each the happier for the other,” said Lloyd Wright