A dramatic house for an equally dramatic landscape, this chalet is clad in rough white-cedar planks to complement its surroundings – a realm of deep gorges and scraggly birch trees. The steeply pitched roof is built to withstand gales of up to 200 kilometres per hour, and there’s a massive Corten steel frame around the entrance to prevent wind from ripping open the door.

Architect Omar Gandhi, working with New York’s Design Base 8, conceived the building to be both durable and cozy; a top floor includes a fireside observatory with views of the rocky Cape Breton Highlands and rolling Northumberland Strait.

Project: Rabbit Snare Gorge

Location: Cape Breton, Canada

Firms: Omar Gandhi Architect (Canada) and Design Base 8 (U.S.)

Team: Omar Gandhi, Garrett Helm, Jon Siani and Jon Wilson with Peter Braithwaite, Peter Kolodziej, Elizabeth Powell, Maxwell Schnutgen and Jeff Shaw