Country houses have always been the preferred locations for withdrawing, deceleration, and contemplation. This trend continues unbroken today, especially as the metropolitan areas expand and more and more city dwellers are escaping to the countryside. In addition to the conversion of existing buildings numerous new residences are being built. New building materials, groundbreaking techniques or a simple return to traditional forms of construction are defining country houses of today.

Masterpieces : Country House Architecture + Design presents projects from across the world which answers today's aesthetic, functional and ecological demands, while at the same time underscoring the uniqueness of the location and the surrounding landscape. The selected works show different ways to re-evaluate the definition of the country with a contemporary design.

From the contents:

• Casa no Geres in Peneda-Geras National Park, Portugal (Correia/Ragazzi Aquitectos)
• Villa Vals, Switzerland (SeARCH & CMA)
• Aptos Retreat, California, USA (CCS Architecture)
• Kent House, Connecticut, USA (Gray Organschi)
• Element House in Seoul, Korea (Sami Rintala)