For today we gather a great collection of the Coolest Shelters on Earth. We invite you to go through them, analyze some key information and let us know if anything hit the spot. Enjoy!
Long Studio: Joe Batt’s Arm, Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Canada
The Bridge Studio is dramatically located on a steep hillside overlooking the calm waters of an inland pond. Newfoundland is a mecca for innovative homes and architecture, which is surprising for a province with only 2,500 residents. On the outskirts of Joe Batt’s Arm on the northern tip of Fogo Island, we climbed over a hill near the coast and found what we think is one of the best examples of contemporary architecture in North America. Long Studio’s interior is almost completely open. It’s designed to hold multiple workspaces and capture the most light during long summer days.
Squish Studio: Tilting, Fogo Island, Newfoundland
Fogo Island was originally a fishing community, with many of its inhabitants coming from Ireland and England. In fact, it’s common to hear Irish accents while wandering more remote parts of Newfoundland, which was a surprise to us. Fogo Island Arts is responsible for six contemporary artist studios, available for residencies, as well as the Fogo Island Inn. All of the buildings, designed by Todd Saunders, are influenced by the heritage, landscape, and tradition of craft that is native to this area.
Tower Studio: Shoal Bay, Fogo Island, Newfoundland
The Tower Studio is dramatically situated on a stretch of rocky coastline in Shoal Bay, Fogo Island, Newfoundland. The studio’s sculptural silhouette leans both forward and backward as it twists upward. This small twisted tower is one of the six artists’ studios that Saunders Architecture of Norway are constructing on Fogo Island off the coast of Canada (photographs by Bent René Synnevåg). The three-storey Tower Studio is the fourth and most recent folly to be completed and like the others it has a painted wooden exterior and a whitewashed interior. The floors of the building incrementally rotate, so that a terrace on the roof is turned away from the ground floor by 180 degrees. A large triangular skylight allows light to flood into the studio on the middle floor, while a mezzanine overlooks it from above.
Fisherman’s Boathouse: Tilting, Fogo Island, Newfoundland
Cod fishing was the main source of income in Newfoundland until 1992, when the Canadian government prohibited fishing due to the diminishing cod population. This was a devastating blow to the island’s residents and economy. The Shorefast Foundation has come up with a strategy to rehabilitate the community based on the arts, geotourism, and incentives for local entrepreneurs.
Fishing Village: Saint Paul’s, Newfoundland
We saw these houses as little specks out on the beach as we drove north from Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. It didn’t look as though many people drove out that way since there was no marked road. We decided to pull off and see if we’d be able to drive out to the collection of fishing shacks. We ended up with an epic view of the houses as well as the south-facing landscape of Western Brook Pond, a landlocked fjord.
Bell Island, Nova Scotia
Filled with excitement one summer, we drove from Rhode Island to Nova Scotia in a day. After searching for a nonintrusive place to park and set up camp, we ended up discovering Bell Island. An elderly fisherman who was taking a walk in the neighborhood gave us permission to sleep in our truck at the end of the road. In the morning, we decided to walk around the area and took this picture of our neighbor’s house.
El Cosmico: Marfa, Texas
El Cosmico does a brilliant job of capturing the most beautiful elements of life in the desert and consolidating them into the ultimate glamping experience.
Uno Astro Lodge: Tulum, Mexico
Although we’ve never stayed at Uno Astro Lodge, we’re always drawn to this beautiful beach villa when we visit Tulum. It’s a representation of everything we love about the place—the ocean, a great view, and totally picturesque.
Grass Island: Guilford, Connecticut
It wasn’t until we became tourists in so many other parts of the world that we really tried to look at our own home with that fresh perspective. One of our favorite discoveries is this beautiful beach shack at the tip of Grass Island in Guilford.
Ermita de San Juan de Gaztelugatxe: Bermeo, Spain
Driving west on the northern coast of Spain after leaving Mundaka, it isn’t long until you stumble across this gem. We hiked the rugged coast down to the man-made bridge connecting the island to the mainland and up the 241 stairs to the church that currently stands there. The church has been attacked and burned down many times over the centuries. It is thought that the original structure was built in the 9th century.
Hiker’s Restroom: Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa
At the end of our second day hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, we camped above the clouds for the first time, and the reality of what we had committed to doing was setting in. We sat as the sun set into clouds, which were moving so fast that it felt like we were watching the ocean lapping a rugged coastline from the top of a cliff. Yes, this may be a hiker’s rest stop, but it must have one of the best views in world.
Farmhouse: Iceland
Most of the time that we were driving around Iceland, we saw more sheep than people. Many people in Reykjavik own farmhouses or vacation houses on more rural parts of the island that are left untouched for parts of the year. Here, one our favorites, with a healthy lawn as a roof!
Stonehouse: Iceland
The houses in Iceland seem to adapt with the terrain and fold into the variety of landscapes. This small stone farmhouse was perfectly camouflaged.
A-Frame: Big Sur, California
Driving Route 1 along the coast of California never gets old. We always discover new things, like this A-frame home with a killer view. I grabbed a telephoto lens and captured this image, which we often look at and daydream.
Teepee: Terlingua, Texas
We camped in our truck just outside the Terlingua Ghost Town on the Mexican border. This teepee was the only landmark for a small campground where we stayed before heading to Big Bend National Park the following day.
Boathouse: Luang Prabang, Laos
We entered into Laos on a two-day slow-boat trip down the Mekong River. Our boat was not nearly as large as the one here, but we saw dozens of families who live in houseboats like these all along the river.
Windmill: Sagres, Portugal
Sagres is a legendary surfing, windsurfing, and kitesurfing spot on the west coast of Portugal’s Algarve region. We chose the first winding dirt road heading toward the ocean, having no idea what to expect, and found a beautiful surf beach with layers of coastal mountains sloping down to the ocean. Among the changing landscapes, we spotted this old windmill on our way out to Carrapateira.
