‘Off the Grid’: remote but refined homes in North America

Henry Island Residence, Washington State by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, cover of Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames & Hudson

Henry Island Residence, Washington State by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, features on the cover of Dominic Bradbury's 'Off the Grid'

(Image credit: Aaron Leitz / Thames & Hudson)

Acclaimed author Dominic Bradbury has turned his practiced eye to one of the most intriguing of all domestic design categories – the cabin. However, Off the Grid: Houses for Escape Across North America (Thames & Hudson) is no paean to hairshirt austerity or rudimentary residences. Instead, this is a lavish collection of houses designed to maximise their privileged position across a variety of North American wildernesses, from forests to far-off coastlines, deserts, hills and dunes.

Off the Grid homes in North America

Folly, Joshua Tree National Park, California by Cohesion Studio, from Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames &amp; Hudson — Folly, Joshua Tree National Park, California by Cohesion Studio

The result is a portfolio of 42 contemporary projects, designed by foreign firms as well as North American architects from across the continent. Divided into three broad categories (Countryside & Forest, Waterside & Coast, and Hillside & Mountain), the only real unifying factor is location; these are houses without access to traditional services or facilities, and therefore have a special and intense relationship with their surroundings.

Off-Grid Guest House, California by Anacapa Architecture and Willson Design, from Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames &amp; Hudson — Off-Grid Guest House, California by Anacapa Architecture and Willson Design

This factor is a matter of necessity, not just a pose, and although solar arrays and wells are featured extensively, some of the projects are far more experimental and grungy, ranging from a cabin for surfers to the High Plains Prototype, built by Urs Peter Flueckinger and Texas Tech University, and the compact Klein A45 cabin by BIG and Søren Rose.

Thatch House, Eleuthera, Bahamas by Brillhart Architecture, from Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames &amp; Hudson — Thatch House, Eleuthera, Bahamas by Brillhart Architecture

As a result, scale also varies widely, from the aforementioned one-room cabins to fully equipped second homes with guest houses and pools. The book includes work from a wide range of architects, including established studios like Bjarke Ingels’s BIG, IwamotoScott Architecture, Eggleston Farkas, KieranTimberlake, Olson Kundig and Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, to smaller, lesser-known practices.

Lakeside Chalet, Quebec, Canada by Atelier Schwimmer, from Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames &amp; Hudson — Lakeside Chalet, Quebec, Canada by Atelier Schwimmer

Off the Grid serves as both an inspirational manual for new ways to live sympathetically with nature, and yet another way for the perpetually inquisitive to see how others live.

Fogo Island Shed, Newfoundland by Saunders Architecture, from Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames &amp; Hudson — Fogo Island Shed, Newfoundland by Saunders Architecture (also behind the Fogo Island Inn)

Off the Grid: Houses for Escape Across North America, Dominic Bradbury, Thames & Hudson, £35 / $45, ThamesandHudsonUSA.com, also available from Amazon and Waterstones

Gambier House, British Columbia, Canada, by Office of McFarlane Biggar, from Off the Grid, Dominic Bradbury, Thames &amp; Hudson — Gambier House, British Columbia, Canada, by Office of McFarlane Biggar

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.