Stilts allow architects to build on difficult terrains, or to simply offer their clients better views of the surroundings. Recent examples include a woodland writer's cabin and a student-built viewing platform, while popular projects from the archive include a clifftop house near Sydney and an elevated tea house in Japan. See more buildings on stilts »
More about Today we like: buildings on stilts
Sheltered beneath an oversized roof, this tiny timber cabin by AA graduate Nozomi Nakabayashi stands on stilts among the oak trees of a wood in Dorset, England (+ slideshow). More about Nozomi Nakabayashi creates writer's hut on stilts in the Dorset woods
The sides of this 4.5 metre-high stilted cabin lift open to offer inhabitants an uninterrupted view of the Latvian landscape (+ slideshow). More about The Wild Thing is a "creature-like" cabin that stands tall above a Latvian wildflower meadow
The top two floors of this office for Nestlé Waters in Beirut projects out by 15 metres to create a clear route below for trucks to access the warehouse next door (+ slideshow). More about Nestlé Waters' Beirut office is top heavy to allow space for trucks to pass by
Shiny metal cladding and exposed ducting lend an industrial feel to this auditorium for a virtual-reality research centre in Portalegre, Portugal, by Eduardo Souto de Moura and Graça Correia (+ slideshow). More about Souto de Moura and Correia reference industrial dust collectors with auditorium in Portalegre
London Festival of Architecture 2015: wrapped around a tree trunk in east London's Hoxton Square, this translucent pod provides temporary office space intended to encourage workers into the borough's parks (+ slideshow). More about Pop-up office created around a tree trunk in London's Hoxton Square
A stainless-steel slide curls down through the interior of this elevated playhouse, which is topped by a crow's nest offering views over New York's Hudson River Valley (+ slideshow). More about Playhouse on stilts by Sharon Davis features a slide, a climbing frame and a lookout point
The blackened timber home of Bergen-based architect Todd Saunders is lifted above the ground on two podiums, sheltering a patch of garden and a swing set beneath the living room (+ slideshow). More about Todd Saunders' self-designed home is raised on stilts to cover outdoor areas
Slabs of concrete create sunshades that look like open shutters for the windows of this house in Argentina, designed by architect duo Santiago Carlos Viale and Daniella Beviglia (+ slideshow). More about House in La Rufina is a raw concrete residence elevated above the Argentinian landscape
This tiny two-room house, measuring just three metres wide, is raised above a grassy slope on metal legs in Hohenecken, Germany (+ slideshow). More about Micro house by Architekturbüro Scheder is raised off the ground on stilts
A metal staircase twists though a triangular well in one corner of this six-sided timber cabin by ALT Architekti, which is raised on stilts over a hillside in Central Bohemia (+ slideshow). More about Stilted woodland cabin by ALT Architekti boasts a spiralling metal staircase
This arched timber treehouse by German architect Andreas Wenning is supported by a network of steel joists and provides a guesthouse for an old cottage (+ slideshow). More about Treehouse Solling raised above an artificial lake on stilts
Japanese studio Alphaville raised the base of this Osaka house up on crooked stilts, revealing the complex arrangement of rooms, bridges and lightwells contained within (+ slideshow). More about Alphaville's Dig In the Sky house is made up of three blocks connected by bridges
MenoMenoPiu Architects says its concept to reinvigorate the Seine with a string of capsule homes on stilts could help prevent Paris from becoming a "city museum" (+ slideshow). More about MenoMenoPiu Architects proposes capsule hotel along the Seine
This muddy-toned timber house by Graz-based Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher Architekten is raised on stilts above a sloping site so that it overlooks a swimming pond (+ slideshow). More about Black house by Hammerschmid Pachl Seebacher is raised above a bathing lake
A white timber roof masks the upper storey of this Japanese house by Takeru Shoji Architects, but is raised on wooden stilts to reveal the pale timber facade of the lower level (+ slideshow). More about Takeru Shoji Architects tops a timber-clad Japanese house with a "big hat"
This timber-clad house along Australia's scenic Great Ocean Road has been raised above the ground to capture the best views of the ocean and provide shaded outdoor space beneath (+ slideshow). More about Great Ocean Road House by ITN Architects is raised on stilts to maximise ocean views
This charred timber cabin by Chilean studio DRAA is raised over a hillside on stilts to afford better views of the nearby mountains (+ slideshow). More about Charred Cabin by DRAA is a blackened timber shelter on stilts
Canadian architecture office Atelier Pierre Thibault has completed a lakeside house in a forest near Quebec, which is raised above its hillside site on thin metal stilts (+ slideshow). More about Atelier Pierre Thibault's Le Grand Plateau house is raised on stilts above a forest floor
Belgian studios Wil-Ma and Wastiau have collaborated on the design of an office building in Westerlo, near Antwerp, which looks like a house raised on angled stilts (+ slideshow). More about Brick office by Wil-Ma and Wastiau is raised on angled stilts to protect it from flooding