Cutting-edge architectural dwellings for holiday rent

We’ve written about holiday rental houses that let consumers try out stargazing and farming; at the opposite end of the spectrum, perhaps, is a new UK-based project that aims to let them experience world-class architecture instead. Reportedly the brainchild of writer and architectural critic Alain de Botton—and with the Swiss ambassador to the UK on its board of advisors—Living Architecture hopes to offer holiday renters the experience of living, eating and sleeping in a space designed using outstanding architectural practices. Toward that end, it has commissioned established and emerging world-class architects to build houses around the UK. Peter Zumthor, for example, is currently working on a hilltop retreat designed for periods of sustained work and reflection. That house will be on the edge of Dartmoor, according to Building Design, while the “Balancing Barn” in Suffolk—now in the works from Dutch architectural firm MVRDV—will reportedly be the first to be built. Filling out the roster of five are The Long House, Shingle House and In-Between House—designed by Hopkins Architects, NORD Architecture and Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects, respectively. All will be available for holiday rentals beginning in the spring of 2010. Offering a sort of high-end tryvertising along with an educational experience that’s sure to create status stories aplenty, the Living Architecture project is in some ways reminiscent of the pop-up Greenhouse by Joost cafe that was erected in Melbourne last year to demonstrate sustainable practices. It’s better to show than to tell, as the saying goes—how can *your* brand demonstrate its possibilities in a way that will impress, educate and get consumers talking…? (Related: Test-sleeping for homebuyers.) Spotted by: Rinske Eekhof