Shelter is one of the basic human needs. The best homes turn that need into art. From an architectural bunker buried deep beneath the ground to a futuristic shipping container home in the Californian desert.
Here is a selection of the most beautiful homes ever built by some of the most masterful architects who have ever worked.

Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the Sun Valley Starship is one of the world’s most unique and breathtaking homes. Positioned in Blaine County, Idaho, in the heart of the state’s ski zone, the modern masterpiece was constructed in 2020 and was described as a “piece of art” by the listing agent.

The custom-built compound spans a staggering 12,550 square feet and has a distinctive appearance akin to a UFO, combining a palette of concrete, steel and glass throughout. Inside, the spacious and light-filled rooms have been finished with rustic, reclaimed wood salvaged from the Pacific Northwest. Structural elements have been left exposed throughout too, giving the interior a cool industrial feel.

The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property took more than a decade to construct and every room benefits from quirky architectural touches. While the main open-plan living room boasts a large circular hole in its 25-foot ceiling, the sunken courtyard garden provides the house with a bunker-like quality.

There’s no end of luxe amenities either, from a rooftop pool to an outdoor amphitheatre, equestrian facilities and a heated car garage. If you have just over $5.9 million (£4.4m) going spare, then this one-of-a-kind architectural gem is currently up for grabs via Compass. And since it was originally listed for just less than $10 million (£7.4m), we’d say that was a bit of a bargain!

Suspended 131 feet above Fairhaven Beach in Australia, the Pole House is one of the most iconic cliff houses in the world. With 180-degree views of the sea, it benefits from vistas across the Great Ocean Road, which is one of the world’s most picturesque stretches.

Thought to be the most photographed house in the region and maybe even in the whole of Australia, the Pole House is supported by steel stilts and accessed via a 76-foot-long walkway that’s lined with glass balustrades.

Originally built in the 1970s by Frank Dixon, the Pole House recently underwent a luxurious renovation. The makeover of the previously crumbling building took around five years and was overseen by Franco Fiorentini from F2 Architecture. Completed in 2014, the new house features floor-to-ceiling retractable glass walls and a modern interior.

The one-bedroom, one-bathroom home is one of Australia’s most amazing homes and is fitted out with all the mod cons, including smart lighting and heat-sensitive taps. The bedroom walls are clad in stylish burnt ash panels, while out on the balcony you can glimpse 30 miles of uninterrupted coastline.

Nick Fisher and Jo Jordan-Fisher built this remarkable farmhouse in Suffolk, England, with the couple undertaking most of the work themselves. The ultimate self-build, the remarkable residence looks like something out of a fairytale.

Finished in 2011, beautiful Belle Grove Farmhouse, otherwise known as the Dragon House, was just under four years in the making. Now an amazing rental space, the property offers holidaymakers a truly unforgettable stay.

With their eclectic taste, the couple sourced all the building materials themselves, from fine French oak to quality marble from India. The characterful space is packed with fabulous antiques and unusual objects from all around the world.

The home has two ensuite bedrooms, while an unusual twisted elm tree trunk in the centre of the property supports the staircase. Unsurprisingly, this unique home has gathered several prestigious accolades over the years and in December 2011 the farmhouse was declared the overall winner of​ The Daily Telegraph Homebuilding and Renovating Awards.

Designed by Patkau Architects, this spectacular oceanside home in British Columbia, Canada was completed in 2012 for homeowners Eric Peterson and Christina Munck. The daring house, which juts out over a cliff, is perched a staggering 44 feet above the ocean.

Located on the idyllic Quadra Island, the cutting-edge property features 4,500 square feet of interior space and has won a number of awards including the RIBA Award for International Excellence in 2016 and Canada’s Governor General’s Medal in Architecture in 2014.

Minimalist perfection, the home’s design is an exercise in architectural restraint. Several uncluttered open-plan living spaces surround the zen-like shallow pool at the centre of the house, while interior furniture has been carefully selected to complement the streamlined aesthetic.

Wonderful floor-to-ceiling windows offer breathtaking views of the Pacific, while a ribbon of skylights frames the surrounding treetops, filling the interiors with plenty of light. There’s also a glass-walled terrace from which to savour the vistas – rural retreats don’t get much more spectacular than this.

This psychedelic house, available to rent on Airbnb, has been ingeniously built into a cliff face in Salobreña in Spain. Perched high above the Mediterranean sea, the home features an unusual form and scale-like cladding.

Built to respond to the local climate, the shell of the house has been specially designed to keep the interiors cool in the summer months by cleverly regulating the flow of air. Spread over two storeys, the house sits at a 42-degree incline and almost resembles a cave protruding out of the landscape.

Inside, the main level of the home is multi-tiered and features a kitchen, a large living room and a spectacular terrace that cantilevers over the cliff edge. The patio accommodates a stunning swimming pool that boasts breathtaking ocean vistas.

The stunning coastal views are unhindered both from the balcony and within the property. The owners wanted the house to frame the main attraction – the Mediterranean Sea. With a calming view like that every day, we’d be hard-pressed to ever leave the house again!

Built mostly underground, Ktima House in Antiparos, Greece is a subterranean bolthole designed in a zig-zag shape and hidden away on a secluded, private part of the small island. The name Ktima means ‘plot with fertile land’, fitting since the house is casually tucked into the site’s green slopes.

The construction used the plot’s existing walls to create a concealed residence staggered over two levels. Featured on the UK TV programme The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes, the dwelling is available to rent via Oliaros Properties.

Designed by Camilo Rebelo and Susana Martins, the home’s site spans just over 10,000 square feet and the interior boasts a subtle calming colour palette with plenty of glass doors and windows that allow light to flood in.

Ktima House also features this incredible infinity-edge pool that clings to the cliff edge – the perfect spot to soak up sunset views in the evening. Just 500 feet from the beach, it really is the perfect paradise.

Conceived by London designer James Whitaker of Whitaker Studio, work on this futuristic shipping container home is set to begin in the not-so-distant future. Nestled in the arid desert of California’s Joshua Tree National Park, the realistic renderings of the residence are almost otherworldly, depicting a sprawling white structure comprised of a number of carefully angled container units.

Encompassing 2,000 square feet, the interior will feature unusual geometries and jutting angles that will carve out unconventional living areas. Thoughtfully positioned picture windows will allow light to pour inside the property, drawing the desert landscape inside the minimalistic spaces.

The floor plan will include three ensuite bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. Much thought has been put into the orientation of the shipping units in order to protect the residents’ privacy and maximise the light flow throughout the contemporary home.

Adjacent to the main structure will be a garage with a canopy of solar panels that will generate the home’s electricity. Once complete, the unique residence will be the home of a film producer – we can’t imagine a more inspiring setting for them to hone their artistic vision.

Designed for the post-pandemic world, this home was envisioned by Sergey Makhno Architects. Built like a bunker, the concrete home is much more than a basic fortress, featuring a cosy interior that’s a perfect hideout in the event of global disaster. Located in a clearing of trees at the base of Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains, the luxury bunker even boasts a helipad to allow residents to easily access the home.

Entered via a spiral staircase, the subterranean home sits 49 feet underground and has been designed to be entirely self-sufficient should the apocalypse strike. The underground layer is surrounded by an evacuation ring that can be accessed from almost every room if residents need to make a hasty escape.

With a series of subterranean living spaces, the home has been designed to accommodate up to three families and includes illusions of nature and the great outdoors, thanks to floor-to-ceiling digital screens and faux ivy in one of the bedrooms.

The property also has a professional-grade kitchen, a garden room dedicated to growing fresh produce, as well as a medical room, a space for walking pets and a home gym so residents can keep up their fitness levels. Deeper underground, the main level is home to the water treatment and generator systems, along with a well that supplies the property’s water. It really is a billionaire bolthole!

With a living room that floats nearly 30 feet above the ground, this glass-fronted holiday home in New York was built as a weekend retreat for Thomas Gluck, one of the principals of architects at Gluck+, the practice behind the innovative structure.

The elevated design is a stairway up to the treetops, minimising the impact of the property on the woodland site by keeping the ground-level footprint to a minimum. The home’s first three levels each accommodate a bedroom and a bathroom. Glazed on every side to showcase the bright yellow staircase, dark green panels frame the windows and help to camouflage the building.

Spreading out like the surrounding forest canopy, the fourth floor houses the communal living spaces. Split into four different zones, the airy space has a 39-foot window that spans the entire length of the floor.

The residence’s top level is home to a secluded roof terrace with a wooden deck, which benefits from stunning views out over the lake and the peaks of the Catskill Mountains in the distance. We can’t think of a better spot to watch the sun go down at the end of a long day.

Aptly named, Wave House is a contemporary masterpiece that has to be seen to be believed. Located in the neighbourhood of Venice in Los Angeles, California, the weird and wonderful residence was completed in 2016 and boasts an eye-catching visual aesthetic unlike any other…

The spectacular modern home spans 5,700 square feet and comes equipped with five bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as large, open-plan living areas that spill out onto the garden. Wall-to-wall glass, generous ceilings and a crisp colour palette result in bright and inviting rooms.

The kitchen is streamlined and minimalist, a stark contrast to the home’s bold metal exterior. Wave House was the brainchild of notable local artist Mario Romano and was inspired by the ebb and flow of the ocean. Now considered a local landmark, Romano used computer software to design some of the home’s notable features, including the 300 pieces of custom-cut aluminium used to cover the façade.

Romano also turned to computers to create some of the home’s interior details, including its wall patterns that were designed to mimic trees and animals. Outside, the swimming pool is enclosed by the home’s walls, which have been finished with a series of cut aluminum pieces, shaped like unruffled feathers. Wave House was last listed in 2017 for $5.2 million (£3.9m) – we can’t say we’re surprised that this work of art commanded such a high asking price.