One of the ultimate desires of humankind: living on the solitary edge between urban luxury and the embrace of nature. Houses on Sydney cliffs and rocks reflect this desire well. You might find your dream house among the next 27 buildings; many of them are true examples of exceptional architectural design and outstanding engineering.
The Cliff House, San Francisco, California (1896-1907)
Picture: Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library [clear]
The Cliff House, San Francisco, California, 2008
Picture: Eric Risberg/AP [clear]
Old house on the cliff on the left bank of Kura River, Tbilisi, Georgia, c1910
Picture: Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky/Library of Congress [clear]
The Kittatinny Hotel, overlooking the Delaware River, Pennsylvania, c1900
Picture: Library of Congress [clear]
House on a cliff on Hierro Island (Canary Islands, Spain)
Picture: JMN/Cover/Getty Images [clear]
The Mushroom House, designed by Dale Naegle in the 1960s. La Jolla, California
Picture: OaklandNative [clear]
The Holman House by Durbach Block (Dover Heights, Sydney)
Picture: Durbach Block [clear]
Robert Bruno’s Steel House near Lubbock, Texas
Picture: Robert Bruno [clear]
Town of Manarola, province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy
Picture: tonyduckles [clear]
Dogon Cliff Houses, Southeastern Mali.
Picture: David Holt London [clear]
Castellfollit de la Roca (Catalonia, Spain), a village perched atop a 50m high basalt crag
Picture: Wiros [clear]
Hanging Houses of Cuenca, Spain
Picture: G Travels [clear]
Meteora monasteries in Greece
Picture: Davide78 [clear]
House On The Rocks by Fran Silvestre Architects (Ayora, Valencia, Spain)
Picture: Fernando Alda/fransilvestrenavarro.com [clear]
The Leonard J. Malin Residence, aka Chemosphere, Los Angeles, California. Architect: John Lautner.
Picture: jrmyst [clear]
The Stahl House, Los Angeles, California. Architect: Pierre Koenig.
Picture: rward2008 [clear]
The Villa Amanzi by Original Vision Studio (Cape Sol, Phuket, Thailand)
Picture: Original Vision Studio [clear]
The Michael Gantert Residence, the last Pierre Koenig design (Hollywood, California)
Picture: jrmyst [clear]
The Monte Rosa Hut near Zermatt at the foot of Monte Rosa, at an altitude of 2795 metres, owned by the Swiss Alpine Club, inaugurated in 2009.
Picture: twiga269 [clear]
The Cliff House by Fearon Hay Architects, overlooking Rangitoto island and the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand
Picture: Patrick Reynolds/fearonhay.com [clear]
The Headland House by Fearon Hay Architects, Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Picture: Patrick Reynolds/fearonhay.com [clear]
The Sandy Bay Farm House by Fearon Hay Architects, Tututkaka coast, New Zealand
Picture: Patrick Reynolds/fearonhay.com [clear]
House on the Cliff by Fran Silvestre Architects, Calp, Spain
Picture: Diego Opazo/fransilvestrenavarro.com [clear]
Cliff House by Altius Architecture (Muskoka Lakes, Ontario, Canada)
Picture: Altius [clear]
Skeleton bay Cottage by Altius Architecture (Ontario, Canada)
Picture: Altius [clear]
The Cove 3 by Saota and Antoni Associates (Near Knysna, Western Cape Province, South Africa)
Picture: Saota [clear]
Vame by SAOTA (Yzerfontein, South Africa)
Picture: Saota [clear]