In a world that is crazy in terms of speed, cheapness and scalability, these architects are making an extreme move; they are decelerating. They are not designing to produce in large numbers, suburban repetition, architectural copy-pasting, and Instagram glitz. These luxury residential designers oppose the oppression of uniformity.

They are designing homes of the kind that are not only emotional homes, but also architectural marvels. These are not houses. They’re heirlooms. They are places in which walls talk, and the silence is an issue. Poetic concrete by Tadao Ando and sensual masterpieces by Peter Marino, these designers are in their own league, not only in talent, but also in the speed of art.

The majority of them undertake fewer than five projects per year. Some, just one or two. Why? The fact that you can not mass-produce meaning. And with homes with souls, less appears to be more.

Here are 5 creative architects who have blown us away with their iconic designs. What makes their work one of a kind? You will find the answer here!

Peter Marino: The Tailor of Texture and Power

You would never have Peter Marino work on a house. You hire him for a statement. Marino has been known to design houses that are both theatre-like and architectural in his use of black leather, silver chains, and museum-worthy taste. Having a background in art curation, he can blend sculpture, antiques, rare materials, and commissioned art into very sensual environments.

And all this leads to homes that resemble their own personal museums in which they can reside, and his clients include Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Dior, which means that they are highly discriminating, provocative, and beauty-driven people. His houses may take years to be built. Not that he is a slow artist, but because work is always to be done. And Peter Marino? He never rushes to greatness

Tadao Ando: Minimalism that Moves the Soul

In case architecture can speak, it will talk as Tadao Ando. Ando constructs homes, which are not so much about extravagance as inner tranquillity with his trademark poured concrete wall, open courtyards, and transcendent light. Through Zen philosophy, he has viewed architecture as a spiritual experience, as a form of self-reflection by the use of form.

The features of his work include the poetic nature of using natural light and blending of structures with the landscape, which creates an overall harmony with the landscape. To handle him is to give in to discipline. He has notoriously rejected clients who did not appreciate the integrity of his vision. His houses are not filled with luxurious materials, but there is a better thing that is provided by the houses.

They provide calmness, quietness and sublimeness. Isn’t that a real luxury today? Every shadow has a role. All rays of light are planned. The homes by Tadao Ando are homes where people will find substance rather than ornamentation.

SAOTA: Where Landscape and Luxury Meet

Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects expand SAOTA. This pioneering company, which is headquartered in Cape Town but constructs all over the world, creates homes cinematic in magnitude and emotionally touching in experience. Imagine cliff haciendas in Ibiza, sea-facing villas in Cape Town or high-tech villas in the Middle East. These are not houses. They are wind and sea-carved sculptures.

The unique vision of SAOTA is inspired by Stefan Antoni, Philip Olmesdahl, Greg Truen, Phillippe Fouché, Mark Bullivant, Roxanne Kaye, Logen Gordon, Dani Reimers and Dominik George, a collection of brains who developed the iconic language of design. The architectures are some kind of mixture of ultra-modern material and natural environment.

Their huge glass windows, open terraces and infinity pools have become known to have no boundary between the indoor and the outdoor. Due to the complexity and creative zeal of the work involved in engineering, it takes months, even years, of finesse at home. The result? Residential homes that are more about the sight than the vision.

Jean Nouvel: The Philosopher Rebel of Architecture

Jean Nouvel does not make constructions. He develops philosophically provocative works that are enclosed in steel and light. Nouvel, the winner of the Pritzker Prize and the designer of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, has an image of breaking the standards and remaking the context and daring questions with each new project. His constructions go well with their surroundings.

All of his homes are site-specific to an extreme degree. He establishes a language of his own style. He studies the soil, the civilization, and the light and does not even draw a pin before that. The houses he constructs are not beautiful in the conventional way but rather smart, heartwarming and startling. Not many are brought into his world of intense conceptuality, and even those who succeed in doing so struggle to keep pace. But there are lucky ones, and they do get a house that not only keeps them housed, but it also talks.

Olson Kundig: Nature Favourite Architects

When you feel like having a house that breathes with the land, you call Olson Kundig. It is operated by Jim Olson and Tom Kundig, both architects. They are rugged and refined in their work based in Seattle, and very romantic. Imagine having forest cabin houses with crank windows, desert houses with canopy roofs and lakeside studios that resemble adult treehouses.

Their materials, such as weathered steel, reused wood, and concrete, do not stand up against the elements. They have renovated a 1960s building and added 50 new apartments to it. Their other accomplishment is the refurbishing of the iconic building of Seattle, the Space Needle, in 2018. Mechanical poetry is what distinguishes Olson Kundig.

Their houses are full of hand-hewn levers, gears and pivots that literally make the buildings move. Walls open. Ceilings shift. The architecture responds. They are houses where people wish to live and not to be independent of nature.

What is so precious in their houses? It is more than architecture; it is more of an ethos. This is due to the process of these architects, which restricts their projects. They require closeness, forbearance, and attention to detail in their work. The fact that their houses are worth millions, I mean, yes, they cost millions, but they are irreplaceable, is also what makes their homes priceless.

They are constructed on emotions, to fit on the land and to be built to last. These architects are very passionate. These are architects who are very passionate with a degree of dedication that cannot be compared in their profession. That is the reason they are in such demand, and yes, costly. These designers provide something radical in a time where architecture is becoming more generic, or even more algorithmic or ROI-driven. A house that has some meaning. And that, truly, is priceless.