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In the Saltspring Island home designed by RUF's Sean Pearson and Alyssa Schwann, interior spaces such as the kitchen are aligned to feel as if they extend into the ocean.

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At night, the exterior glazing that opens up to the seafront becomes a luminescent jewel box.

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The relatively small footprint of the Saltspring Island house belies its sense of spaciousness, and everywhere the outside comes in, with the built environment bleeding into the natural.

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The millworkers 'understood that everything had to be perfectly flush and aligned – not slapped up and covered with mouldings,' architect Sean Pearson says.

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For the Nike Football Training Centre in Soweto, South Africa, the RUF team used a palette of local materials that included sandstone, Saligna timber, concrete and steel.

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At the Nike centre, there is an absence of dark, hidden spaces, and site lines are everywhere so 'no one feels like they’re being watched,' architect Sean Pearson says.

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The centre was conceived as a solid block with a light wrap of timber; articulated slices allow sunshine to penetrate at key points.

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