Mountain

You don't need to have caught sight of these four stunning mountains that line the Pacific Northwest to know what a unique cup set this is – but if you have, you'll appreciate what a well-crafted tribute they are to such a beautiful corner of the US.

Situated at 3,040 m (9,973 ft) on the summit of Gaislachkogl Mountain in Austria, the new James Bond-themed 007 Elements museum must be among the highest in the world. It has a striking concrete design and, interestingly, doesn't feature any heating at all, despite the extreme environment.

​Is it possible for a mountain retreat to both jut out of its hilltop home and blend in with the landscape at the same time? The recently completed Kumaon Hotel in the Indian Himalayas makes a pretty good fist of it.

The modular rooms making up Switzerland's Revier Mountain Lodge are designed to mimic the camper van experience. But the sum of these prefab wooden parts make for much more of a mountain chalet-style aesthetic.

During a hotel renovation in South Tyrol, Italy, the firm NOA installed a swimming pool that cantilevers 12 m (40 ft) above the ground. Definitely not suitable for those afraid of heights, it has a glass bottom section that's supposed to make the swimmer feel like they're floating in mid-air.

Some 2,118 m (6,948 ft) high up in the Triglav National Park in Slovenia's Julian Alps, an aging mountain shelter built in 1936 was recently decommissioned. Its replacement adds some important modern upgrades, including a tough aluminum shell and solar power.

Archaeus has constructed an interesting off-grid mountain shelter located at an altitude of 2,100 m (6,889 ft) within Romania's Southern Carpathians range. Călțun Shelter offers sanctuary to a local mountain rescue team and anyone else who needs it.

Slovenian architectural firm OFIS recently teamed up with AKT II engineers to create an innovative alpine shelter. Perched amid an extreme alpine environment, the modular shelter was broken down into three sections and flown into its new home by helicopter.

A small team of photographers has worked to produce a 365 gigapixel panorama of one of the world's tallest mountains. Shot over 15 days, the result is one of the most stunning composite images we've ever seen.

The result of a design-build workshop at Bergen School of Architecture headed by OPA Form architects' Espen Folgerø, Tubakuba Mountain Hub is an off-grid tiny cabin that's available to anyone to use, but is especially aimed at instilling kids with a sense of appreciation for nature.

Blink and you'll miss it, but what appears at first glance to be a large boulder is actually a tiny cabin that contains all the basics you'd need for a short stay in the mountains. The cabin is the work of Swiss firm Bureau A, and was recently installed in a sculpture park in the Swiss Alps.

Jarmund/Vigsnæs Arkitekter (JVA) recently completed the Rabot Tourist Cabin, a rugged cabin that shelters hikers in Norway's Okstindan mountain range, some 1,200 m (3,937 ft) above sea level.