Taking cues from Japanese gardens, landscape architecture firm Surface Design has created a series of planted terraces for a renovated home in San Francisco (+ slideshow). More
Each floor of this timber-clad family home on an Amsterdam peninsula features wide windows and steel-framed balconies, offering views out over the IJ river (+ slideshow). More
A long, horizontal block is hoisted above the ground on a collection of concrete pods, providing views of paddy fields and mountains for the home, gallery and studio of an embroidery artist in Japan's Shiga Prefecture (+ slideshow). More
Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter has developed a conceptual house with an integrated outdoor shower, which could be built without permission thanks to a recent change in Sweden's planning rules. More
Located on a cliffside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, this house by Cadaval & Solà-Morales is a cluster of 10 cubes that are each oriented towards a different viewpoint (+ slideshow). More
The industrial aesthetic of this metal-clad house in Tasmania is interrupted by a timber-lined hole through its centre that creates sheltered terraces on either side of the kitchen (+ slideshow). More
These three brick buildings, featuring deep-set windows and internal courtyards, have been arranged by B.E. Architecture around a cobbled lane in the Australian town of Windsor (+ slideshow). More
A doll's house provided the inspiration for this extension to a house outside Melbourne, which features a gabled profile, a simple gridded layout and a transparent rear facade (+ slideshow). More
A pair of gymnast's rings dangle from the ceiling of this Montreal home, which has been renovated by local architects Naturehumaine to create a new living space for the client's athletic children (+ slideshow) More
Sections of brick, zinc, timber and concrete highlight the intentionally irregular form of this Sydney residence – a result of myriad planning restrictions (+ slideshow). More
Norwegian architect Aslak Haanshuus has created a cross-shaped house by extending a pair of old lakeside cabins so that they overlap (+ slideshow). More
Rotterdam architect Antonia Reif has renovated and extended a modest 1960s bungalow, creating a two-storey living room and a generous bedroom that both open out to the garden (+ slideshow). More
A mountain setting prompted the design of this conceptual wooden residence, which features two cuboid volumes rotated at 45 degrees (+ slideshow). More
American studio Anmahian Winton Architects chose pale wood and dark zinc for the facade of this house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to contrast with its more traditional neighbours (+ slideshow). More
This family home nestled against the remnants of an ancient stone cottage on the Welsh coast features a composition inspired by the client's interest in abstract art (+ slideshow). More
London-based architects Edgley Design used stainless-steel panels more typically applied as roofing to make this ageing Surrey house weather-tight. More
Swedish firm Tham & Videgård has attempted to design Sweden's most desired house – a mash-up of the nation's traditional red-painted timber cottages and a functional box. More
Smooth grey render covers the bumpy concrete walls of Villa Mörtnäs, a family home built into a granite rock face in a Stockholm neighbourhood (+ slideshow). More
This holiday home in the Scottish Highlands by Glasgow-based Dualchas Architects features a glazed base that hugs a gravelly slope and a cantilevered upper level that stretches out towards the sea (+ slideshow). More
Tasked with designing a house that doesn't take over its whole site, Swiss architect Christian von Düring created a timber-clad upper storey that straddles two smaller ground-level structures (+ slideshow). More