Next up in our review of 2020, we recall 10 of the most impressive and unusual houses featured on Dezeen this year, including a sculptural Chilean residence and a reconfigurable home in Tokyo.
House in Los Vilos, Chile, by Office of Ryue Nishizawa
An undulating, board-marked concrete roof shelters this Chilean house that Pritzker Prize-winning architect Ryue Nishizawa positioned beside the Pacific Ocean.
Its sculptural form mirrors the contours of its rocky site and the dips in its undulations are used in place of partitions, segmenting the dwelling into three distinct areas.
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The Red Roof, Vietnam, by TAA Design
TAA Design's innovative design for The Red Roof house in Vietnam landed it the title of Rural House of the Year and Architecture Project of the Year at the Dezeen Awards 2020.
It is distinguished by its bright, stepped roof that incorporates large planters used to grow vegetables for the local community, which the Dezeen Awards jury described as a "humble gesture that has a very powerful reach".
Find out more about The Red Roof ›
Over 41,000 tiles were used to clad Bumpers Oast, a quirky house that ACME designed to evoke hop-drying kilns found throughout the Kent countryside.
It comprises five tall towers, each filled with large, round rooms. At their peaks are dramatic cone-shaped sleeping spaces enveloped by plywood shingles and lit by openable skylights.
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Casa Mérida, Mexico, by Ludwig Godefroy
This concrete house occupies an 80-metre-long site in Mérida, Yucatán, and was designed by Ludwig Godefroy to pay homage to the city's Maya heritage.
Among its key features is its long, fragmented layout that is interspersed with outdoor spaces. This references a Sacbe, an ancient Mayan road system, while naturally ventilating the interiors.
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Landaburu Borda, Spain, by Jordi Hidalgo Tané
Jordi Hidalgo Tané embedded a spacious concrete annexe within the hillside when renovating and extending Landaburu Borda, an old Spanish dwelling overlooking the Navarra mountains.
To ensure it is subordinate to this dramatic setting, the extension follows the contours of the site and is accessed via an understated glass corridor that extends from the house.
Find out more about Landaburu Borda ›
Mole House, UK, by Adjaye Associates
Adjaye Associates overhauled a derelict dwelling in London to create the textured, bunker-like home and studio of artist Sue Webster.
It has multiple entrance routes and a concrete basement, introduced by Adjaye Associates as a nod to the building's weird past that involved its former owner, the infamous Mole Man, illegally digging a network of tunnels beneath it.
Find out more about Mole House ›
House with a greenhouse, Czech Republic, by RicharDavidArchitekti
A polycarbonate greenhouse containing a sea of cacti crowns this single-storey home, completed by RicharDavidArchitekti for a family living in the town of Chlum.
Its eaves overhang a timber terrace that folds around the dwelling to provide access into each of the rooms, as well as panoramic views of a surrounding orchard.
Find out more about House with a greenhouse ›
Daita2019, Japan, by Suzuko Yamada
Suzuko Yamada enclosed the front of this Tokyo house with an adaptable scaffold of steel pipes into which a series of platforms are slotted.
Designed to support the changing needs of the owner, this structure can be reconfigured by simply by clamping or unclamping different pipes, or expanded with additional elements including rails for drying clothes.
Find out more about Daita2019 ›
House in Samambaia, Brazil, by Rodrigo Simão
A huge scooped roof sits atop this stripped-back home that Brazilian architect Rodrigo Simão built in Samambaia for himself, his wife and children.
Floor-to-ceiling windows frame its tactile interiors that are open in plan and filled with recycled elements, an exposed white-painted steel structure and board-marked concrete.
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La Torre Bianca, Italy, by Lorenzo Grifantini
A cluster of white high-ceilinged volumes and a 12-metre-high tower define La Torre Bianca, a pared-back Italian dwelling designed by Lorenzo Grifantini for himself and his family.
The volumes are unified by a low-lying boundary wall that offers the family privacy and conceals a large open courtyard that contains a pool and an outdoor dining space.
Find out more about La Torre Bianca ›