Rammed earth walls built using soil from the desert site are wrapped in a protective weathered steel shell at this courtyard house near Phoenix by local firm Wendell Burnette Architects (+ slideshow). More about Desert Courtyard House by Wendell Burnette features rammed earth walls
This wooden community centre in the earthquake-affected Japanese town of Yamada, by Dutch studio Van Der Architects, features a semi-opaque glass wall and an artificial grass playground (+ slideshow). More about Timber community centre by Van Der Architects built in earthquake-hit Japanese town
Narrow strips of steel give an undulating facade to this renovated commercial block in Tokyo by Japanese firm Amano Design Office (+ slideshow). More about Amano Design Office wraps Tokyo office block with steel ribbons
As a Danish architect unveils plans for a snowflake-shaped floating hotel, Dezeen selects 13 of the most ridiculous, outrageous and unusual hotel designs we've ever published – including a flying whale, a person-sized bird's nest and a room that allows guests to sleep with the fishes (+ slideshow). More about 13 crazy hotel designs
News: Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava has completed a building with a cage-like exterior for the newly established Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland. More about Santiago Calatrava completes Florida Polytechnic University
News: property tycoon Donald Trump is to build his latest Trump Tower in Mumbai – a golden skyscraper designed by Singapore firm WOHA. More about Donald Trump to add golden Trump Tower to Mumbai skyline
Japanese firm Shinichi Ogawa & Associates added a glazed wall to the elongated facade of this house and gallery in Japan's Mie prefecture so the florist who owns it can look out into the forest (+ slideshow). More about Elongated gallery and house by Shinichi Ogawa creates a forest home for a florist
A circular sitting room in this Kuala Lumpur home by Malaysian architect Fabian Tan can be transformed into a sheltered outdoor terrace by sliding slatted timber walls along tracks in the floor and ceiling (+ slideshow). More about Sliding walls reveal a round living room at Fabian Tan's Voila House
This angular concrete hideaway by Australian studio Welsh + Major sits amongst the trees in the garden of a late-Victorian house in inner-city Sydney (+ slideshow). More about Concrete den by Welsh + Major nestles in a Sydney garden
This house extension in Melbourne by local studio Kennedy Nolan Architects is separated from the rest of the Edwardian property by a wall with a circular hole that children can climb through (+ slideshow). More about Punctured wall separates old from new at Westgarth House by Kennedy Nolan
Irish firm Donal Colfer Architects has renovated a Victorian terraced house in Dublin, adding an extension with a glazed ground floor and concrete mullions above (+ slideshow). More about Donal Colfer Architects adds concrete and glass extension to Dublin residence
Japanese studio K2YT has slotted courtyard gardens around the staircases and between the rooms of this four-storey house in Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Gardens are interspersed with rooms inside House-K by K2YT
Brazilian firm Studio Arthur Casas was invited to choose the location for a client's idyllic Rio de Janeiro residence, and selected a hillside plot facing out towards the ocean (+ slideshow). More about Casa AL by Studio Arthur Casas sits between a mountain and the ocean
Argentinian office Estudio Aire rested concrete volumes on top of each other to create a shaded overhang at the entrance to this house for an artist (+ slideshow). More about Stacked concrete volumes frame entrance to House M by Estudio Aire
News: a Dutch firm specialising in floating structures has unveiled plans for a hotel shaped like a snowflake with a glass roof so that guests can watch the Northern Lights while bobbing off the coast of Tromso in Norway. More about Snowflake-shaped hotel to float off the coast of Norway
Briefed to design a holiday home that feels like a campsite, Australian studio Dunn & Hillam Architects has completed a residence in New South Wales based on the old "dogtrot houses" of the American deep south (+ slideshow). More about Dunn & Hillam's Dogtrot House centres around an open-air corridor
News: construction is now underway on a building designed by Vietnamese firm Vo Trong Nghia Architects for a technical university near Hanoi, featuring a chequerboard facade of concrete slabs and tree-filled balconies (+ slideshow). More about Vo Trong Nghia's chequerboard university building gets going in Vietnam
This Montreal student housing block by Kanva is clad with concrete panels that are engraved with historic pictures of the site (+ slideshow). More about Edison Residence student housing by Kanva is clad with engraved concrete panels
The extension to this refurbished house in Australia includes a covered outdoor space built around the trunk of a large lemon-scented tree (+ slideshow). More about B.E. Architecture designs Sydney house extension around mature gum tree
Two clients joined forces to commission one building with two separate homes by Buenos Aires studio Hitzig Militello Arquitectos, which has been coloured grey to contrast with its neighbours (+ slideshow). More about Hitzig Militello Arquitectos combines two homes in one building in Buenos Aires