Architects John Friedman and Alice Kimm have stacked a concrete mass with sinuous cutouts into a hillside as a home for their family in Los Angeles, complete with a crane in the kitchen and an accessory dwelling unit. More about John Friedman and Alice Kimm include dining room crane in Los Angeles house
North Arrow Studio has completed a compact, corrugated metal accessory dwelling unit in East Austin's Chestnut neighbourhood featuring a custom, circular pivot window that is reminiscent of the round opening in a birdhouse. More about North Arrow Studio creates metal ADU in Austin to resemble a birdhouse
California studio Assembledge+ has created a two-storey accessory dwelling unit that features blue fibre-cement cladding and an asymmetrical gabled roof. More about Assembledge+ places blue ADU in backyard of Los Angeles bungalow
US startup Cosmic has created a solar-powered accessory dwelling unit that is built using a special construction process and generates far more electricity than it needs. More about Cosmic ADU is a "self-powered home" that uses no fossil fuels
Smart systems and salvaged materials feature in an accessory dwelling unit by architecture firm Tres Birds that city officials have designated as low-cost housing. More about Tres Birds uses timber and metal to create ADU alongside Boulder home
US architecture firm DUST has completed an accessory dwelling unit for a family in Marfa, Texas, who decided to relocate permanently during the coronavirus pandemic. More about DUST designs Marfa ADU for isolated desert living in Texas
Fibre cement panels and stainless steel are among the low-maintenance materials used by architectural practice TEAM to create an accessory dwelling unit in Michigan. More about TEAM designs Northwood ADU for a Michigan home's backyard
American practice Bunch Design has completed a colourful granny flat modelled on an oversized suit at the back of a home in Los Angeles, with sliding doors that enable it to become a single open space. More about Bunch Design adds colourful granny flat to a home in Los Angeles
A scalloped roofline defines this playful backyard studio that Los Angeles architects Byben & Skeens completed for a writer and filmmaker to have a "solitary space for creation". More about Scalloped parapet tops Byben & Skeens' whimsical studio in Los Angeles
New York architecture studio SO-IL has created Pebble House, a flower-shaped prefabricated house, for the Los Angeles Accessory Dwelling Units scheme. More about SO-IL designs prefabricated backyard home for Los Angeles
Seattle architecture firm SHED has designed this compact home for a couple who wanted to live in a smaller dwelling on their own property. More about SHED creates Alley Cat dwelling for Seattle backyard
University of Hawaii architecture graduate Joey Valenti has designed prefabricated and low-cost housing units made entirely from invasive albizia trees on the island of Oahu. More about Architecture grad makes affordable prefab homes from Hawaii's invasive trees
Prefabricated housing company Koto has designed a cabin-like ADU, or Accessory Dwelling Unit, that can be delivered to sites in San Jose, California in two weeks. More about Koto and Abodu launch tiny prefab ADUs for San Francisco Bay Area
American firms Wittman Estes and NODE have created a prefabricated accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, that is wrapped in charred wood and runs entirely on solar power. More about Wittman Estes and NODE use prefab elements to create rentable backyard cottage in Seattle
The Los Angeles Design Festival is spotlighting architect-designed granny flats with a series of tours this week. Here are look at four of the city's best. More about Four granny flats in Los Angeles that make the most of a back garden
Designer Yves Behar has launched a range of prefabricated accessory dwelling units that aim to tackle rising house costs and increase urban density in California. More about Yves Behar debuts fully customisable tiny homes
Design-build firm Cover, which uses computer algorithms to create customised backyard dwellings for homes, has completed its first project: a small studio in Los Angeles. More about Cover designs backyard studio in LA using computer algorithms