MAAJ Architectes placed a cross-shaped courtyard for growing medicinal plants at the heart of a timber-framed health centre in the French town of Taverne. More about Timber health centre surrounds courtyard of medicinal plants
A courtyard lined in pale Omani stone and with a fountain and trees sits at the centre of a pair of houses in Kuwait City by Studio Toggle. More about Houses in Kuwait interlock around sunken stone courtyard
Mexican firm Reyes Rios + Larrain Arquitectos has covered the walls of an apartment complex in Tulum in stucco that is pigmented pink to contrast pockets of greenery. More about Pink Tulum residences surround central courtyard and pool
A brick holiday home in Tangshan, China designed by Arch Studio has four external terraces partially sheltered under a pitched roof. More about Arch Studio surrounds holiday house in China with covered courtyards
Architect Bernardo Richter took cues from a holiday home by Alvar Aalto when designing this brick house in Curitiba, Brazil. More about Bernardo Richter arranges his brickwork house in Brazil around a courtyard
Architecture studio Waterfrom Design has completed the Tea Community Centre, a multipurpose building in Xiamen, China, that is partially concealed beneath the surface of a pool of water. More about Waterfrom Design builds tea house with a basement hidden beneath a water pool
Mexican firm Studio Arquitectos has created a residential apartment complex in popular Mexican holiday resort Tulum, featuring shared courtyards and traditional Mayan materials. More about Studio Arquitectos creates holiday home-like apartments for Tulum's permanent residents
The pale brick volume of the Changjiang Art Museum by Vector Architects includes a raised public square and footbridge for the city of Taiyuan. More about Vector Architects creates public space with Changjiang Art Museum
Three internal courtyards in a timber-clad bungalow designed by Osaka-based practice Arbol in Akashi, Japan, provide space for growing food and drying clothes. More about Japanese house has hidden courtyards for growing fruit and drying laundry
Japanese practice Gosize has combined an architects' studio with a house in a concrete frame with large openings around a small courtyard with a simple pond in Hyōgo, Japan. More about Gosize designs its own home studio in Japan around a minimalist pond
Built over the Louisiana Purchase restaurant, The Louisiana apartment complex in San Diego is constructed around a series of open courtyards and expansive timber-clad decks. More about Jeff Svitak arranges San Diego apartment block around open courtyards and decks
Greenery-filled courtyards and waffle ceilings bring light to the interiors of this concrete restaurant, which Vector Architects has erected near the shore of Beidaihe, China. More about Indoor courtyards interrupt Restaurant y Sea in northeast China
Tomohiro Hata Architect and Associates built Loop House around a planted central courtyard in pursuit of peace and quiet for a dense urban site in Hyogo, Japan. More about Tomohiro Hata's Loop House faces inwards onto a central courtyard
Metal shingles cover the folding forms of the Park Legend Kindergarten in Chengdu, China, built by Challenge Design to mimic the peaks of nearby mountains. More about Challenge Design's metal-clad kindergarten folds around a courtyard
Shanghai studio Archi-Union Architects mimics traditional Chinese calligraphy in its latest project, a rural cultural centre in Sichuan province, featuring a sweeping tiled roof that flows into a central courtyard. More about Archi-Union references calligraphy in curving tiled roof of Inkstone House cultural centre
A courtyard divides this house that Pitsou Kedem Architects has built in the Savyon district of Israel, but elevated walkways and ramps connect the two sides. More about Bridges link two sides of Split House in Israel by Pitsou Kedem Architects
Hutong Filter is a studio added to a house in one of Beijing's traditional hutongs by architecture office Zai with pixel-style shingles and timber frames connecting to a communal courtyard. More about Zai's Hutong Filter features a pixelated shingle wall overlooking a traditional courtyard
Peter Barber Architects has arranged a block of 26 shared-ownership homes around a central courtyard in Stratford, London. More about Peter Barber Architects reinterprets Victorian back-to-back housing in London
Japanese studio Tato Architects has built a house in the town of Sonobe, Japan, with a sunroom that can be opened up to the garden by sliding open a huge corrugated polycarbonate wall. More about Huge sliding door reveals courtyard at House in Sonobe by Tato Architects
The Arvo Pärt Centre, which is dedicated to the Estonian composer, is deep in an pine forest and has no main entrance or exit. More about Arvo Pärt Centre by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos is surrounded by Estonian forest