Anemone tentacles moving beneath the surface of the ocean influenced the latticed facade of this student housing block by French studio Atelier Fernandez & Serres at an oceanic observatory in the eastern Pyrénées (+ slideshow). More about Student housing with a coral-inspired facade by Atelier Fernandez & Serres
Portuguese architect José Carlos Cruz claims to have built the world's first cork-clad hotel, located amongst the olive and cork trees of Portugal's Alentejo region (+ slideshow). More about José Carlos Cruz completes "world's first cork-clad hotel"
Swiss firm Haberstroh Schneider Architekten has extended a house in Basel by adding a chain of three rooms, creating a new semi-enclosed courtyard that is filled with stepping stones (+ slideshow). More about House extension with stepping stones leading inside by Haberstroh Schneider Architekten
Paris studio Marchi Architectes layered up timber slats of different thicknesses and proportions to give an irregular texture to the walls of this sunken house extension in Normandy, France (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber house extension hidden in the forest by Marchi Architectes
Portuguese studio Belém Lima Arquitectos has perched a pair of gabled cabins on the edge of a dam in northern Portugal to provide a public boathouse and cafe (+ slideshow). More about Cais Bagaúste by Belém Lima Arquitectos
Portuguese studio DNSJ.arq has completed a cluster of three white houses on the outskirts of a small town in southern Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Three houses in Meco by DNSJ.arq
A raw concrete interior is contained behind the white limestone facade of this townhouse in Lisbon by ARX Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Townhouse in Lisbon by ARX Portugal
Movie: a recently completed concrete house in São Paulo is depicted as a luxury home from the 1950s in the latest architecture film by Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan. More about Casa P by Studio MK27
This house by architect Marlene Uldschmidt has been built into the side of a hill in Portugal and features a vertical light well that links its upper and lower floors (+ slideshow). More about Casa 103 by Marlene Uldschmidt Architects
This house outside Lisbon by architects GGLL Atelier has a grey base that nestles into the landscape and an angular white upper level that follows the incline of the hill (+ slideshow). More about Quinta dos Alcoutins by GGLL Atelier
These seven woodland cabins are nestled amongst the trees of a park and spa in northern Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Eco-Resort Pedras Salgadas by Luís Rebelo de Andrade and Diogo Aguiar
Portuguese architect Miguel Marcelino has completed a rural family house with red concrete walls and three separate terraces. More about Three Courtyards House by Miguel Marcelino
Slideshow: following our earlier story about a university in the Moroccan desert with a sandy red exterior, here's a school of technology in the nearby town of Guelmim with walls covered in the same grainy render. More about Guelmim Technology School by Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani and Mohamed Amine Siana
The harsh sunlight in the Moroccan desert casts dramatic shadows across the sandy red walls of this university by architects Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani and Mohamed Amine Siana. More about Taroudant University by Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani and Mohamed Amine Siana
Slideshow: a curved concrete facade wraps around the front of this house by A2+ Arquitectos in Leiria, Portugal, with a large hole revealing the rectilinear house behind (photos by Fernando Guerra). More about Casa Xieira II by A2+ Arquitectos
Slideshow: in our second project this week by Madrid studio Exit Architects, the designers teamed up with architect Eduardo Delgado Orusco to create this civic and cultural centre inside a former prison in Palencia, Spain. More about Civic Centre in Palencia by Exit Architects and Eduardo Delgado Orusco
Slideshow: Madrid studio Exit Architects designed this concrete sculpture museum behind the retained facade of an old house in southern Spain. More about Easter Sculpture Museum by Exit Architects
Slideshow: Lisbon architects ARX Portugal and Stefano Riva have completed a top-heavy house in the village of Aldeia de Juso with a concrete upper storey settled over the glazed walls below. More about House in Juso by ARX Portugal and Stefano Riva
Portuguese studio SAMI Arquitectos have completed a blackened timber house on the hillside of a Portuguese island. More about C/Z House by SAMI Arquitectos
Fallen stars, glowing red dominoes and a vine-covered tree are some of the lights installed by artists, designers and architects in Lisbon this Christmas (photographs by Fernando Guerra). More about Lisbon Christmas Lights by Pedro Sottomayor, José Adrião and ADOC