From an isolated house in a Californian nature reserve, to a rural house in China that encourages villagers to be self-sufficient, here are 10 off-grid homes where people are living sustainably. More about Ten off-grid homes for a self-sufficient lifestyle
Andreia Garcia Architectural Affairs and Diogo Aguiar Studio have hidden a bathroom, bed and kitchen within the walls of this timber-clad holiday home in Guimarães, Portugal. More about Timber walls disguise secret spaces within tiny Pavilion House in Portugal
Most houses are designed with regular, rectangular-shaped floor plans. Here are 10 designs that ignore convention and are instead shaped like sausages, stars and even eyeballs. More about Ten houses with weird and wonderful floor plans
Architecture studio Naturehumaine has designed a minimal plywood stair with a children's play nook for this house in Montreal, as part of its renovation and extension. More about Plywood features in Montreal house renovation and extension by Naturehumaine
California studio SPF Architects has wrapped the top level of this three-winged residence in Bel Air with glazing to provide ample sunlight and views of its hilly surrounds in Los Angeles. More about Three-pronged Orum Residence by SPF Architects offers sweeping views of Bel Air
Vo Trong Nghia Architects has covered the roof and facade of Breathing House in Ho Chi Minh City with a canopy of climbing plants to create private outdoor spaces. More about Plant curtain drapes over Breathing House by Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Argentinian architect Luciano Kruk specialises in building with raw, unadorned concrete. Here are five residences, built among Argentina's woodlands and sandy dunes, that make the most of the material. More about Five concrete houses in Argentina by Luciano Kruk Arquitectos
Cork Screw House, designed by Rundzwei Architekten in Berlin, has a facade and roof clad with waste cork from the wine industry. More about Rundzwei Architekten wraps Berlin house in cork
A double-height living room stands at the centre of this brutalist house, completed by architectural studio Patisandhika and designer Dan Mitchell in Bali, Indonesia. More about Patisandhika and Daniel Mitchell complete A Brutalist Tropical Home in Bali
A lantern-like light box and inverted pyramidal roof draws light into the interior of the Kloof 119A home, dramatically sited overlooking Table Mountain and Cape Town. More about SAOTA designs home around panoramic Cape Town views
American studio Klopf Architecture has overhauled a low-slung, plywood-clad home in northern California, which was built by visionary developer Joseph Eichler following the second world war. More about Klopf Architecture updates mid-century Eichler home in Silicon Valley
A modernist house built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in Hertfordshire, England, has been given a new life with a renovation by architecture studio Coppin Dockray. More about Coppin Dockray mixes contemporary and mid-century in renovation of Jørn Utzon's Ahm House
Architecture studio Taller Paralelo has overhauled an abandoned building in Mexico City to create this residence, which is arranged around a courtyard with a reflective pool. More about Taller Paralelo turns abandoned Mexico City building into Cachai House
Stacked volumes made of steel, concrete, wood and glass form this family home in California, which architecture firm Shubin Donaldson created for an industrial designer. More about Shubin Donaldson wraps wooden screens around Skyline Residence in Santa Barbara
American artist Doug Aitken has installed a ranch-style house clad in mirrors in the snow-covered mountains of Gstaad, Switzerland. More about Doug Aitken's mirrored Mirage house installed in Swiss alps
Architect Guilherme Machado Vaz has completed the geometric House in Afife, in Portugal, which appears as a solid volume when its shutters are closed. More about Guilherme Machado Vaz designs geometric white house as "abstract sculpture"
Canadian firm ACDF Architecture has designed a lake house on a sloping site in Quebec, with a protruding terrace so residents can get even closer to the water's edge. More about La Barque lake house by ACDF overlooks Quebec countryside
Living spaces at this house in the Indian city of Chandigarh are distributed around a full-height courtyard that allows natural light and breezes to reach rooms arranged around its perimeter. More about Charged Voids builds stone-clad Chandigarh home Residence 145 around courtyard
Pennsylvania architecture studio ISA has designed a slender five-storey house in a developing Philadelphia neighbourhood, as a housing prototype for tiny vacant lots. More about ISA's Tiny Tower residence fills leftover plot in Philadelphia
Argentinian architect Luciano Kruk has created a family home that follows Mies van Der Rohe's "conception of architecture as the expression of structure". More about Concrete and glass form Luciano Kruk's Casa BLQ in Buenos Aires