A strip of glazing separates the blocks of textured concrete and timber that make up this house designed by architecture studio Carvalho Araújo overlooking a valley in northern Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Carvalho Araújo nestles timber and board-marked concrete residence into Portuguese valley
A sliding screen can reveal or conceal a glass office that cantilevers from the concave face of this concept house by American studio Fixd Architecture/Design (+ slideshow). More about Retractable sunscreen sheaths glazed cantilever at Ventus House
Wooden walls integrate bookshelves, doorways, windows and a foldaway desk inside this family house in Geneva that has been renovated by local architect Aurélie Monet Kasisi (+ slideshow). More about Aurélie Monet Kasisi adds wooden walls with built-in storage to family home in Geneva
Gently undulating walls and a wavy roof enclose this family home in northern Belgium by Office O Architects, which projects two broad windows over a secluded garden to the rear (+ slideshow). More about Office O Architects uses "flowing lines" and projecting windows to create Villa MQ
Boxy marble-clad bays project from this family home by Ariasrecalde Taller de Arquitectura, which completes a terrace in Granada, Spain (+ slideshow). More about Strips of grey marble clad Granada residence by Ariasrecalde Taller de Arquitectura
This two-bedroom family home in Japan is small but tall, so that residents can look out and see the foliage of neighbouring Japanese elm trees (+ slideshow). More about Compact wooden house by Takeru Shoji Architects stands alongside 200-year-old trees
An open-sided shelter made from railway sleepers provides a stable on the roof of this house by CC Arquitectos, which is partially embedded in a slope overlooking a Mexican valley (+ slideshow). More about Stable built from railway sleepers tops El Mirador House in Mexico by CC Arquitectos
Australian studio Those Architects has overhauled a house in a beachside Sydney suburb, creating a spacious new living room featuring secret storage, concrete surfaces and a pivoting garden window (+ slideshow). More about Those Architects transforms small Sydney bungalow into spacious courtyard home
The wooden framework of this Japanese house by Akasaka Shinichiro Atelier will allow the owners to adapt the lower floor into a photography studio or children's room (+ slideshow). More about Akasaka Shinichiro Atelier uses timber framework to create adaptable house in Japan
These four house-shaped volumes may look like individual homes but they actually define different areas of the same residence, designed by Shuhei Goto Architects in Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture. More about Four gabled towers form House in Kosai by Shuhei Goto Architects
London-based Rodić Davidson Architects has become the latest architecture studio to build a house on the shingle landscape of Dungeness beach in Kent, England (+ slideshow). More about Black-stained house built on Dungeness beach by Rodić Davidson Architects
US firm KieranTimberlake has nestled a home into a rocky outcrop in New York State, with mirrored cladding that reflects the forested landscape and sky (+ slideshow). More about Pound Ridge House by KieranTimberlake reflects its surroundings with a mirrored facade
An indoor basketball court forms the atrium of this family home in eastern Japan by local firm Koizumi Sekkei (+ slideshow). More about Koizumi Sekkei completes house in Japan with a basketball court at its centre
Architect Onurcan Çakır paired stark concrete with rugged stone for the walls of this compact family house near the west coast of Turkey (+ slideshow). More about Onurcan Çakır uses stone and concrete to create soundproof house in a Turkish village
New York firm Space4Architecture has added a curving white staircase with oak treads to a historic townhouse in the city's Upper West Side (+ slideshow). More about Space4Architecture adds White Snake staircase to New York townhouse
This two-storey house in Barcelona, renovated by local studio Nook Architects, features joined living and sleeping areas separated by stairs and mesh partitions (+ slideshow). More about Nook Architects uses mesh to divide open-plan Barcelona house
Although only 10 metres tall, this red brick house in South Korea by architects AandD is split into 11 different levels connected by a central staircase (+ slideshow). More about AandD's L House is split into 11 different levels of living space
Siberian larch wood covers this house and its adjoining wrap-around terrace in southern Sweden, designed by architect Johan Sundberg (+ slideshow). More about Johan Sundberg clads Villa Ljung inside and out with Siberian larch
Black corrugated metal covers this residence designed by architect Mariana Palacios as a holiday getaway for herself in a remote area of Cordoba, Argentina (+ slideshow). More about Dark corrugated cladding covers Mariana Palacios' self-designed holiday home in Argentina
This house by São Paulo architects Denis Joelsons and Gabriela Baraúna Uchida is built against the steep terrain of the Mantiqueira Mountains in south-east Brazil and sheltered beneath a large sloping roof (+ slideshow). More about Half-Slope House nestles against a hillside in Brazil's Mantiqueira Mountains