The shapes and proportions of local agricultural barns informed the design of this monochrome house in Northern Ireland, designed by British firm McGonigle McGrath (+ slideshow). More about Barn-like house by McGonigle McGrath features pale walls and asymmetric gables
A house clad in pieces of flint, designed for one of the world's richest families, has been named the best new house in the UK by the Royal Institute of British Architects. More about Skene Catling de la Peña's Flint House named UK House of the Year
Japanese studios Sandwich and Team Low-Energy used three truckloads of timber to create the sculptural facade of this Tokyo house that also boasts a two-storey-high library and an indoor swing (+ slideshow). More about Kyodo House features a sculptural wood facade and an indoor swing
Apollo Architects & Associates named this Tokyo house after Noah's Ark because it features a symmetrical floor plan and a pointed wooden roof. More about Ark-inspired house by Apollo Architects features a symmetrical layout
This house in Mexico is made up from a series of concrete boxes, which are staggered across a steep site to take in views of Lake Avándaro (+ slideshow). More about Concrete house in Mexico by Taller Hector Barroso cascades towards a lake
Mottled grey tiles envelop this angular house in the Swiss Alps, which was designed by Milanese firm JM Architecture to look "like a stone in the landscape" (+ slideshow). More about Faceted home in the Swiss Alps by JM Architecture is covered in dark grey tiles
Dublin studio GKMP Architects added a pyramid-shaped roof to this compact house in rural Ireland to create some taller rooms inside. More about House in Wexford by GKMP Architects features a pyramid-shaped roof
This shed-inspired house in rural Victoria, Australia, features a low-maintenance fire-resistant facade of corrugated steel that also helps to reflect heat, keeping the building cool in summer (+ slideshow). More about Corrugated steel provides durable facade for rural Australian home by Glow Design Group
Architect Delfino Lozano used simple materials to reduce the cost of rebuilding of this house in Zapopan, Mexico, which also features a storage area slotted under its staircase (+ slideshow). More about Delfino Lozano's RR House features pine joinery and an under-stair larder
A small late-Victorian dwelling in Portland, Oregon, has been transformed into a modern home with a monochrome red steel and wood exterior (+ slideshow). More about Waechter Architecture updates century-old Portland house with a bright red facade
Graduate students at the Yale School of Architecture have designed and built a contemporary family home in a low-income neighbourhood in New Haven, Connecticut (+ slideshow). More about Cedar-clad house by Yale students could serve as a model for affordable housing
This London townhouse by Jamie Fobert Architects features handmade bricks, bronze panelling and Georgian-inspired window shutters. More about Jamie Fobert pairs handmade bricks with bronze panelling for London townhouse
The roof of this house in Japan is tilted above a band of glazing, allowing light to permeate the interior while also making the structure look like a box with a lifted lid (+ slideshow). More about SYAP's House in Yokkaichi has a roof angled upwards like the lid of an open box
Vietnamese studio MM++ Architects has squeezed a contemporary shophouse into a four-metre-wide site in Ho Chi Minh City, with a facade that opens and closes like a giant shutter. More about Vietnamese shophouse by MM++ Architects features a facade that folds open
We've published thousands of beautiful houses since Dezeen was founded. To mark our ninth birthday today, we're revisiting the nine that have been most popular with our readers (+ slideshow). More about The nine most popular houses in the history of Dezeen
Aamodt Plumb Architects divided this prefabricated house in Texas into two wings to avoid felling a group of trees, covering one half in black-charred timber and the other in bright white stucco. More about Lakefront Austin home by Aamodt Plumb Architects is split into two wings
Hood-like roofs funnel natural light into these brick terraced houses in London by Bell Phillips Architects, which provide cost-effective homes for elderly and disabled residents (+ slideshow). More about Bell Phillips rolls out a model for public housing on six Greenwich sites
Berlin studio Baumhauer has renovated a traditional farmhouse in the Swiss hamlet of Florins, inserting a timber structure that contains new living areas in place of an existing barn (+ slideshow). More about Baumhauer adds timber-lined living spaces to vernacular Swiss farmhouse
A glass study projects from the roof of this concrete house near Brussels, but it presents an austere windowless facade to the street (+ slideshow). More about Stark concrete house by ISM Architecten is topped with a glass study
Six vaulted skylights form the roof of this west London house by architecture studio vPPR, which also features two sunken courtyards (+ slideshow). More about Vaulted House by vPPR is a London residence topped by six protruding skylights