A white-rendered concrete screen extends from the upper floor of this house near Guadalajara, Mexico, blocking views to the street but framing a perspective of the garden and sky (+ slideshow). More about Abraham Cota Paredes completes introspective white house in Mexico
This lakefront weekend home in Massachusetts by Taylor and Miller Architecture and Design features protrusions that gesture toward the sky and water (+ slideshow). More about Taylor and Miller creates sculptural weekend home beside a Massachusetts lake
This concrete residence by Santiago studio Felipe Assadi Architects extends across the craggy cliffs of the Los Vilos coastline in Chile's Coquimbo region (+ slideshow). More about Concrete house by Felipe Assadi stretches along the rugged Chilean coastline
This concrete house in Mexico by New York- and Tijuana-based T38 Studio is organised as a nine-square grid with a courtyard at its centre (+ slideshow). More about Courtyard house in Tijuana by T38 Studio is based on a nine-square grid
Six slabs of wafer-thin concrete form the floors and walls of this house by Kubota Architect Atelier, which cuts into the side of a mountain in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture (+ slideshow). More about Thin concrete planes define mountain home in Japan by Kubota Architect Atelier
A pair of Lithuanian architecture studios have built a series of timber-clad houses on top of 1920s ammunition stores in parkland north of Vilnius (+ slideshow). More about Timber-clad houses raised up on stilts over ammunition vaults in Vilnius parkland
Grass ramps over the curving form of this house in the French countryside, which was designed by architect Julien De Smedt as a contemporary alternative to the region's "pastiche chalets" (+ slideshow). More about French villa designed by Julien De Smedt to look like a bump in the landscape
This family house in Shiga, Japan, is made up of two structures – a simple two-storey block set on a patio, and a small timber pavilion that opens out to a landscaped garden (+ slideshow). More about Maibara House by Alts Design Office combines a windowless block and a small garden pavilion
Portuguese architects Sofia Parente and André Delgado have converted an old stone barn in Viana do Castelo into a compact two-storey residence (+ slideshow). More about Par-Do transforms stone-walled Portuguese barn into compact residence
This English countryside residence was designed by Gresford Architects to be self-sufficient, but to still look and feel like a traditional, "normal" house (+ slideshow). More about Gresford Architects completes energy-efficient home modelled on a traditional barn
Plants and ponds are incorporated into the roof, walls and terraces of this concrete house in Singapore to make it feel like it is "enveloped by a garden" (+ movie). More about Chiltern House by WOW Architects features a rooftop lily pond to attract birds
The rooflines of this house and coffee shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand, are slanted at different angles to ensure all rooms offer clear views of a canal in front (+ slideshow). More about Ekar Architects completes canal-side house in Thailand with adjoining cafe and music room
Jay Bargmann of Rafael Viñoly Architects has designed a house for his family in the Catskill Mountains, featuring glass walls that reflect the scenic landscape (+ slideshow). More about Jay Bargmann nestles glass-box home into hillside in rural New York
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