Each room of this woodland retreat in Japan is topped by a "pointy hat" that gives the timber structure the appearance of a group of pitched tents (+ slideshow). More about Woodland home by Hiroshi Nakamura designed to resemble a cluster of timber tepees
Each room of this townhouse in Spain is a separate block with a translucent frontage, which together create a stepped facade that glows after dark (+ slideshow). More about Rue Space's Casa #20 features a four-tiered facade of translucent glass
Innauer‐Matt Architekten sourced spruce from a nearby woodland for the inside and outside walls of this family house in a hamlet of western Austria (+ slideshow). More about Haus Für Julia Und Björn is a wooden residence in Austria's picturesque Bregenz Forest
A triangular lightwell covered in scale-like shingles extends from the roof of this living room that architect Nuno Melo Sousa has added to a house in Penafiel, Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Nuno Melo Sousa uses a wedge-shaped lightwell to bring light into a courtyard living room
Board-marked concrete forms the walls of this rural home designed by Belgian studio Marie-José Van Hee Architecten for a Dutch businessman (+ slideshow). More about Concrete and timber retirement house sits amongst a Dutch orchard
Behind a shimmering aluminium facade, the rooms of this Montreal house are organised around a three-tiered courtyard that allows daylight to funnel through to every storey (+ slideshow). More about Holy Cross House by TBA hides a multi-level courtyard behind a "working-class facade"
I/O Architects raised one corner of this house in Bulgaria, creating a stepped veranda that stretches along the all-glazed facade (+ slideshow). More about Stone house in Bulgaria by I/O Architects features a veranda that steps up and down
The four buildings that make up this house on Scotland's Isle of Skye were designed by Dualchas Architects to reference the shape and appearance of an old black shed found nearby (+ slideshow). More about Black-stained house by Dualchas Architects completed on the coastline of a Scottish island
Both curving and straight walls overlap inside this family home in Shiga Prefecture by architect Tsuyoshi Kawata, which was designed to frame views of a nearby park (+ slideshow). More about Curving walls eclipse glazed facade of park-side house in Japan by Tsuyoshi Kawata
Behind the Georgian facade of a dilapidated house and workshop in west London, West Architecture has slotted in a new residence that pairs industrial fittings with period details (+ slideshow). More about West Architecture guts a Georgian townhouse and rebuilds with industrial fittings
This low-cost concrete block house outside Monterrey was designed and built by its owners, with support from a non-profit social housing project led by local architecture office S-AR (+ slideshow). More about S-AR's Casa Caja is a prototype for low-cost homes that can be built by their owners
This house in Spain has triple-layer facades that allow varying degrees of light and privacy, and features a bedroom that can be hidden or revealed with the help of a sliding wall. More about SAU Taller de Arquitectura's Casa Migdia features sliding screens and a moveable wall
This pine-clad cabin by Reiulf Ramstad Architects has two glazed gables that frame views of the Norwegian landscape and a V-shaped plan that follows the slope of the mountainous terrain (+ slideshow). More about Mountain lodge by Reiulf Ramstad Architects has a V-shaped footprint that follows the terrain
The stepped profile of this house in Japan by architecture studio IHRMK gives clues about the complicated layout of rooms contained within. More about IHRMK's house with a staggered profile looks out over a landscape of paddy fields
Perforated brick walls enclose the concrete structure of an old house in central Vietnam, which has been remodelled by architecture studio Tropical Space (+ slideshow). More about Perforated brick house by Tropical Space is based on termites' nests
A bulky concrete wedge creates a plinth for this steel-clad Quebec home by architecture studio Naturehumaine, elevating it above a rocky slope (+ slideshow). More about Quebec residence by Naturehumaine is raised off a slope on a concrete podium
This timber-clad beach house in Long Island was designed by New York studio Bates Masi with an angular form that funnels outwards to maximise living space on a restricted site (+ slideshow). More about Bates Masi completes timber-clad Hamptons retreat beside the beach
Described by Dutch firm UNStudio as a "smart home", this residence in North Holland features a complicated flower-shaped plan and a digital system that links every electrical device to the internet (+ slideshow). More about UNStudio completes a digitally controlled home with a flower-shaped plan
A skeletal framework that can be covered with screens or climbing plants extends from the gable end of this house in rural Spain, designed by architects Anna and Eugeni Bach (+ slideshow). More about Anna and Eugeni Bach extend gabled stone house with skeletal framework
Designed as an annex for a 1960s log cabin, this angular timber and cast-concrete structure by Maddison Architects is nestled among the undergrowth of a forest in Victoria, Australia (+ slideshow). More about Maddison Architects add timber-framed annex to log cabin in Victoria's coastal forest