A curvy structure forms the heart of this small Tokyo home and workspace by Japanese studio Flat House, separating a cafe, gallery and art studio from the residents' domestic activities (+ slideshow). More about Live-in gallery and studio by Flat House hides utility rooms in a central cylinder
A cast-concrete box overhangs the sloping lower floor facade of this house by Japanese studio Matsuyama Architects (+ slideshow). More about Matsuyama Architects builds concrete house on inclining site in Japanese housing estate
A white timber roof masks the upper storey of this Japanese house by Takeru Shoji Architects, but is raised on wooden stilts to reveal the pale timber facade of the lower level (+ slideshow). More about Takeru Shoji Architects tops a timber-clad Japanese house with a "big hat"
London architecture firm A-Zero has completed an oak frame house that incorporates the steel frame of an old cowshed in a rural area near Leighton Buzzard, England (+ slideshow). More about A-Zero turns an English cowshed into a timber-framed family home
Large panels of glazing are sandwiched between the thick white concrete frame of this riverside house near Oxford by London studio Selencky Parsons (+ slideshow). More about Selencky Parsons designs glass and white concrete house in Oxfordshire
This blackened-timber house by Japanese studio Yoshio Ohno Architects is sat on top of a sloping concrete retaining wall (+ slideshow). More about Yoshio Ohno's black timber house straddles a concrete escarpment in Hiroshima
The upper storey of this brick extension to a mid-century home in north London by Lipton Plant Architects projects over the entrance to form a porch (+ slideshow). More about Lipton Plant Architects adds pale-brick extension to north London home
Staircases descend around a courtyard hidden inside this four-storey concrete house, set into a steep rock face in Mexico City by local studio 3archlab. More about 3archlab's concrete courtyard house is positioned against a cliff
Strips of white timber cover a series of simple interlocking geometric volumes that form this Canadian home by Montreal studio Jean Verville (+ slideshow). More about Jean Verville completes white clapboard house in suburban Montreal
The corners of this otherwise traditionally shaped house by Insert Studio have been cut away to form two porches that help to make a connection to the rural Romanian landscape (+ slideshow). More about Insert Studio completes house in Romania with two cut-away corners
Swedish architect Max Holst used a traditional Swedish paint to give an all-black appearance to the exterior of this woodland house outside Stockholm (+ slideshow). More about Woodland villa in Sweden designed by Max Holst with a blackened exterior
Pale wooden window frames contrast with the black-stained cedar facades of this extension to a detached house in Nantes by French studio Bertin Bichet Architectes (+ slideshow). More about Nantes house extension contrasts blackened wood facades with pale window frames
The pointed roof of this small zinc-covered Tokyo house by Architecture Atelier Akio Takatsuka is offset to reflect the arrangement of rooms inside (+ slideshow). More about Architecture Atelier Akio Takatsuka divides Quad House into unequal sections
Strips of pre-rusted Corten steel run in vertical columns around this Belgian house by DMOA Architecten (+ movie). More about The Corten House by DMOA architecten is surrounded by weathered steel fins
An overhanging roof with angular cut-outs envelopes the upper storey of this small Japanese house by Moca Architects to conceal the interior spaces (+ slideshow). More about Overhanging roof forms a hood over Japanese house by Moca Architects
A glass-fronted stairwell joins a craggy stone Portuguese house to its new concrete extension by Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa (+ slideshow). More about Filipe Pina + Maria Inês Costa add concrete extension to stone house in Portugal
Opaque glass cladding on this south London house by Ian McChesney reflects the brick and stucco facades of neighbouring Victorian properties and foliage from a park next door (+ slideshow). More about Black glass facade mirrors scenery at south London home by Ian McChesney
Strips of untreated oak are used to clad every surface of this house in the English countryside by London office Peter Feeny Architects (+ slideshow). More about House in Oxfordshire is covered in oak to create a "simplified volume"
The street-facing elevation of this brick and steel extension to a 1920s Montreal property echoes the proportions of the original building, but at the rear a large angular outcrop projects over the back garden (+ slideshow). More about Steel cladding frames an offset window at Montreal house extension by Naturehumaine
The walls of this house in Poland by Kropka Studio are covered in gabion baskets filled with the same local limestone used to build nearby castles and churches (+ slideshow). More about House in the Landscape by Kropka Studio features walls built from rock-filled cages