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
A glazed wall framed by thick concrete fronts this house built into a grassy hillside in Penafiel, Portugal, by architecture office Spaceworkers (+ slideshow). More about Casa de Sambade by Spaceworkers is a long house with textured concrete walls
This small house in the French city of Tours by local architecture office Atelier 100architecture features a material palette of zinc panels, plaster and wooden boards that references its historical neighbours. More about Atelier 100architecture slots contemporary house into French medieval city centre
Waist-high partitions divide up the top floor of this mostly windowless house in Japan, framing different activities without cutting off light to any of the spaces (+ slideshow). More about Katsutoshi Sasaki's House in Hanekita contains a grid of half-height walls
![Rural Tourism in Odemira by [i]da arquitectos](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/10/Rural-Tourism-in-Odemira-designed-by-ida-arquitectos_dezeen_sq.jpg)
The two main buildings of this Portuguese holiday complex by I-da Arquitectos are dug into a hillside, partly burying them in the sloping terrain (+ slideshow). More about I-da Arquitectos sinks holiday apartments into the Portuguese countryside
Charred Japanese cedar clads the exterior of this split-level house in Izumo, Japan, by Kanazawa studio Harunatsu-Arch (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber house by Harunatsu-Arch is divided by a stepped floor
White stuccoed walls and terracotta tiled roofing create a visual connection between the simplified volumes of this small house in a Portuguese vineyard and traditional agricultural buildings nearby (+ slideshow). More about SAMF reinterprets traditional Portuguese farmhouses with Casa dos Caseiros
A mixture of simple windows and double-height glazing bring light and views into the back of this Belgian house, which NU Architectuuratelier has converted from flats into a family home (+ slideshow). More about Assorted windows and diagonal cladding feature on renovated home by NU Architectuuratelier
This Portuguese house has been completely transformed by architects Rui Vieira Oliveira and Vasco Manuel Fernandes, with a new structure that rests on top of the original home's granite walls (+ slideshow). More about Taíde House was built over the granite walls of a family's original residence