Rammed earth walls built using soil from the desert site are wrapped in a protective weathered steel shell at this courtyard house near Phoenix by local firm Wendell Burnette Architects (+ slideshow). More about Desert Courtyard House by Wendell Burnette features rammed earth walls
Japanese firm Shinichi Ogawa & Associates added a glazed wall to the elongated facade of this house and gallery in Japan's Mie prefecture so the florist who owns it can look out into the forest (+ slideshow). More about Elongated gallery and house by Shinichi Ogawa creates a forest home for a florist
A circular sitting room in this Kuala Lumpur home by Malaysian architect Fabian Tan can be transformed into a sheltered outdoor terrace by sliding slatted timber walls along tracks in the floor and ceiling (+ slideshow). More about Sliding walls reveal a round living room at Fabian Tan's Voila House
This house extension in Melbourne by local studio Kennedy Nolan Architects is separated from the rest of the Edwardian property by a wall with a circular hole that children can climb through (+ slideshow). More about Punctured wall separates old from new at Westgarth House by Kennedy Nolan
Irish firm Donal Colfer Architects has renovated a Victorian terraced house in Dublin, adding an extension with a glazed ground floor and concrete mullions above (+ slideshow). More about Donal Colfer Architects adds concrete and glass extension to Dublin residence
Japanese studio K2YT has slotted courtyard gardens around the staircases and between the rooms of this four-storey house in Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Gardens are interspersed with rooms inside House-K by K2YT
Brazilian firm Studio Arthur Casas was invited to choose the location for a client's idyllic Rio de Janeiro residence, and selected a hillside plot facing out towards the ocean (+ slideshow). More about Casa AL by Studio Arthur Casas sits between a mountain and the ocean
Argentinian office Estudio Aire rested concrete volumes on top of each other to create a shaded overhang at the entrance to this house for an artist (+ slideshow). More about Stacked concrete volumes frame entrance to House M by Estudio Aire
Briefed to design a holiday home that feels like a campsite, Australian studio Dunn & Hillam Architects has completed a residence in New South Wales based on the old "dogtrot houses" of the American deep south (+ slideshow). More about Dunn & Hillam's Dogtrot House centres around an open-air corridor
Two clients joined forces to commission one building with two separate homes by Buenos Aires studio Hitzig Militello Arquitectos, which has been coloured grey to contrast with its neighbours (+ slideshow). More about Hitzig Militello Arquitectos combines two homes in one building in Buenos Aires
Five cliff-top buildings feature walls that fold in on themselves to frame views and offer privacy in this South Korean holiday resort by Atelier Chang (+ slideshow). More about Atelier Chang designs angular cliff-top buildings for Knot House resort
Four red cedar-clad boxes are positioned to form courtyards and gardens in-between the living spaces at this house in a Tokyo suburb by Japanese studio Architect Cafe (+ slideshow). More about Offset timber volumes create courtyards at House in Komae by Architect Cafe
Japanese studio Sugawaradaisuke mixed powdered iron with plaster to give this Tokyo house a rusted exterior that will weather over time (+ slideshow). More about Transustainable House by Sugawaradaisuke features a rusted facade to reflect the climate
News: structural work has completed on A House for Essex, the holiday home designed by British artist Grayson Perry and London architecture firm FAT for Alain de Botton's Living Architecture project. More about First photographs of Grayson Perry and FAT's house for Alain de Botton
This cedar-clad Vancouver house by Canadian studio Splyce Design features a lopsided roof that follows the line of the staircase (+ slideshow). More about East Van House by Splyce Design features an asymmetric sloping roof
A glazed wall faces out towards the Pacific Ocean at this house in the Japanese resort town of Shirahama by Osaka firm Okuwada Architects Office (+ slideshow). More about Hillside house by Okuwada Architects Office overlooks the ocean
Warsaw architect Jakub Szczęsny used a mathematical algorithm to help position the branching arms of this wooden house in the Polish garden city of Podkowa Leśna around the existing trees on its forested plot (+ slideshow). More about Jakub Szczęsny configures Podkowa House to fit around trees in a Polish forest
Three houses, each just over five-and-a-half metres wide and 40 metres long, have been slotted into a plot in the north of Singapore by local studio Formwerkz Architects (+ slideshow). More about The Long Houses by Formwerkz Architects stretch down a narrow site
This home in the Mexican city of Monterrey by P+0 Architecture includes a series of outdoor spaces for entertaining guests and dogs (+ slideshow). More about Balconies, terraces and gardens occupy half of IPE House by P+0 Architecture
This concrete house in the Portuguese town of Palmela by Lisbon office Paratelier was cast inside wooden panels that were then used to build its interior (+ slideshow). More about Paratelier's concrete house recycles external formwork inside