Northern Ireland studio McGarry-Moon Architects has inserted a contemporary living space into this stone barn, which has been long-listed for the Royal Institute of British Architects' 2014 Manser Medal for best British house (+ slideshow). More about McGarry-Moon updates a traditional stone barn with a steel-framed living space
Belgian architects Bruno Vanbesien and Christophe Meersman have designed a terraced house on the outskirts of Brussels that stands out from its post-war neighbours thanks to its timber skin and minimal form (+ slideshow). More about House CM is a contemporary terraced house with a uniform timber facade
London-based designers Bartek Arendt and Kasia Bedra have built a barn-inspired house in Poland with a sloping triangular roof, designed to stand as an abstract object in the landscape (+ slideshow). More about Polish house offers an abstract take on a traditional barn
Japanese studio Sabaoarch has built a concrete house with tiny windows on a narrow strip of land in Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Sabaoarch build three-metre-wide concrete house in Tokyo
Trees grow on top of five concrete boxes, like oversized pot plants, at this house in Ho Chi Minh City by Vietnamese studio Vo Trong Nghia Architects (+ slideshow). More about Rooftops of Vo Trong Nghia Architects' House for Trees covered in greenery
A protruding gable creates bay windows and an indoor balcony within this symmetrical house in northern Spain, by local studio Creus e Carrasco (+ slideshow). More about Creus e Carrasco gives a folded facade to Chao House in Spain
Stacked concrete and timber boxes frame the rooms of this guesthouse near Australia's Great Ocean Road, by Melbourne studio Whiting Architects. More about Australian guesthouse by Whiting Architects made up of staggered concrete and timber boxes
A mixture of large and small windows puncture the cedar-clad facade of this house by French studio Atelier Delphine Carrère, to both frame views and maintain privacy (+ slideshow). More about Big and small windows balance views with privacy at Atelier Delphine Carrère's Villa Chiberta
Copenhagen office Leth & Gori used exposed clay blocks and raw plywood to create a maintenance-free interior for this house in Nyborg, Denmark (+ slideshow). More about Leth & Gori's low-maintenance Brick House features clay and plywood surfaces
The two barn-like wings of this house by Nash Baker Architects, in the English town of Tonbridge, feature blackened timber cladding and glazed walls shielded by wooden louvres (+ slideshow). More about Nash Baker's Bourne Lane house takes cues from old English barns
A wall of windows fronts this angular concrete house by VAUMM, which is sunken into the landscape of a sloping site in the suburbs of Gipuzkoa, Spain (+ slideshow). More about Concrete walls sink into the ground at VAUMM's MNGB House in Spain
Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten sourced locally produced bricks for the walls of this house in the Dutch countryside, but also installed a large glazed wall to offer views of the picturesque landscape (+ slideshow). More about Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten uses red brick for Dutch countryside house
A precast staircase is one of several concrete elements that Mexican studio Warm Architects has added through the interior and exterior of this house in Cancún, Mexico (+ slideshow). More about Warm Architects adds cast concrete staircase to Garcia's House in Cancún
Mexican studio Atelier ARS has enclosed this white house with latticed shutters behind a stone wall, reinterpreting the traditional local architecture of Mexico's Lake Chapala (+ slideshow). More about Atelier ARS screens Mexican house behind stone wall and latticework
Perforated bricks soften the facade and provide privacy for the owners of this Melbourne house by Australian studio Inglis Architects (+ slideshow). More about Perforated bricks offer privacy for Melbourne house by Inglis Architects
Japanese studio Yuji Kimura Design has hidden this Tokyo house behind a tall white wall to maintain the residents' privacy (+ slideshow). More about Yuji Kimura Design conceals terraces at House K behind a tall wall
Slovakian studio JRKVC has designed a small house near Bratislava with one gable wall entirely glazed to fill the interior with light (+ slideshow). More about Slovakian house by JRKVC features a glazed gable wall
San Francisco office Fougeron Architecture has designed a house in California that steps down the side of a cliff and projects over the edge. More about Fall House by Fougeron Architecture steps down a cliff side
Copper panels and local timber clad the exterior of this houseboat in the Netherlands by BYTR Architects, which is moored beside a wooded parkland (+ slideshow). More about Copper-clad ParkArk houseboat by BYTR Architects floats on a Dutch canal
Vancouver studio MGB has designed "a contemporary version of a cabin in the woods" comprising stacked glazed boxes overlooking the sea in the Canadian province of British Columbia. More about Gambier Island House by MGB cantilevers over a rocky cliff face