An old submarine base in Bordeaux provided the site for this docklands housing complex by Agence Nicolas Michelin & Associés, where homes and gardens are arranged on either side of a glazed atrium (+ slideshow). More about Housing at old Bordeaux submarine base boasts climate-controlled atrium filled with gardens
J Mayer H Architects has completed a housing and office complex in Germany, covered with graphic patterns that extend down from facades to create the impression of elongated shadows (+ slideshow). More about House and office complex by J Mayer H features monochrome facades and false shadows
Diamond-patterned brickwork helps this trio of apartment blocks in east London blend in with the historic 19th-century church that it surrounds (+ slideshow). More about Matthew Lloyd builds decorative brick homes around a 19th-century London church
Patterned brickwork reveals the entrances to all homes in this development near Cambridge, England, designed by Proctor and Matthews Architects to bring a sense of continuity to the large site (+ slideshow). More about Chequered brickwork brings unity to a Cambridge housing community by Proctor and Matthews
Narrow strips of pine stripe the facades of this housing development on the outskirts of Paris, making it look like a timber cage has been lowered over the upper floors of each building (+ slideshow). More about Paris housing blocks by Tectône Architectes are encased by timber louvres
This housing project in Brussels was funded and developed by its residents, to a design by local studio Stekke + Fraas based on the principles of "durability, prosperity, ecology and social diversity" (+ slideshow). More about Brutopia is an aluminium-clad apartment complex built by a cooperative in Brussels
This social housing development in Zingem, Belgium, responds to its location between a busy road and an agrarian landscape with a "ranch-like" arrangement of buildings framing a central courtyard (+ slideshow). More about Volt Architecten's Belgian housing scheme is designed to look like a farmstead
Swiss studio E2A infilled the facade of an old Zurich warehouse to create this rehearsal space for the city's opera house, before tacking a 60-metre-high apartment block onto one side (+ slideshow). More about Zurich building by E2A incorporates the facade of a century-old warehouse
The concrete facade of this housing block in Lausanne, Switzerland, features four different surface finishes to create a patchwork effect that hints at the building's complicated internal layout (+ slideshow). More about 2b Architectes creates patchwork facade for concrete apartment block in Lausanne
Prefabricated modules of cross-laminated timber were "plugged in like Lego pieces" to build this eight-storey apartment block in Finland – one of the first examples of its type in the world (+ slideshow). More about OOPEAA completes Finland's first high-rise wooden apartment building
Architecture studio Cadaval & Solà-Morales has transformed a traditional white brick house in Mexico City into an apartment complex, with the addition of a row of black penthouses (+ slideshow). More about Cadaval & Solà-Morales installs angular black penthouses during renovation of a 1920s building
The buildings of this California housing community were designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects to suit the domestic and social needs of adults with autism – the fastest growing developmental disability in the US (+ slideshow). More about California housing by Leddy Maytum Stacy addresses the needs of residents with autism
Angular balconies and timber panelling characterise these housing developments by architects Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind, both located in Milan's fast-growing City Life district (+ slideshow). More about Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind build a community of 650 homes in Milan
Both the jagged profile of Norway's mountain ranges and the gabled elevations of traditional houses informed this angular housing development in Stavanger (+ slideshow). More about Faceted waterfront housing in Norway conceived as "a mountain range of wood"
The four buildings that make up this affordable housing development in Santa Monica, California, all feature mint-green solar shades on their facades, and are organised around a "starfish-shaped" courtyard (+ slideshow). More about Kevin Daly Architects builds a low-cost housing community in Santa Monica
Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled plans to build a high-density housing development in Monterrey, Mexico, despite having been asked to design a series of high-rise towers (+ movie). More about Zaha Hadid plans sinuous apartment complex for first project in Mexico
Solar panels cover the rooftops of these four townhouses in Boston by local firm ISA, allowing them to sustainably produce more energy and hot water than their occupants are likely to use (+ slideshow). More about Roxbury E+ townhouses in Boston designed to produce more energy than they use
These two metal-clad towers featuring stepped forms and angular balconies were designed to prove that, after years of skyscraper restrictions in Paris, height is no longer taboo (+ slideshow). More about Paris' tallest housing block in over 40 years is clad with gold and silver metal
Reflective glass panels applied to the exterior of this condominium building in Winnipeg, Canada, produce a mirrored image of the street in front (+ slideshow). More about 5468796 Architecture covers apartment building in reflective panels of glazing
A sheet of tinted glazing folds around one corner of this white apartment block in the Mexican city of Puebla, enclosing a roof terrace (+ slideshow). More about Black glazing wraps one corner of a Mexican apartment block