The zigzag profile of this Canadian lake house allows natural light to enter deep into living spaces from skylights, while helping orient solar panels to maximise their efficiency. More about Sawtooth roof tops lakefront home in Canada by Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster
The owners of this Lithuanian holiday cottage can open large shutters incorporated into the timber-clad facades to transform the completely closed gabled volume into a bright space with views toward a nearby lake. More about Timber shutters conceal windows and doors at Aketuri Architektai's Lithuanian lakeside retreat
Chilean studio Apio Arquitectos has used wooden barns as a reference for this nature retreat, with pitched roofs and facades wrapped in grey metal and pine. More about Apio Arquitectos creates gabled holiday house overlooking Chilean lake
Canadian studio MU Architecture has integrated a lake house into a steep site in southern Quebec, overlooking a secluded bay and private boathouse. More about Mu Architecture completes black lakefront home with two-storey boathouse
US firm Andersson-Wise has created a tall silvery building containing bedrooms near a waterside holiday home in Austin, so that the owners can invite more guests to stay. More about Andersson-Wise's Tower House provides cabin with extra lakefront accommodation
American studio Andersson-Wise has completed a two-storey boathouse in Austin, with openings on the upper level that enable occupants to dive directly into the water. More about Off-grid boathouse by Andersson-Wise sits on Lake Austin
New York firm Desai Chia Architects has built a home on Lake Michigan with blackened timber walls and a roof that extends out to shelter an outdoor seating area. More about Desai Chia's Michigan Lake House features a roof that cantilevers over a patio
Architecture studio Bergmeisterwolf has completed an extension to a house on the shores of Italy's Lake Garda, featuring glazed walls that disappear into the ground to open the living area up to the garden. More about Vertically sliding walls open Bergmeisterwolf's Italian villa extension to the garden
To satisfy the conflicting tastes of a husband and wife, New York-based architect Marica McKeel merged contemporary and traditional styles in this spacious South Carolina residence. More about Grey brick, stucco and warm timber wrap South Carolina home by Marica McKeel
Atelier Pierre Thibault split this lakeside home in Canada into two volumes that face on to a small courtyard in between. More about Waterfront home by Atelier Pierre Thibault overlooks Quebec's Lac Masson
Inbetween Architecture has renovated and extended a dated brown-brick property in Melbourne's Doncaster suburb to improve the quality of its living spaces and capture views of nearby Ruffey Lake. More about Inbetween Architecture transforms "terribly dated" 1970s Melbourne house to open up lake views
American firm Ward + Blake Architects has completed a residence and guest house in western Wyoming, which features rustic materials and sweeping views of the surrounding mountains (+ slideshow). More about Ward + Blake uses salvaged wood and weathering steel to clad rustic Wyoming house
Swiss architect Philippe Meyer has converted a former office building on the shore of Lake Geneva into a house with glass walls to provide expansive views of the surrounding scenery (+ slideshow). More about Villa Le Lac is a glass-walled house overlooking Lake Geneva
MNy Arkitekter has used seven varieties of timber to create this gabled house on the shoreline of a small lake in Tenala, Finland (+ slideshow). More about MNy Arkitekter uses seven types of timber for Finnish lake house
Board-marked concrete walls frame this Buenos Aires residence by Argentinian architect Federico Sartor, but at the back they give way to large windows, offering views of a courtyard and lake (+ slideshow). More about Buenos Aires house by Federico Sartor features textured concrete walls and lake views
To gain views of Lake Erie from a sheltered plot, architecture firm Kariouk Associates designed this Canadian house to include a "love nest" that pokes above the treetops (+ slideshow). More about Kariouk Associates sneaks around planning laws to gain lake vistas for A Bower House
Lush greenery tops one half of this three-bedroom residence on the shore of Connecticut's Lake Wononscopomuc, which local studio Allee Architecture and Design created as two separate parts (+ slideshow). More about Allee separates lakeside Connecticut house into two distinct volumes
Ladders lead to sleeping platforms accommodated beneath the hipped roof of this simple Slovakian lake house, which local studio JRKVC designed without any corridors to utilise the available space (+ slideshow). More about JRKVC's lakeside house optimises small footprint with hidden attic areas
Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects has begun work on a granite clubhouse and spa complex, which will be set in the centre of a lake in southern China to serve the residents of exclusive villas. More about Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects reveals plans for clubhouse and spa over a Chinese lake
US firm KieranTimberlake has nestled a home into a rocky outcrop in New York State, with mirrored cladding that reflects the forested landscape and sky (+ slideshow). More about Pound Ridge House by KieranTimberlake reflects its surroundings with a mirrored facade