"Float-level" sleeping quarters in this single-family home moored to the shore of Seattle's Lake Union allow residents to go swimming directly from their bedrooms (+ slideshow). More about Floating home in Seattle by Vandeventer + Carlander features water-level bedrooms
A cream-painted staircase connects the four floors of this London mews house, which has been renovated by architecture studio Alma-nac to create more light and space (+ slideshow). More about Cornwall Mews renovation by Alma-nac centres around a cream staircase
Perforated panels of weathering steel create sunshades for this concrete house in Chile, but also offer protection from stray balls struck by players on the adjacent golf course (+ slideshow). More about Cristian Hrdalo adds protective steel screens to house beside a golf course in Chile
Austin-based startup Kasita has created a prototype of a prefabricated micro dwelling that can be slotted into a framework like a bottle into a wine rack (+ slideshow). More about Kasita unveils prefabricated tiny houses that slot into "racks" like wine bottles
As city property prices continue to skyrocket, the trend for micro apartments is growing. We've rounded up eight examples – from a 13-square-metre crashpad in Poland, to a Parisian flat with a home cinema – to show how to make the most of a tiny space (+ slideshow). More about Eight tiny apartments that make the most of every square inch
A small pool is slotted between the inner and outer layers of this house near Bratislava, which was designed according to Italian Renaissance principles by local firm Plural (+ slideshow). More about Plural completes plastic-clad house in Slovakia with inner and outer layers
This small wooden cabin by London-based architect Sini Kamppari perches among trees on a granite ridge, offering views of a lake in southeast Finland (+ slideshow). More about Lake cabin by Sini Kamppari features slatted timber walls and a projecting terrace
World Heritage Corb: commissioned by an Argentinian surgeon, Maison Curutchet is the only project in Latin America among the 17 Le Corbusier-designed buildings added to UNESCO's World Heritage List (+ slideshow). More about Le Corbusier's Maison Curutchet in Argentina has a tree at its centre
Wooden crosses mark the entrances to this house in Japan, which features an intentionally complicated layout designed by Alts Design Office to create more privacy for residents (+ slideshow). More about Uji House by Alts Design Office features a deliberately complex layout
Oriol Garcia has overhauled a derelict apartment in Barcelona, removing walls he deemed "light barriers" to create a bright and spacious home that celebrates its historic details (+ slideshow). More about Oriol Garcia revamps Barcelona apartment by replacing walls with curtains and bookcases
Stone walls and contemporary wooden roof trusses frame this pool house that architecture studio Re-Format has added to a house in Surrey, England (+ slideshow). More about Contemporary pool house by Re-Format brings together stone, copper and oak
San Francisco-based Avava Systems has created a prefabricated micro dwelling with components that are shipped in flat-packed boxes, to enable easier transportation and assembly (+ slideshow). More about Avava unveils tiny house that represents a "completely new way to do prefab"
From desert hideaways to clifftop villas, the houses in this next roundup from our series spotlighting different US states are all in California (+ slideshow). More about Five of the best houses in California on Dezeen
Swiss firm Daluz Gonzalez Architekten has set a nest-like terrace into the roof of an angular house it has completed in a forest near Basel, Switzerland (+ slideshow). More about Faceted house by Daluz Gonzalez Architekten features nest-like roof terrace
This concrete summer house by Argentinian architect Luciano Kruk stands among pine trees in the seaside resort of Mar Azul near Buenos Aires (+ slideshow). More about Luciano Kruk adds board-marked concrete holiday home to seaside resort near Buenos Aires
World Heritage Corb: a 1930s apartment building in Paris designed by French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier, intended to afford residents a contemporary lifestyle, is among his projects recently added to UNESCO's World Heritage List (+ slideshow). More about Le Corbusier's Immeuble Molitor provides residents with "sky, trees, steel and concrete"
Designer Olalekan Jeyifous has created a dystopian vision of shanty-town towers in Lagos, Nigeria, to highlight the poor standard of living in the city's impoverished areas (+ slideshow). More about Designer Olalekan Jeyifous imagines vertical shanty towns for central Lagos
Architecture studio MAPA has revealed the latest project from its prefabricated building company Minimod, a pair of factory-made houses at an estate surrounded by mountains in Brazil (+ slideshow). More about MAPA builds two prefabricated houses in Brazilian mountain landscape
Architect Mohamed Amine Siana has completed a house in Casablanca, featuring a sculptural exterior intended as a contemporary update of the Modernist architecture found across the Moroccan city (+ slideshow). More about Mohamed Amine Siana combines flat planes and wavy walls at Villa Z in Casablanca
This simple brick house by architect Germán Müller features a series of large windows, offering generous views of the scenic setting in Santa Fe, Argentina (+ slideshow). More about Casa Bovero by Germán Müller is a house among eucalyptus trees in rural Argentina