Kyoto studio Alphaville has squeezed an angular concrete apartment building onto a small plot in the Japanese city of Hikone (+ slideshow). More about Alphaville's Hikone Studio Apartments are housed in an angular concrete block
Canadian studio MU Architecture has completed a white-painted holiday home in rural Quebec that is composed of two stacked volumes that cling to the steep terrain (+ slideshow). More about Bright white home by MU Architecture blends with Quebec's snowy landscape
Canadian firm Robitaille Curtis has completed a cabin in the Laurentian Mountains that sits atop wooden pilotis, enabling snowmelt to pass under the home (+ slideshow). More about Robitaille Curtis perches a ski chalet on a steep slope in Quebec
Texas firm Matt Fajkus Architecture has completed a family home in Austin that features rooms with sliding glass walls, enabling the spaces to be fully opened to the outdoors (+ slideshow). More about Matt Fajkus completes urban Austin home with retractable glass walls
The Jenga-like form of Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron's residential skyscraper in Tribeca, New York, has been captured by Instagram users ahead of its imminent completion. More about Herzog & de Meuron's 56 Leonard "Jenga tower" nears completion in New York
A pair of box-like units contain the bedroom and bathroom in this apartment just outside of Tokyo, which was renovated by architects Tomoko Sasaki and Kei Sato to create an open space for their own family (+ slideshow). More about Two boxes replace walls in Kanagawa apartment by 8 Tenhachi
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
San Francisco studio Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects took cues from traditional barns to create this contemporary dwelling in a northern California farming valley (+ slideshow). More about Turnbull Griffin Haesloop creates white barn-like house on a California ranch
British studio Bennetts Associates has completed a house in a historic English town that is partly set into its sloping site and features a material palette chosen to complement the surrounding architecture (+ slideshow). More about Bennetts Associates creates contemporary stone and zinc country house in Cumbria
Pedro Ferreira Architecture Studio has renovated a 19th-century townhouse in central Porto, maintaining the original features and adding stark white boxes that contain the kitchens and bathrooms (+ slideshow). More about Pedro Ferreira separates old from new in Porto townhouse conversion
This Montreal residential building by local studio Naturehumaine features a simple brick facade punctuated with square windows and a rear parking area topped by a steel canopy. More about Naturehumaine creates stripped-down facade for Montreal residences
Japanese architect Masatoshi Hirai has refurbished an apartment in Tokyo, creating one shared bedroom, living space and wardrobe for its inhabitants (+ slideshow). More about Masatoshi Hirai reconfigures Tokyo flat to create a wholly shared family living space
Japanese architect Ninkipen! has completed a house in Osaka Prefecture, featuring a metal surface that appears to be peeling up from the structure (+ slideshow). More about Gandare house by Ninkipen! has a metal skin that appears to peel up
American architect Richard Meier has unveiled the design for an apartment block on New York's East River, eschewing his signature white palette for black glass facades. More about Richard Meier unveils black tower for Manhattan at 685 First Avenue
OOIIO Architecture has applied varying tones of stonework to the irregularly stacked blocks that make up this house in central Spain (+ slideshow). More about Stone-covered blocks make up staggered Spanish residence by OOIIO Architecture
This pill-shaped corrugated-metal cabin contains a reading room for a rural retreat in Australia's Barragorang Valley (+ slideshow). More about Benn + Penna completes corrugated metal cabin in the Australian bush
This tall, gabled extension is tucked behind the Victorian frontage of a mid-terrace house in Melbourne's Fitzroy North suburb, and its exterior is clad in pale blue tiles (+ slideshow). More about Pastel blue tiles front gabled extension to a Melbourne house by Dan Gayfer Design
A three-metre-high pivoting glass door protrudes from the sloping roof of this London house extension, which is clad in fibre-cement panels to match a refurbished dormer window (+ slideshow). More about Alma-nac creates huge pivoting door for London house extension
Japanese firm Domino Architects has renovated an apartment in Tokyo by installing wooden partitions instead of building new walls (+ slideshow). More about Domino Architects divides J House with wooden storage partitions
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Danish studio EFFEKT has designed a self-sustaining, off-grid village of greenhouse properties, which it will present inside the Danish Pavilion during the Venice Biennale. More about EFFEKT designs ReGen Villages that could produce all their own food and energy