An indoor basketball court forms the atrium of this family home in eastern Japan by local firm Koizumi Sekkei (+ slideshow). More about Koizumi Sekkei completes house in Japan with a basketball court at its centre
A curved wooden staircase connects the two floors of this penthouse apartment in Brussels, which architecture office B-ILD converted from two flats (+ slideshow). More about B-ILD combines two apartments in Brussels to create live-work penthouse
Architect Onurcan Çakır paired stark concrete with rugged stone for the walls of this compact family house near the west coast of Turkey (+ slideshow). More about Onurcan Çakır uses stone and concrete to create soundproof house in a Turkish village
New York firm Space4Architecture has added a curving white staircase with oak treads to a historic townhouse in the city's Upper West Side (+ slideshow). More about Space4Architecture adds White Snake staircase to New York townhouse
This two-storey house in Barcelona, renovated by local studio Nook Architects, features joined living and sleeping areas separated by stairs and mesh partitions (+ slideshow). More about Nook Architects uses mesh to divide open-plan Barcelona house
Although only 10 metres tall, this red brick house in South Korea by architects AandD is split into 11 different levels connected by a central staircase (+ slideshow). More about AandD's L House is split into 11 different levels of living space
Siberian larch wood covers this house and its adjoining wrap-around terrace in southern Sweden, designed by architect Johan Sundberg (+ slideshow). More about Johan Sundberg clads Villa Ljung inside and out with Siberian larch
Montreal-based architecture firm Naturehumaine has transformed a modest house in the Quebec countryside into a family retreat near the Bic National Park. (+ slideshow) More about Le Bic House extension by Naturehumaine combines wood and steel panelling
Puzzles Architecture designed this weathering-steel extension for a barn in Belgium, converting it into an annex for the adjacent 18th-century farmhouse (+ slideshow). More about Puzzles Architecture adds rusty steel extension to an old Belgian barn
Black corrugated metal covers this residence designed by architect Mariana Palacios as a holiday getaway for herself in a remote area of Cordoba, Argentina (+ slideshow). More about Dark corrugated cladding covers Mariana Palacios' self-designed holiday home in Argentina
SHoP Architects has designed a 10-storey residential tower in Manhattan that is set to become the city's tallest building constructed from structural timber. More about SHoP proposes New York's tallest timber-framed building
This house by São Paulo architects Denis Joelsons and Gabriela Baraúna Uchida is built against the steep terrain of the Mantiqueira Mountains in south-east Brazil and sheltered beneath a large sloping roof (+ slideshow). More about Half-Slope House nestles against a hillside in Brazil's Mantiqueira Mountains
Chinese architects Lee Chul and Liu Jing punched through the partitions of this small Beijing apartment to create a more open-plan layout with only one door (+ slideshow). More about Lee Chul and Liu Jing knock through walls to open up spaces in a Beijing apartment
Design Haus Liberty has converted a building with an triangular footprint in London's Shoreditch into rental apartments that fold around awkwardly shaped internal walls (+ slideshow). More about Design Haus Liberty squeezes three flats into angular period property in east London
This Danish summer house by Norwegian studio Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects is split into five buildings "like a miniature village" to enclose a wind-sheltered courtyard in the middle (+ slideshow). More about Five buildings surround a courtyard to form Danish summer house by Jarmund/Vigsnæs
A zigzagging concrete screen separates this refurbished toll house in the Dutch city of Zaltbommel with a living room extension designed by architecture studio Bekkering Adams (+ slideshow). More about Bekkering Adams adds concrete extension to a traditional Dutch toll house
This house near the French town of Caen spirals around an internal courtyard to provide privacy for the owners in an area surrounded by new homes (+ slideshow). More about Maison Spirale wraps around a central courtyard to offer residents privacy and light
London studio Archmongers has remodelled and extended a 1960s terrace house in the city, refreshing the facade with glazed tiles similar to those found on London's tube stations (+ slideshow). More about Archmongers revamps 1960s London terrace using glazed tiles and an elaborate staircase
Built near the heart of Melbourne's historic brick-making district, this block of apartments and shops has walls of black bricks that are arranged to create perforated patterns and provide privacy for residents (+ slideshow). More about Ola Architecture Studio's housing block in Melbourne designed as an "ode to brick"
Over 400 houses from all over the world have featured on Dezeen in the past year. Architecture editor Amy Frearson picks her top 10, including a transparent home in rural Japan, a top-heavy residence beside a Chilean lagoon, and a concrete property built behind crumbling walls of volcanic stone (+ slideshow). More about Dezeen's top 10 houses of 2015