Small strips of clay-coloured stone create textured, undulating facades for the houses in this Beijing development by UNStudio (+ slideshow). More about Curving stone walls wrap individual blocks in Beijing housing complex by UNStudio
This house in Pinamar, Argentina, features glazed surfaces inserted into its concrete structure and retractable wooden walls to open it out to the surrounding woodland (+ slideshow). More about ATV Arquitectos places a concrete and glass house in an Argentinian forest
A concrete staircase with no balustrade ascends through this minimal house in the Valencia region of Spain, which was added to a converted factory containing the headquarters of an outdoor furniture company (+ slideshow). More about Borja Garcia Architects adds a minimal residence to a former textiles factory
This extension to a townhouse in the Dutch town of Vught by local studio Reset Architecture has a double-height window that provides views of the garden across two of the building's floors (+ slideshow). More about Reset Architecture adds modern wood and glass extension to a traditional brick townhouse
This refurbished and extended London house by local studio Neil Dusheiko Architects includes a pop-up screening room for the owner, who works for film company Universal Pictures (+ slideshow). More about Brackenbury House by Neil Dusheiko features a curved brick extension and pop-up cinema room
Boxes clad entirely in vertical strips of stained timber are stacked and angled slightly to make the most of ocean views at this house on the outskirts of Melbourne by local firm B.E Architecture (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber boxes are stacked to provide sea views from Bass Street Residence
Designed for charity YMCA, this factory-building housing scheme by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners will provide accommodation for 36 homeless young people in Mitcham, south London (+ slideshow). More about Richard Rogers' prefabricated housing for homeless people opens in south London
Sunken below the crest of a hill in southern Italy, this concrete home and its outdoor pool were designed by Rome studio OSA to be almost imperceivable from the road above (+ slideshow). More about OSA submerges concrete home in a hill above Italy's San Giuliano lake
Vertical timber slats provide shade and privacy for staggered balconies arranged across the facade of this east London housing development by local architects Angela Brady and Robin Mallalieu (+ slideshow). More about Brady Mallalieu Architects adds slatted timber balconies to east London housing scheme
On the edge of Mexico's border with the US, this house by New York-based architects T38 Studio hides an enclosed courtyard garden behind its black stucco volumes (+ slideshow). More about House in Mexico by T38 Studio contains a private courtyard garden
This multifunctional building by French studio PPA Architectures, provides a residence, gallery, workshop and events space, and stands at the edge of a golf course on the outskirts of Toulouse, southern France (+ slideshow). More about PPA Architectures completes gallery space and residence overlooking a Toulouse golf course
A pair of steel-clad volumes with pitched roofs and glazed gables provide additional living space behind the ornamental facade of this Victorian terrace in Melbourne (+ slideshow). More about Nic Owen Architects updates ornate Melbourne terrace with ribbed steel extension
The wooden frame of this two-storey family home in Japan's Shiga Prefecture is disguised by a layer of ridged steel panels (+ slideshow). More about Junichi Kato clads House in Shigaraki in dark brown-coated steel
Argentinian studio Adamo-Faiden has designed a group of concrete summer houses called Sociedad de Mar for a patch of forest on the coast of Uruguay (+ slideshow). More about Concrete holiday homes by Adamo-Faiden occupy Uruguay's coastal woodland
This house in Mexico for an elderly couple features four box-shaped buildings arranged around a central courtyard, three of which contain bedrooms and bathrooms for their visiting children (+ slideshow). More about Casa 4.1.4 by AS/D features separate living spaces for different generations of the same family
Malaysian studio WHBC Architects wrapped this house with a gridded concrete facade, designed to create privacy while providing a frame for tropical plants to grow around the building (+ slideshow). More about Tropical Box house in Kuala Lumpur is wrapped in a concrete "egg crate"
The top of this house for two former politicians near Hastings, England, has been angled and cantilevered to capture views of the sea and provide a covered parking space beneath (+ slideshow). More about Alma-nac skews upper level of Split House to capture best view of the sea
This pair of charred timber holiday homes by Cheshire Architects stand on the side of a hill in New Zealand that slopes down to the Tasman Sea (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber cabins by Cheshire Architects overlook the Tasman Sea
Submerged below a sandy bank and enclosed by a zigzagging rammed-earth wall, these twelve subterranean rooms provide temporary accommodation for cowboys on an Australian cattle station (+ slideshow). More about Luigi Rosselli constructs ranch housing behind "longest rammed-earth wall in Australia"
This family dwelling in the Colorado mountains by Will Bruder Architects features an exterior made of burnt wood and a roof sheathed in copper (+ slideshow). More about Will Bruder clads a mountain home in Aspen with charred cypress