Taking cues from Japanese gardens, landscape architecture firm Surface Design has created a series of planted terraces for a renovated home in San Francisco (+ slideshow). More about Surface Design creates verdant terraces for Butterfly House in San Francisco
A long, horizontal block is hoisted above the ground on a collection of concrete pods, providing views of paddy fields and mountains for the home, gallery and studio of an embroidery artist in Japan's Shiga Prefecture (+ slideshow). More about Satoru Hirota Architects creates a "floating" home and gallery for an embroidery artist
Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter has developed a conceptual house with an integrated outdoor shower, which could be built without permission thanks to a recent change in Sweden's planning rules. More about Waterfall House by Bornstein Lyckefors pushes the limits of a Swedish planning clause
Located on a cliffside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, this house by Cadaval & Solà-Morales is a cluster of 10 cubes that are each oriented towards a different viewpoint (+ slideshow). More about Sunflower House comprises ten cubes pointed in different directions
Both the jagged profile of Norway's mountain ranges and the gabled elevations of traditional houses informed this angular housing development in Stavanger (+ slideshow). More about Faceted waterfront housing in Norway conceived as "a mountain range of wood"
Belgian studio Graux & Baeyens Architecten has transformed a warehouse loft space near Kortrijk into a family home featuring curving walls, vaulted ceilings and muted tones (+ slideshow). More about Graux & Baeyens uses curved walls to convert a factory loft into a family home
The industrial aesthetic of this metal-clad house in Tasmania is interrupted by a timber-lined hole through its centre that creates sheltered terraces on either side of the kitchen (+ slideshow). More about Rural Tasmanian house by Philip M Dingemanse has a terrace piercing its middle
These three brick buildings, featuring deep-set windows and internal courtyards, have been arranged by B.E. Architecture around a cobbled lane in the Australian town of Windsor (+ slideshow). More about B.E. Architecture completes a trio of red brick houses for the same family
A doll's house provided the inspiration for this extension to a house outside Melbourne, which features a gabled profile, a simple gridded layout and a transparent rear facade (+ slideshow). More about Gabled extension by BKK Architects borrows the form of a doll's house
A pair of gymnast's rings dangle from the ceiling of this Montreal home, which has been renovated by local architects Naturehumaine to create a new living space for the client's athletic children (+ slideshow) More about Naturehumaine includes gym hoops and apparatus inside a home for two athletes
Sections of brick, zinc, timber and concrete highlight the intentionally irregular form of this Sydney residence – a result of myriad planning restrictions (+ slideshow). More about Bijl Architecture reinterprets the traditional Dutch gable for a Sydney residence
Paris studio CUT Architectures has returned to the house it extended in 2011 to create a glazed study featuring a yellow staircase that integrates a desk (+ slideshow). More about CUT Architectures adds a second concrete-framed extension to a French home
A pair of twisted concrete fins frame a fireplace at the centre of this pavilion, designed by German architecture office NE-AR as an extension to an holiday home in Argentina (+ slideshow). More about Lakeside concrete pavilion by NE-AR houses a fireplace inside a twisted column
Dutch architect Christian Müller has overhauled the interior of a chalet in the Swiss Alps, creating a pair of apartments that combine exposed stone walls with raw concrete and distressed wood. More about Christian Müller converts an Alpine chalet into a pair of family apartments
Norwegian architect Aslak Haanshuus has created a cross-shaped house by extending a pair of old lakeside cabins so that they overlap (+ slideshow). More about Aslak Haanshuus transforms two Norwegian log cabins into a cross-shaped house
Rotterdam architect Antonia Reif has renovated and extended a modest 1960s bungalow, creating a two-storey living room and a generous bedroom that both open out to the garden (+ slideshow). More about Antonia Reif adds an inconspicuous extension to a 1960s Rotterdam bungalow
A basement garage with a turntable for cars helps reduce the space required for this house in the Australian city of Ballarat, designed by Melbourne architecture firm Inarc (+ slideshow). More about Lake Wendouree House by Inarc features a spiked entrance and a car turntable
A mountain setting prompted the design of this conceptual wooden residence, which features two cuboid volumes rotated at 45 degrees (+ slideshow). More about Plan Bureau imagines a twin-peaked wooden house in the mountains
American studio Anmahian Winton Architects chose pale wood and dark zinc for the facade of this house in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to contrast with its more traditional neighbours (+ slideshow). More about Massachusetts home by Anmahian Winton features a facade of ipe wood and zinc
This family home nestled against the remnants of an ancient stone cottage on the Welsh coast features a composition inspired by the client's interest in abstract art (+ slideshow). More about Stephenson Studio completes a Mondrian-inspired home for a remote site on the Welsh coast