Trees line the protruding balconies of this concrete house in Tokyo by Japanese studio Ryo Matsui Architects (+ slideshow). More about Four-storey house with tree-lined balconies by Ryo Matsui Architects
Architecture studio Juri Troy has designed this eco-friendly timber house as a family home in rural Austria (+ slideshow). More about Passive timber house in Austria by Juri Troy Architects
Japanese firm Atelier HAKO Architects used concrete dotted with formwork impressions for both the internal and external surfaces of these stacked residences in a suburb of Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Concrete homes patterned with formwork holes by Atelier HAKO Architects
Panoramic views of the dramatic Icelandic landscape are offered from this holiday home near Reykjavik by local studio PK Arkitektar (+ slideshow). More about Árborg House by PK Arkitektar overlooks an Icelandic glacial valley
Architects Takero Shimazaki and Charlie Luxton have renovated a 1960s house outside London to create a modern home that features black-painted brickwork, large windows and a new angular roof (photographs by Edmund Sumner + slideshow). More about Black brick house in the woods by Takero Shimazaki and Charlie Luxton
American firm Johnston Marklee has designed a circular house with a paddling pool on the roof as part of a series of inventive holiday homes proposed by architects including Sou Fujimoto and Didier Faustino for a national park in Spain (+ slideshow). More about Johnston Marklee designs rotunda residence for series of Spanish holiday homes
A concrete kitchen worktop doubles up as a dining room floor inside this renovated house in Porto by Portuguese studio Ezzo (+ movie). More about House in Porto features concrete floors that double as kitchen worktops
A house modelled on the form of an explosion by Portuguese artist and architect Didier Faustino looks set to become the next completed residence in the series of Spanish dream houses for French developer Christian Bourdais. More about Didier Faustino's Big Bang-inspired structure to be next in series of dream houses
A rock garden filled with trees and shrubs is sandwiched between glazed rooms and floating windowless walls at this house in Japan by mA-style Architects (+ slideshow). More about Green Edge House by mA-style Architects has a hidden garden around its perimeter
A high-end hair salon and family home are separated by a courtyard planted with a single tree in this building designed by Tokyo firm Apollo Architects & Associates in the Japanese city of Hamamatsu (+ slideshow). More about House with a hair salon hidden at the back by Apollo Architects & Associates
Japanese architect Kazuhiko Kishimoto designed the ground floor of this house in Yokohama with barely any walls so it can function as a gallery and seating area for members of the local community (+ slideshow). More about House by Kazuhiko Kishimoto has a public seating deck and gallery underneath
Dutch architecture studio Inbo has completed a transparent house in the Netherlands and has hidden it behind a grove of trees to protect the privacy of its residents (+ slideshow). More about Dutch studio Inbo hides a transparent house behind a grove of trees
British architect Alex Graef has combined two art deco apartments in Vienna to create a home with clean white walls, restored oak floors and a row of artificial skylights (+ slideshow). More about Viennese apartment with pretend skylights by Alex Graef
Japanese architect Tomohiro Hata planned this suburban house in Hyogo Prefecture as a cluster of three buildings around a courtyard, based on the traditional city residences of farmers, artisans and merchants. More about House N by Tomohiro Hata is based on a traditional Japanese vernacular
Swiss firm Haberstroh Schneider Architekten has extended a house in Basel by adding a chain of three rooms, creating a new semi-enclosed courtyard that is filled with stepping stones (+ slideshow). More about House extension with stepping stones leading inside by Haberstroh Schneider Architekten
Paris studio Marchi Architectes layered up timber slats of different thicknesses and proportions to give an irregular texture to the walls of this sunken house extension in Normandy, France (+ slideshow). More about Blackened timber house extension hidden in the forest by Marchi Architectes
This concrete house in Tokyo was designed by Japanese firm Apollo Architects & Associates for a family that regularly accommodates foreign exchange students (+ slideshow). More about Concrete Calm house by Apollo Architects designed to accommodate exchange students
News: a tower under construction in Miami by Porsche Design and Dezer Development is to feature car elevators, allowing some of the world's wealthiest people to park right next to their living rooms (+ slideshow). More about Car elevators in Porsche Design's Miami tower will give billionaires drive-in apartments
News: John Pawson has become the latest designer of a holiday home for Alain de Botton's Living Architecture project with his proposal for a black brick lodge in the Welsh countryside (+ slideshow). More about John Pawson designs countryside lodge for Alain de Botton's Living Architecture project
This small house in Japan by architect Hiroyuki Shinozaki features volcanic stone walls and a ribbed structure that forms the shape of a dome over the central living space (+ slideshow). More about Hiroyuki Shinozaki's House I features stone walls surrounding a ribbed dome