Black panels of corrugated iron clad the exterior of this lakeside wooden cabin in rural Victoria, Australia, by local firm Branch Studio Architects (+ slideshow). More about Pump House by Branch Studio Architects is a metal-clad lakeside retreat
Paris studio Yoonseux Architectes added wooden surfaces and red floors to this school classroom building in the French city of Livry Gargan, to echo the autumnal tones of neighbouring trees (+ slideshow). More about Yoonseux Architectes' school extension designed to match autumnal tree leaves
Here's a look at one of the standout projects from Designs of the Year 2014 - a floating school on a Nigerian lagoon by architecture studio NLÉ (+ slideshow). More about NLE's floating school casts anchor in Lagos Lagoon
British studio Jonathan Tuckey Design worked with a small team and a tight budget to build this timber-lined gatehouse for a west London primary school. More about School gatehouse built on a strict budget by Jonathan Tuckey Design
This wooden home in Helsinki by Finnish architect Tuomas Siitonen has a roof that dips in the middle to allow views across it and a kinked plan that wraps around a secluded garden (+ slideshow). More about Timber-clad House M-M by Tuomas Siitonen wraps around a sheltered garden
This solitary wooden cottage on the Norwegian island of Vega was designed by Swedish studio Kolman Boye Architects to resemble the weather-beaten boathouses that are dotted along the island's coastline (+ slideshow). More about Vega Cottage by Kolman Boye Architects references weathered Norwegian boathouses
Huge sliding doors at the front and rear of this weekend house in rural Hiroshima allow residents to open out their timber-lined living spaces to the scenic mountain landscape (+ slideshow). More about Hinanai Village House opens out to a scenic mountain landscape
Hidden at the bottom of a London garden, this glowing shed by British studio Weston, Surman & Deane was designed as a writing retreat for an author (+ slideshow). More about Light glows through the cedar facade of Writer's Shed by Weston Surman & Deane
An intricate three-dimensional lattice of narrow timber slats forms a cloud-like mass around the exterior of this pineapple cake shop in Tokyo by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma (+ slideshow). More about SunnyHills cake shop by Kengo Kuma encased within intricate timber lattice
Chunky wooden columns and beams support the sloping timber ceiling of this small pharmacy by Japanese studio Ninkipen! in the city of Ogaki (+ slideshow). More about Ninkipen! exposes wooden columns and trusses inside O Pharmacy
This asymmetric Alpine cabin by Austrian architect Peter Jungmann has been named Ufogel because its owners think it looks like a cross between a UFO and a "vogel" - the German word for bird (+ slideshow). More about Alpine holiday cabin by Peter Jungmann has metal feet and a beak
Diagonal strips of wood clad the exterior of this annexe that Austrian studio Franz Architekten has added to a house in the suburbs of Vienna to make room for extra family members (+ slideshow). More about Family house extension by Franz Architekten clad with diagonal strips of larch
The Rotsee rowing regatta takes place every summer on a lake outside Lucerne, Switzerland, and this wooden tower raised over the water accommodates the officials who observe, time and marshal each race (+ slideshow). More about Wooden Zielturm Rotsee tower built for judges of Swiss rowing regatta
Three mature trees were rooted to the centre of this site in Western Australia, but architecture firm MORQ managed to convince the owners to build their family house around the peeling trunks and burgeoning foliage (+ slideshow). More about Karri Loop House by MORQ folds around three indigenous Australian trees
This six-sided wooden cabin by Estonian designer Jaanus Orgusaar has walls that zigzag up and down and two circular windows resembling fisheye camera lenses (+ slideshow). More about Six-sided modular cabin by Jaanus Orgusaar with wooden walls and fisheye windows
Huge round cushions in shades of mustard yellow and cornflower blue add colour to the pale concrete and timber interior of this kindergarten in western Austria by local studio Bernardo Bader Architects (+ slideshow). More about Kindergarten Susi Weigel by Bernardo Bader built from timber and concrete
This timber-clad kindergarten by Stuttgart-based Behnisch Architekten is the first building to open in a new district built on former railway land in the German city of Heidelberg (+ slideshow). More about Timber-clad kindergarten by Behnisch Architekten opens in new housing district
A series of pillars raise the interconnected rooms of this house by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture above the tree tops of the surrounding Costa Rican forest (+ slideshow). More about Casa Flotanta by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture is raised above a forest
Spanish architects Josemaria de Churtichaga and Cayetana de la Quadra-Salcedo have built themselves a rural retreat with wooden walls, projecting terraces, and a brilliant yellow door and chimney (+ slideshow). More about Churtichaga + Quadra-Salcedo built their Four Seasons House in an idyllic meadow
Toshiharu Naka of Tokyo-based Naka Studio added an asymmetric roof with overhanging eaves to this house in a Japanese skiing village to create a huge sheltered terrace for residents (+ slideshow). More about Cedar-clad villa by Naka Studio shelters a huge terrace beneath its roof