Black-painted timber contrasts with clean white window frames on the walls of this cube-shaped weekend home in Normandy, France, by Paris studio Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes (+ slideshow). More about House in Normandy with blackened timber walls by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
French office Topos Architecture used timber cladding and a pitched roof to give this kindergarten in Mayenne, France, a domestic appearance that the architects thought would be more welcoming to children (+ slideshow). More about Timber-clad kindergarten with "the silhouette of a house" by Topos Architecture
This 25-metre wooden lookout in the Czech Republic by Mjölk Architekti is named Cucumber Tower in an attempt to discourage association with phallic forms (+ slideshow). More about Timber observation tower shaped like "a cucumber" by Mjölk Architekti
Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa has teamed up with design studio Nendo to create a hillside pavilion, filled with stools designed to look like troops of wild mushrooms (+ slideshow). More about Roof and Mushrooms pavilion by Nendo and Ryue Nishizawa
This timber house in Kanagawa by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has a square plan with a teardrop-shaped courtyard at its centre (+ slideshow). More about Villa at Sengokubara by Shigeru Ban
Walls of weathered stone and timber surround this gabled family retreat by British studio McLean Quinlan Architects on the Devon coastline in south-west England (+ slideshow). More about Mortehoe House by McLean Quinlan Architects
This L-shaped wooden house by Dutch studio Pasel Kuenzel Architects sits at the water's edge on an artificial island in Amsterdam. More about Urban Villa in Amsterdam by Pasel Kuenzel Architects
This wooden holiday house by Swedish studio Max Holst Arkitektkontor is perched on the edge of a gorge in Vindö, an island on the Stockholm archipelago (+ slideshow). More about Holiday House Vindö by Max Holst Arkitektkontor
The long narrow bodies of snakes inspired the shapes of this pair of matching woodland hideaways that stretch out between the trees of a park in northern Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Tree Snake Houses by Luís and Tiago Rebelo de Andrade
Dutch studio KoningEllis Architects used a combination of grey slate, warm timber and shimmering aluminium for the walls of a new building at this school for children with learning disabilities in Haarlem, the Netherlands (+ slideshow). More about Daaf Geluk School by KoningEllis Architects
Complex wooden lattices provide a stage set for archery competitions and boxing matches at this pair of university buildings in Tokyo by Japanese studio FT Architects (+ slideshow). More about Archery Hall and Boxing Club by FT Architects
Perimeter skylights throw light across a grid of exposed wooden ceiling beams inside our second house this week from Japanese studio mA-style Architects (+ slideshow). More about Light Walls House by mA-style Architects
Paper-thin shutters fold out from the walls of this narrow timber house in Tokyo by Japanese firm Unemori Architects (+ slideshow). More about Small House by Unemori Architects
Lisbon Architecture Triennale: Portuguese artist Marta Wengorovius teamed up with architect Francisco Aires Mateus to create this small wooden library that can be used by only one person at a time. More about One, Two and Many by Marta Wengorovius
Lisbon studio Aires Mateus used only reclaimed timber to construct this pair of waterfront cabins in Grândola, Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Cabanas no Rio by Aires Mateus
Our second project this week from British studio Simon Conder Associates is a timber-clad house built around a nineteenth-century railway carriage on Dungeness beach in Kent, England. More about El Ray at Dungeness Beach by Simon Conder Associates
Blackened wood buildings teeter on the edge of a precipice at this housing development in Sweden by Scandinavian firm Arkitema Architects. More about Prästgården by Arkitema Architects
Seoul architects Studio GAON designed this house in the Korean countryside for a couple who want to retire and grow walnuts (+ slideshow). More about House in Geochang by Studio GAON
These public toilets in Japan by Tato Architects comprise a single curved wall sheltered beneath a gabled roof (+ slideshow). More about Hut with the Arc Wall by Tato Architects
More architecture from Australia: architect Clare Cousins has extended a family house in Mornington Peninsula by adding a timber-framed guest house raised up on stilts. More about Beach House Mornington by Clare Cousins