Site size: 806 square feet Project size: 2,314 square feet Program: The client requested a mixed-use building containing retail on the ground floor and living space above. Location: A shopping street in downtown Tokyo that had been in decline is now undergoing a rapid transformation, with numerous building renovation and infrastructure projects under way, including widening the sidewalk. Solution: The four-story building contains a noodle shop on the ground floor, the client's residence on the second floor, and a pair of duplex two-bedroom rental units on the third and fourth floors. The architects sought to create a 'moderate conspicuousness' for

The clients for a single-family house wanted to minimize its environmental impact on the neighboring wetlands.

Architects designed an energy-efficient, timber-frame house for a client with limited mobility who desired views of the surrounding countryside on New Zealand’s South Island.

Project size: 2,368 square feet. Program: A vacation house for a young family of four. Location: In the Tequendama region known for its mild climate, a few hours drive from Bogota. Solution: Two rectangular volumes are perched on a sloping site overlooking a verdant landscape. The lower volume contains the living areas, which are enclosed by wood louvered screens and open onto a terrace and a pool. Above are three bedrooms; a west-facing balcony is recessed within the geometric volume to provide shelter from the sun. Construction methods: Reinforced concrete and steel structure; plastered brick walls; metal and wood folding

Site size: 5,382 square feet. Project size: 6,997 square feet. Program: A family living in Mexico City asked Jose Juan Rivera Rio and his firm to design a modern house with ample privacy for family and space for guests. Location: The house occupies a narrow walled-in site in a residential section of the city, Lomas de Chapultepec. Solution: The architects, inspired by 1960s modernist architecture, designed a rectilinear house featuring thick, concrete or stone walls and deep overhangs. Lush vegetation outdoors and wood floors and slatted screens inside provide a warm contrast to the textured, board-formed concrete structure. A discreet

Site size: 8,140 square feet. Project size: 9,688 square feet (3,230 square feet per townhouse). Program: A complex of three residential townhouses distributed on four levels, which accommodates 4-6 occupants per dwelling. Location: A sloping hill facing south with a view of Lake Avándaro. Solution: The four levels are terraced down the hill with interior spaces opening onto private terraces, and connected by a cascade of stairs. Construction methods: Concrete frame with brick walls and a minimal palette of inexpensive low-maintenance materials using local labor. Architect: Dellekamp Arquitectos Celaya 26 Loc.2 Colonia Condesa CP 06100, México DF, México Tel: [52

Site size: 3.5 acres Project size: 2,400 square feet Program: Bud and Colleen Konheim asked Specht Harpman Architects to design a light-filled, yet private modern cottage on a wooded site adjacent to the Saugatuck River in southwestern Connecticut. Location: The house is in a river valley, a steep 80-foot drop from the main road along the ridgeline. Solution: The architects immersed the concrete and glass house in the landscape so that a series of green rooftop terraces gently step down from the street to the river below. The house, T-shaped in plan, consists of two perpendicular rectilinear volumes: The first,

Project size: Covered space 2,260 square feet; Terrace 5,600 square feet Program: A family living in Taiwan wanted to give new life to a crumbling, redbrick farmhouse on their lush, tropical property. In 2009 they commissioned Finnish'based firm Casagrande Laboratory to design the project. Location: The property is located on a hilly site in Yangmingshan National Park outside Taipei, where jungle encroaches upon the house. Solution: Completed in 2013, the renovation and addition, dubbed 'Ultra-Ruin,' melds jungle, decay, and new construction. The new building envelops the old farmhouse in a horseshoe-shaped series of rooms, terraces, and porches, creating what the

Site size: 19,042 square feet Project size: 7,500 square feet Program: When the clients, Thom and Sarah McElroy, purchased a half-acre wedge-shaped lot overlooking the Pacific Ocean in coastal California, they asked Ehrlich Architects to design a contemporary house for indoor-outdoor living. The clients, who swim or surf daily, wanted panoramic views of the water, sustainable materials requiring little maintenance in the salty air, and a design that adhered to a strict 11-foot height limit set to preserve views throughout the gated community. Solution: The house, a series of rectangular volumes united by a flat roof, is organized around a