Finding space on the end of a terraced row, this five-storey modern home in Hampstead, London was transformed by architects Hayhurst and Co.

Simplicity is beauty for the Shed/House by architects Side Angle Side, whose vast scope fits the landscape well, its deceptive grandeur creating a structure that tries not to look like a house at all, but rather a huge shed.

At just six metres wide and 30 metres deep, Casa Votupoca by Arkitito Arquitetura in Brazil makes a convincing case for thinking upwards rather than outwards.

With its dark timber skin and three pitched roofs, this Indiana guest house by SEEK Design looks more like a cluster of agricultural outbuildings than a place to retreat to on weekends.

McLean Quinlan designs Virginia Water, a countryside home in Surrey featuring a floating floor, a brick courtyard, and a ground source heat pump.

In the Santa Lucia Range near Cayucos, California, stands Cayucos Ridge Barn, a 4,315-square-foot working barn that runs entirely off the grid. Designed by studio Clayton Korte, it sits on the eastern edge of a 150-acre property, between the forest and 30 acres of Syrah vines.

blank design studio + architecture takes charge of the Klose Residence's renovation in Phoenix, Arizona featuring an oxidized steel canopy, white oak panels, and concrete floors.

In Vancouver, Canada, the Canopy House by Lamoureux Architects brings an appealing tree-house-like quality, blending with the dense woodland so that its surroundings feel almost part of the architecture.