Toby Orton

Standing opposite a park overflowing with lush vegetation, this beautifully crafted home in Taiwan by architects Nameless Tree Design was inspired by nature. Named ‘House Between Small and Large’, the building, unsurprisingly, sits buttressed against a towering block to one side and a low-lying structure to the other, with open sight lines out over the park inspiring

In avoiding the typical style of residential constructions common in a suburban neighborhood in Barbastro, Spain, architects Voila! pushed to create something new for its clients. Inspired by the farms that dot the borders between the city and the rural areas in the region, the architect’s plans borrowed the simplicity of industrial and agricultural buildings to create a bold, elegant structure that stood out from the crowd.

On a high bluff that falls steeply down to the Pacific Ocean, this luxury home by Field Architecture delivers on the dream Big Sur location. The rugged landscape was the key inspiration behind the build, the environment directing everything to the extent that after initial digging, the discovery of a hidden ravine inspired the decision to split the home across the rugged landscape. Accessed via a steep, cypress-lined driveway, the house complements its dense, vegetated surroundings, the walls and roof silhouettes mimicking the steep terrain and dramatic sea cliffs.

Blessed with the honor of being recognized as England’s first ever Modernist House, High & Over is a design icon that has recently come on the market; yours for a mere £3 million. Designed by New Zealand architect Amyas Connell, the Buckinghamshire house was built for the art historian Bernard Ashmole and his wife Dorothy between 1929 and 1931. The client’s brief spoke of a modern Roman

In Highland Park, Los Angeles, a family home is clad in a statement green concrete façade to tonally complement the surrounding trees and vegetation. The century-old house required updating and extending for its clients, who looked to Martin Fenlon Architecture to take on the renovation. The project incorporated the main house as well as an ADU in the rear yard. An L-shaped extension was added to the back, vastly increasing the floorplan of the home, the new volume providing a seamless connection to an outer courtyard area via sliding pocket doors.

A celebrated modernist icon, the Aluminaire House was the first pre-fab, all-aluminum home constructed in the USA, designed by Albert Frey and A.Lawrence Kocher. The prototype has since found its way to the parking lot of the Palm Springs Art Museum where it will remain on show as a permanent exhibit.

Built in the backyard of a home in Los Angeles, California, this Additional Dwelling Unit ( ADU ) by Byben Architects contributes an extra 900 square feet of living space to the property. Designed as a standalone structure where the original garage once stood, it takes on a unique form with an upper deck extending from one end and a cantilevered

Situated in Tokyo ’s upmarket Aoyama district, this home by Japanese architect Keiji Ashizawa shows a masterful balance of capturing the urban living experience alongside a required level of tranquillity briefed by the clients. Designed for a family with a child and two dogs, the four-story concrete residence draws inspiration from the traditional louvres of Kyoto townhouses, ensuring privacy from the prying eyes in its busy, built-up location – along with oodles of aesthetic appeal.

Vancouver-based Campos Studio designed this striking, sculptural home perched on the rocky coastline of Los Zacatitos in Baja California, Mexico. Blending seamlessly with its natural surroundings, the 407-square-meter house is a celebration of the sea, sky, and desert.

Located in Indian Wells in the Coachella Valley, this Mid-Century home was renovated and shaped by o2 Architecture toward the client’s version of modern living – opposed to the design ideals of the long-ago decade in which it was built. While the mid-century style remains iconic, elements of the home – and many like it which took up along the fancy fairways of country club golf courses – required a shift to match contemporary perspectives.