Toby Orton

Hidden away in the trees of an East Sussex woodland, the Yogi’s Cabin by

Utilising the distinctive white bricks produced in this region of Mexico, this compact home in Mexico balances individual sense of character with local tradition. Set within a residential development in the town of San Cristóbal Tepontla, the house was designed as both a home and creative workspace for a performance artist and choreographer. Occupying a reasonably modest 110-square-metre plot, the project deviates from the look of its neighbors, its design by architects Estudio Tecalli worked around a rectangular volume whose large windows and open internal arrangements forge a light, adaptable living space and a closer connection to the nature beyond its walls.

This 1958 home on Mercer Island, an island city in Washington, USA has been carefully restored by ONOMA Architecture, for clients drawn to the home’s mid-century character. While the house required a complete overhaul to suit modern family life, the clients were keen to preserve the charming craftsmanship still present in the home, which meant carefully renovating the old bones – even after the discovery of asbestos. Instead of starting over, the architects worked around the home’s issues, reimagining the layout to create brighter, more connected living spaces while respecting the spirit of the original design.

In Toyama City, Japan, architects Plan 21 designed this thoughtful, multi-generational home in a bid to rethink the idea of shared family living. Balancing togetherness with independence, the project splits the home with each side fitting the needs of its residents. By dividing the project into two separate buildings – a single-story home for the mother and a two-storey residence for her son and daughter-in-law, the house can accommodate two distinct lifestyles. Although each house functions independently and effectively sits on its own plot, they were carefully composed to read as a single architectural vision.

In a wooded spot right beside Lake Butler in Windermere, Florida, this canal-side home by OSPA Architecture takes full advantage of its unusual waterfront setting, its location right at the meeting point of two canals. Arranged to open the site in its entirety, rather than simply to occupy it, the living space is extended by a generous patio and pool area that tempts with the luxe outdoor life.

In a city like London, where building space is for single-family developments is rare, micro developers need to be creative. Fortunately for architect Joe Burke, the garden of the end of terrace home he already owned, was the viable plot of land he needed to create a family rental property. Taking on almost every role in the creation of Leyton House (think developer, planner, architect, interior designer and builder), Burke oversaw the realisation of a compact home built in the overgrown, 4.5-meter-wide garden. Poised at the end of a 1960s terrace in east London, the house takes on the proportions and window arrangements of its neighbors, its form complimenting the uniform row of houses, while at the same time standing out with its updated materials which present a facade of tactile pale brickwork and board-marked concrete.

In a clearing at the plateau of a steep hillside in the Ecuadorian Andes, Casa 29 is stretched out across the landscape, its low, horizontal form backdropped by thick pine forest. Looking out over the dramatic slope, incredible mountains rise in the distance above the city of Cience. Taking its place on the route to the sacred Guagualzhumi mountain, this family home by architects estudio29 responds to the topography with a cantilevered design, which reduced the need for intense work on the ground, while directing attention towards those magical horizon views.

Instead of taking a classic and overhauling it, the renovation of architect Vilanova Artigas’ 1956 Muxarabi House by Ana Sawaia Arquitetura chose to embrace the qualities that defined the home. While the Sao Paulo, Brazil

A house transformed: years of layered updates and additions were embraced in order to turn this Kyoto building into something both classic and new. Set in the city’s Shimogyo Ward, House Tenjin gives new life to an early Showa-era machiya, transforming the traditional townhouse into a micro hotel, enhancing the architectural elements that made it such a special building.

In Rio de Janeiro, the discovery of a wall of Portuguese tiles directed the design of this 36-square-metre apartment. The architects, Atelier Glushko, sought to salvage and incorporate the original ceramics, which dated back to 1955, with their decorative, historic presence chosen to become the jumping off point for the transformation of a tired, unloved property into a compact, loft-like home.