Marina Nova sits in Prague, Czech Republic, as a river-facing apartment by SMLXL with a measured industrial touch. The project uses a raw concrete ceiling, an open plan, and carefully chosen metals and stone to build rhythm without noise. In a district of historic industrial halls, the home threads a modern interior through light, air, and a restrained palette.

Downtown Living unites two mid-rise apartments in Boston, MA, United States, by Walker Architects into a single elevated home oriented to a sweeping city panorama. The clients—downtown academics—kept their original residence and added an adjacent unit for relaxed gathering, games, and study. The result ties modern simplicity to rich material comfort, from paneled arrival to a long living room anchored by stone and steel, with new finishes extended across the public rooms.

A Villa in the Castelli Romani sits in Grottaferrata, Italy, reimagined by Studio Tamat as a modernist house attuned to light, material, and daily rhythms. The renovation respects 1960s Usonian cues while reshaping the plan for a family of five, marrying Roman hillside calm with metropolitan ease. Built as a retreat, it now reads as a lived-in home, open yet grounded by stone, wood, and crafted details.

Apto Brasa sets an industrial, convivial tone inside a compact apartment in São Paulo, Brazil. Designed by Studio Canto Arquitectura, the 72m² home uses raw materials and a tight plan to expand daily life. The balcony merges with living, dining, and kitchen, fostering an easy rhythm for hosting and weeknights alike without losing that city-edge character.

Whidbey Uparati sits in Island County, WA, United States, as a house by Wittman Estes. The family retreat is designed for uparati—stillness—set lightly above a meadow. It folds a courtyard plan, cedar cladding, and wide glazing into a quiet, high-point perch with views to Useless Bay and the Olympic Mountains, aiming for connection to land and shared rituals.

EL House Itajobi sits in Itajobi, Brazil, where a 1964 farmhouse gains a careful second life. Serpa Comunicação leads a rural house refurbishment grounded in memory, material reuse, and a clear connection to the surrounding vegetation. The project weaves farm-sourced timber, reclaimed brick, and slate into a calm, practical home for a retired couple. Light, views, and a kitchen-centered plan pull daily life toward the landscape.

Un Plaza Apartment sits high in Manhattan, New York, where Sherman Architects refines a once-compromised residence into a poised, open corner home. The New York studio pares back 1980s clutter to reveal long sightlines, reconnecting rooms to the tower’s mid-century order and the East River beyond. In this apartment, material restraint and precise moves restore calm, clarity, and the views that matter.

Salt Pan House stands on the edge of a salt pan in India, composed with quiet rigor by We Design Studio. The house sits between the Chapora River and a mangrove belt, its profile pared back to climate and context. A limited buildable area sharpened every move, turning restraint into a working method and the land into a guide.