Mandarin Oriental Qianmen Beijing sits within Caochang Hutong near Qianmen Street in Beijing, China, reengaging a living alleyway culture through careful restoration. Designed by CCD / Cheng Chung Design (HK), the hotel works within the historic fabric rather than above it, preserving courtyards, materials, and trees. The result reads as hospitality stitched into a neighborhood, not a world apart.

The Odd One Out sits in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a compact house by NU Architecture & Design that treats every square meter as meaningful. Within Go Vap’s bustle, the studio reorganizes daily life around light, storage, and a nimble plan that lifts energy upward. The result balances a bright material palette with practical moves that make small-scale living feel generous without waste.

Lower Shore Residence lands on the rugged edge of Harbor Springs, MI, United States, with Lucid Architecture shaping a house tuned to water, wind, and family life. Three volumes hold different moods and rhythms, with a tall, transparent heart that opens public rooms to Lake Michigan while quieter wood-clad wings gather the private rooms along the shore. Designed for year-round use, it balances outdoor energy with indoor ease.

House within a House sits in Taipei, Taiwan, by the riverside of Keelung, shaped by 1001 Giving Living. The house arranges private rooms like islands while shared areas connect them in a measured current of movement. Calm materials and green accents temper the plan, and light filters through blinds and interior windows to tune the day.

A Single Man House occupies a storied street in Rome, Italy, transformed by Margutta Architetture into an apartment that preserves the atelier’s towering proportions. The studio-to-home conversion balances street life with a quiet garden outlook, pairing structural remediation with deft insertions—an iron stair, a slim walkway, and a rigorously ordered library wall—to organize two levels. Its character comes from height and light, yet the plan feels precise and assured.

Rathnelly House anchors a comprehensive renovation in Toronto, Canada by Studio VAARO, reshaping an Edwardian semi-detached home into a materially rich multi-family residence. The project enlarges usable area within the existing footprint through structural rethinking and a sculptural approach to concrete, wood, stone, and plaster. Across floors, crafted millwork, curving partitions, and an evolving stair establish a clear narrative of construction and comfort that supports family life and entertaining.

Nestled in Ljubljana’s Mirje district, Vila Mirje stands as a dialogue between past and future. Layers of Roman heritage, Plečnik’s timeless interventions, and early 20th-century bourgeois elegance intertwine with contemporary design. Restored with care, the house preserves its frescoes, stoves, and stone staircases while embracing new garden pavilions and adaptable interiors. More than a renovation, it is a living palimpsest — a space where memory, change, and modern life coexist in harmony.

Villa Dellago sits on the east shore of Lake Garda in Torri del Benaco, Italy, as a one-story house by JM Architecture. The pavilion settles onto a natural terrace aligned with the water, trimming excavation while framing long views. Within this compact outline, the plan splits daily life between a glazed living wing and a private master suite, with service rooms centered and lower-level rooms cut into the slope for light and outlook.