Shell is a courtyard house in Kyiv, Ukraine, conceived by Bezmirno as a quiet brick refuge on the edge of the city. Behind its monolithic shell, the home turns inward toward a planted patio, where light, texture, and family life concentrate around a single protected void. The project balances robust exterior architecture with a warm, flowing interior sequence tuned to daily rituals.
Casa da Rocha Quebrada sits on the southern coast of São Miguel in Lagoa, Portugal, a concrete house by SO Arquitetura & Design. The project belongs to the parents of one of the studio’s founders, so the brief strips back every nonessential move and pairs a mineral exterior with a warmer interior. Exposed concrete, sheltered openings, and a simple plan respond to the harsh Atlantic edge without losing a sense of quiet domestic life.
House 720 Degrees stands in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, as an off-grid house by Fernanda Canales Arquitectura shaped around climate, light, and terrain. The project draws two families and their guests into a circular sequence that tracks sun, rain, and daily temperature swings with the precision of a solar clock. Its courtyard core, detached volumes, and earthen walls keep the remote valley both sheltered and wide open.
Apartment MO sets a calibrated industrial tone high above the Jardins neighborhood in São Paulo, Brazil, where Zalc Arquitetura reworks a compact apartment for flexible living. Conceived for an owner who lives abroad yet may return, the renovation balances rental practicality with the possibility of future personal use through a precise reorganization of social and private areas. Its compact footprint now frames a generous daily routine rather than a constrained plan.
Casa dos Sobreiros II sits in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, as a rigorously ordered house by Urbanpolis that orients daily life around light and sequence. The home uses two primary axes, a courtyard heart, and a south-facing garden edge to choreograph how family, guests, and views move through the rooms. Continuous white surfaces and precise volumes underline a calm, contemporary character rooted in clarity rather than excess.
French Creek Workshops House sits beside a wetland in Snohomish, WA, United States, where Wittman Estes shapes a low, calm house for a newly retired couple. The single-level residence folds studios, gardens, and water into a daily routine that supports aging-in-place and welcomes multigenerational visits without drama. Every room orients toward making, resting, or watching the seasons change across the layered landscape.
Wenatchee River Cabin stands lightly above the floodplain in Wenatchee, WA, United States, a compact retreat shaped by Wittman Estes for one dedicated outdoor enthusiast. Conceived as a base camp and eventually embraced as a full-time home, the elevated cabin turns a modest footprint into a layered daily routine centered on the forest and river. Simple forms, durable materials, and a clear program keep the focus on lived experience rather than show.
School Admissions Lounge introduces families to the Western Academy of Beijing through a compact, carefully tuned room in Beijing, China. Studio Vapore shapes an elementary school admissions setting where adults settle into a calm living room–like arrangement while children gravitate toward a scaled world of nooks, books, and movement. Subtle links to the wider campus help this first encounter feel both new and reassuring, giving each visit a sense of ease and quiet anticipation.