Here's another excellent house by Brazilian architect Guilherme Torres, except this it's not his own residence but one commissioned by an elderly couple in Londrina, Brazil. The brief was to design a house suitable to live in on a regular basis but large enough to host their whole family at the weekends. The house, consisting of two big blocks that lie perpendicularly allows for three bedrooms and a vast living area. Outside, a swimming lane of 16 metres lined with black glass is ready for the owner's daily swim.

Few materials were used in this project. The rusty texture on the brick walls was applied directly to the plaster and the house floors are a mix of cement planks and wood. All of the French styled window frames were made by local handymen in the area whilst concrete slabs define the courtyard and outdoor living areas.

This tiny studio situated in Londrina, Brazil, was under redecoration for over ten years by young Brazilian architect Guilherme Torres. The redecoration included removing wall coatings whilst the architect-come-furniture-designer designed a brick table and couch. He wanted something 'permanent and stable' for his furnishings that also reflected an air of versatility. The table is used to hold books and collections whilst remaining functional as somewhere to eat; whilst the couch stands impressively from wall to wall with two fabric mattresses. The master bedroom resembles a loft with exposed brick walls. The entire design was inspired by Paulo Mendes da Rocha who won the Pritzker prize in 2006 in which industrial elements like hydraulic and electrical pipes are left in sight. 

Designed by award winning architect Andrew Patterson, this stunning home on 600 acres of farmland is located on a spectacular hillside nestled between Bethells and Muriwai beaches on the dramatic west coast of Auckland.

The 640 square metre property features an enclosed swimming pool and courtyard entertainment area that offers shelter from the elements.

The property is currently on the market, for more information go here.

As a lover and seller of art, the owner of this home demanded a sculptural element for their home. They were able to realise their dream with the help of architect Humberto Hermeto. Situated in Nova Lima, Brazil, the home operates as both a residence and an art gallery where the owners conduct business from. The strength of this home lies in its simplicity: a concrete facade is utilised on both the exterior and interior for continuity, and the colour palette is neutral throughout. Outside, the city and mountains serve as an incredible backdrop which can be viewed from all vantage points within the home, or whilst relaxing by the large patio and pool.

Set on a long narrow site on the edge of the Santa Monica Canyon, the Carrillo residence takes advantage of the Californian climate and views. Designed by Ehrlich Architects, the house is equipped with a glass living room so that one is able to see right through the space from courtyard to courtyard. The informal courtyard at the front of the house was constructed with safety in mind for the owners' two young children whilst two pivet doors allow the living room to open out directly to the outdoors - enabling the interior and exterior to become one. A custom wood ceiling and custom stained concrete allow for a sense of visual continuity; stone slabs mark the interior with marble bench tops lining the bathrooms.

Eight years ago when the Manhattan gallery owner Greg Wooten bought a plot of land in the wilder reaches of the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, he had in mind a simple, box-like structure that would sit lightly in its rural surroundings and provide a stylish yet neutral backdrop for his collection of mid-century-modern furniture. Many more years and much more money than envisaged down the line, he has ended up with a complex building that, while fulfilling all the original criteria, is also an experimental piece of architecture. With its curtain glass wall and trio of tall white towers, it seems to hover just above the hillside like a cross between a 1950s spaceship and a state-of-the-art submarine. 'If I’d known how all-consuming the process would be, I probably wouldn’t have gone ahead,’ admits Wooten, who commissioned the same architect, William Massie, to design his Tribeca gallery, Mondo Cane. 'But now it is finally finished I am delighted and wouldn’t want to change a thing.’

What Wooten and Massie had in common was a passion for the Case Study houses, built in Los Angeles between 1948 and 1964 and designed to bring modernism to the masses. For all their innovative use of materials such as glass, concrete, plywood and steel, these houses often had a close relationship with their natural surroundings. And it was the desire to bring the outside in that inspired a key feature of Wooten’s house: the wall of windows that wraps itself right round the building and floods the open-plan interior with light. Its construction – the panes of glass held between beams formed from strips of amber acrylic and plywood edged in steel – has, says Wooten, 'never been done before and will probably never be attempted again!’

Located in upstate New York with sweeping views of the Catskill mountains the Rotman house project had architect and client in agreement from the start on the design of the house.  A 240-square-metre, bar-shaped building clad in red cedar, with all rooms facing the view. The open living-dining-kitchen area — the more public space — acts as a buffer between the home office and guest room near the entry and the master bedroom at the far end of the house. (Closets lining the hallway that connects the spaces provide ample storage.) Three-metre ceilings give the interior a graciousness that belies its small size, and the limited palette of materials — concrete for the floors, wood for the ceilings, dry-stacked local stone for the fireplace wall and Corian for the cabinets — makes the rooms feel even more spacious.

This house isn’t just another pretty facade. It’s energy-efficient, too, using both geothermal power and an array of solar panels that Mann cleverly concealed behind the roof parapet. These features, and the fact that the house is used mainly on weekends, allow it to run mostly off the power grid.

For more information on the architects go here.

Located in the Portugal Northwest border, the Vila Nova de Cerveira house by Demm Architecture was constructed for weekend use for its owners. Built as one long rectangle, its simplicity, enhanced by extensive use of concrete and glass, has good indoor-outdoor flow. The main living area leads out to an infinity pool, and the gardens, which are simply landscaped enables a simple concrete staircase to standout as a feature design feature.

A six-bedroom penthouse at London's latest development One Hyde Park has just sold for a record breaking £140 million (the equivalent of $306 million NZD), making it the most expensive piece of real estate in the world in terms of current listings and sales. What does £140 million buy you? 24 hour room service, spas, squash courts, private wine tasting facilities, protection from security guards (who are SAS trained) and the UK elite special forces unit. And your neighbours will all be able to afford the minimum £20 million dollar starting point for apartments nearby.

At this point the identity of the buyer is under wraps, but there is speculation that it could belong to an oil sheikh. The spacious apartment spans two floors, boasts bullet-proof windows, a panic room and is of course, situated at one of the most prestigious addresses in London - One Hyde Park.

Selected by the American Institute of Architects as San Francisco's top 25 buildings. We concur.