If I had to nominate a favourite typology in domestic architecture (it’s a question we’re all asked most days), it would be the courtyard house. And this one, by São Paulo’s UNA Arquitetos, is a cracker. A good courtyard house does many things at once – holds the edges of a site, opens up a kernel of space in the middle, cradles privacy within, permits views across into other rooms and in so doing enlivens opposite ends of the home. I could go on…

Is it just me or does this look like the kind of place where unicorns and Snow White would hang out? This outdoor dining pavilion is full of romance and fairytale whimsy. It suggests a history of slowly creeping vines which, over many years and many passing seasons, have eventually swallowed the building whole…

Hiroshima based UID Architects studio was founded in 2003 by Keisuke Maeda. Clearly an advocate of designing in section and 3D, every project pushes the boundaries of solid and void, inside and outside, public and private. I think this is what happens when architecture and landscape architecture make babies…

Boy, oh boy, oh boy… Isay Weinfeld, one of Brazil’s most renowned architects, sure knows how to put together a smoking hot hotel! You may recall that I recently blogged about another fine example of Weinfeld’s many awesome design creations – Square Nine Hotel in Belgrade. This time, he is responsible for the supremely beautiful Fasano Boa Vista, which opened it’s doors just a few months ago. The hotel is located on a magnificent property just outside of São Paulo in Brazil, surrounded by lakes, forests and amazing gardens.

There is a lovely old-world authenticity about this hotel, an overall aesthetic which is sophisticated and oh-so-very-grown-up. Mid-centrury clean lines meet late 60s to mid-70s furniture pieces sourced from local antique shops, 1980′s tapestries, and countless natural design pieces and accessories sourced from local artisans…