brick

The monolithic brick home in Mexico City by Esrawe Studio looks imposing from the street, but its enormous pivoting door opens to a courtyard that feels like a lush oasis.

“Small but flexible spaces define the interiors," note the architects. The living room doubles as a music room and elevated stage for the three children (ages 8, 10 and 14) to put on a "home show." The hanging stair serves as a the "perfect 'back of house' grand entrance."

The facade of a house in Belgium consists of "knitted bricks." “In this part of Belgium, 90 percent of the houses are built with brick,” says architect Tom Verschueren. “It’s a classic material that we tried to use in House BVA in a totally different way.”

The external monolithic brick entrance volume is relieved and enlivened by different brick patterns and perforations.

The soft undulation of the outer brick wall continues playfully throughout the heart of the family home in a lattice form.

The owner—a ceramics artist—wanted to make the best of the topography of the lot, and also requested views of the site's nearby horse arena.

The entrance door is made of mirror-like glass to enhance privacy.

After living on and studying a woodsy acre of land in North Zealand, Denmark, architect Jesper Brask cleared a stand of pine trees and, from the timber, built a getaway open to its surroundings. The house, which Brask shares with his wife, Lene, and sons, Kristian, Jens, and Niels, is used mainly in summer, when the weather is optimal for throwing open the glass doors.

A brick fireplace feature creates a low window from the kitchen into the living room to keep a connection between the rooms without relying on a completely open floor plan. Energy-efficient MR16 halogen lights are recessed into the wood ceiling to further emphasize the clean lines throughout the interior spaces.