Modern Zen—the name of this project says it all. The sleek New York City apartment from the minds of Z.RIVER.STUDIO breathes a calm elegance through every room. It’s a conscious effort on the designers, who believe that “home” should be a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, a place where you leave behind the world’s stressors and step into a place of zen.

Hidden between the trees in the beautiful coastal town of Aldeia do Meco, Portugal lies Casa Meco. An impressive architectural gem of no less than 300 square meters designed by the Portuguese Atelier RUA. Lying on a triangular-shaped plot, the design of this holiday home is guided by geometry and openness resulting in a perfect square house. With an open and central plan, the home has no doors and a bedroom in every corner of the house.

PPAA, short for Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados, is a Mexican architecture office "driven by an architecture of ideas over an architecture of forms.” Seeing architecture as an open medium, the studio always considers the context of a project and the challenges it brings. With nature being an important aspect of their designs, the firm strives for a sensorial atmosphere in their properties. Casa La Quinta is one of PPAA’s stunning projects in which they perfectly translate the identity and context of the site into a home.

The Brazilian transdisciplinary architecture studio MNMA developed a unique design language of sensitivity, simplicity and intimacy with which they create beautiful projects diverse in scale. Their minimalist spaces are defined by a monochrome palette and intimate and an elegant aesthetic. MNMA’s design of a commercial space in São Paulo, Brazil called Dois Trópicos presents itself as a celebration of authentic materials.

The Sao Paulo-based transdisciplinary architecture studio MNMA has developed a unique design language of sensitivity, simplicity, and intimacy with which they create beautiful projects, diverse in scale. “We believe in processes that do not speak of form but rather of sensations, from ephemeral to the permanent, that way, the architecture surpasses the simple answer in terms of material comfort and above all, it fulfills its greater task when it does not become an individual activity” the studio notes.

The Mexican interior and architecture studio WEWI strives to bring new and fresh ideas to the city they call home. Exuding a sober, natural, and minimalistic atmosphere, House Nizuc 01 is a perfect representation of the style for which WEWI Studio is known and praised. The home is located in the Mexican town of Puerto Morelos on a corner lot close to a park. Taking full advantage of this greenery and wanting to reverse the typical plan of a house, WEWI Studio decided to place the garden in front of the house connecting it to the park and the garage at the back.

On a suburban street in Perth, Western Australia lies the mysterious Cloister House, a minimalist hideaway erected from concrete. The almost windowless gray walls enclose a lush, green central courtyard around which daily life unfolds.

In the heart of the diverse district of Kreuzberg in Berlin, on the ground floor of an 1880s apartment building that was once home to a supermarket, we find the serene office of life and work partners Mar Vicens and Ask Anker Aistrup.

The architects established their award-winning studio mar plus ask in 2015 after teaching and working independently for offices in Denmark, Spain, and France. The strength of the studio lies in the origin of the founders, combining Scandinavian and Mediterranean aesthetics in their works that are always humble, but full of character—much like their own home and office space in Berlin.