N HOUSE BY JUN AOKI

Some of you may find the look a tad clinical, but the N House by Tokyo architect Jun Aoki certainly gets our nod. "Part good neighbour and part recluse... the heart of the house is a cavernous, underground box completely sequestered from view. While the iconographic upstairs contains just bedrooms, the buried inner sanctum downstairs holds the combined kitchen, dining and living room."

KUS