The first, and perhaps most popular, edition of the year, the Houses Issue shines a spotlight on five of the coolest homes from around the world. Gracing the cover is UNStudio’s curvaceous Haus am Weinberg, nestled on a hillside vineyard overlooking Stuttgart. Near the fringes of the desert in Rajasthan, India, a home by Sanjay Puri is made up of an arrangement of sculptural concrete volumes; its surrounding exterior courtyards boost the home’s passive cooling abilities. Meanwhile, in North America, a house outside Port Hope, Ontario, designed by Teeple Architects rises like a wave from a rural landscape, while two homes in the U.S. demonstrate smart solutions that maximize indoor/outdoor living through unusual materials and the clever use of space.

Among other great stories, this issue includes an interview with master graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister, who talks about his exhibit, The Happy Show, which makes a stop at Toronto’s Design Exchange in January. We take a look at Brooklyn’s game-changing Barclays Center by Ellerbe Beckett and SHoP Architects; Studio Fuksas’s faceted culinary and hotelier school in Montpellier, France; and a medieval tower in Umbria, Italy, restored by German architect Martin Stubenrauch after an earthquake.

You’ll also find our top picks of the product and furniture launches from London Design Week, Toronto’s IIDEX Canada and Bologna’s tile expo, Cersaie. We’ve also selected the best in new bedroom furniture and innovative transparent architectural materials. And we made a stop over at Toronto’s brand new Four Seasons hotel, with its opulent interior by Yabu Pushelberg.