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Over the past two weeks, the ArchDaily Brasil community has nominated more than 14,000 projects, resulting in 15 finalists representing some of the most iconic architectural works published over the last year. Now in its 10th edition, the Obra do Ano Award recognizes the best of architecture in Portuguese-speaking countries, chosen by the readers themselves. The finalists offer a snapshot of the current state of architecture, spanning residential, urban, cultural, and other programs.

Representing Brazil and Portugal, the 15 projects reflect the needs of their specific contexts through creative solutions proposed by local architects. From interior renovations to large-scale urban interventions, and from single-family homes to community projects, the selection is diverse, yet united by a common thread: recognition from the public, who seek to see their own aspirations represented.

As another year comes to a close, the ArchDaily team gathers the highlights of architecture in a series of retrospectives reflecting on the content featured over the past twelve months. As part of this effort, our curation team turns its attention to one of the most popular categories among our readers, residential architecture, selecting the projects that represent the best of a vast global architectural production, as seen through the eyes of our audience.

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Wood is an incredibly common material in the construction industry, utilized across various stages and for multiple purposes. Below, we explore its potential to shape residential facades through 17 examples of Brazilian houses.

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The relationship between architecture and structure has been widely discussed and is repeatedly revisited by architects with every new project. Much like plumbing and electrical systems, the structural system is one of the essential disciplines that make up a building. Yet, it is one of the most impactful on the architectural outcome, directly shaping the spatial experience and the chosen materiality. Mastering structural design and understanding how to best integrate it into the architectural project grants architects greater autonomy and expands the possibilities of design solutions. 

Selecting a structural system and deciding how to incorporate it into the architectural design is a pivotal decision in any project. On one hand, architects can choose to absorb structural elements, camouflaging them within the building envelope to make them imperceptible. On the other, the structural system can be brought to the forefront, turning into a defining feature of the design—whether through its structural logic, its materiality, or by being elevated to a nearly sculptural element. 

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Beyond viewing the home as mere shelter and protection, there is now a much greater complexity of functions integrated into the elementary programs of dwelling. We no longer think only of spaces for sleeping, cooking, and bathing, but rather of a series of new programs that demand new spaces and configurations. Among these, leisure emerges as an activity integrated into living, in the form of backyards, swimming pools, and TV rooms. 

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This year, Athos Bulcão, one of the most active artists working at the intersection of art and modern Brazilian architecture, would have turned 100. Bulcão dedicated a significant portion of his career to merging traditional tilework with modern architectural design—and succeeded. His work defines some of the most iconic buildings of Brazilian modernism, most notably in Brasília. 

Frequently used in residential design as an extension of the roof slab, eaves have shed their modest dimensions and traditional role of simply protecting outer walls from rain. Today, they are being reinvented to create new living spaces, such as verandas, which seem to reinterpret the historic alpendre bandeirista and extend the interiors, blurring the boundaries between inside and out.