Skinny Kyoto House and Northern Ireland Brick Home Top September
A four-by-30-metre house in Kyoto and a grey-brick riverside home in Northern Ireland top Dezeen's most-read houses of September 2026.
- Section
- Architecture
- Author
- By Marcus Bennett
- Filed
- Length
- 2 min read
Key takeaways
- House and Studio in Kyoto by Tato Architects measures four by 30 metres and connects its wings with zigzagging staircases over a ground-floor ceramics studio.
- McGonigle McGrath's Tollymore in Northern Ireland comprises six staggered grey-brick volumes set into a steep riverside bank atop board-marked concrete.
- The September 2026 top five also includes Colar's Casa Amona in Mexico, Johan Sundberg Arkitektur's cross-laminated timber Pine House in Sweden and InLe Architects' mango-tree-shaded house in Kerala, India.
A house measuring just four by 30 metres in Kyoto and a riverside home built from six staggered brick volumes in Northern Ireland lead Dezeen's roundup of the most popular houses of September 2026.
The monthly list, determined by Dezeen readers' engagement, also features a lime-rendered family house in Mexico, a cross-laminated timber holiday home in Sweden and a Kerala residence shaded by mango trees.
House and Studio in Kyoto, Japan, by Tato Architects
Local studio Tato Architects filled a narrow Kyoto site with a skinny home and ceramics studio measuring four by 30 metres. Two skylit voids illuminate the interior. Zigzagging staircases and walkways connect the home's separate eastern and western wings, both elevated over an expansive ground-floor studio.
Tollymore, UK, by McGonigle McGrath
Belfast studio McGonigle McGrath set six staggered rectangular volumes into a steep bank to form this riverside house in Northern Ireland. Grey brick walls sit atop a stepped plinth of board-marked concrete, while large windows and glass doors open onto the surrounding nature.
Casa Amona, Mexico, by Colar
Perched beside a wooded hill in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Casa Amona is a two-storey home and studio wrapped in white lime-rendered walls. Local architecture studio Colar designed it for a multi-generational family, stacking rooms that function as independent units. An enclosed ground-floor living space converts into a bedroom without any architectural intervention.
Pine House, Sweden, by Johan Sundberg Arkitektur
Pine House stretches across a forested site in southern Sweden as a low-lying cross-laminated timber structure arranged in a cross-shaped plan. Swedish studio Johan Sundberg Arkitektur wrapped the three-bedroom holiday home in pine panelling, left exposed and untreated so it weathers over time.
House Beyond the Mango Trees, India, by InLe Architects
Indian practice InLe Architects shaded the interiors of this Kerala home with timber shutters and the cooling canopy of two large mango trees. The entrance sits between the trees and leads to an elongated dining room, designed as the heart of the home, with an adjacent outdoor patio.
Together, the five projects show readers gravitating toward compact urban footprints, regionally sourced materials and climate-responsive design — signals likely to shape which houses climb the October rankings.
Original: static.dezeen.com
