One of the fastest-growing places in North America, Vaughan, 14 miles north of Toronto, has morphed from a rural township of 16,000 people in 1960 to a sprawling suburb of 288,000 today.

Motioning at a trio of nearly lifesize sculptures of men with their arms thrust forward, Vincent James talks about “collaborating with the artwork” in his design of a large penthouse apartment populated by an impressive collection of contemporary Asian art.

At a time when green roofs have become a cliché and landscape a term used to describe almost anything, how do you design a building for a botanic garden without looking like a wannabe?

For most of the past decade, the architecture firm Urbanus has been slowly transforming one of Shenzhen's first factory complexes into a lively, mixed-use district catering to the needs of start-up companies and creative professionals.

For a site on Xiao Dong Hai Bay that is close to the town of Sanya, the Singapore-based firm WOHA created a project that works as both a resort and a city hotel.

No matter where you are in London, the Shard stands out.

Like an architectural therapist, Stephanie Goto stripped away layers of troubles that had weighed on a trio of rooftop sheds in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood to reveal their true personality and inner strengths.

Most architects say they start each project with a blank slate.