A while back we wrote about Architect Franklin Azzi's Shelter House, "a sustainable design for a house in Normandy in Yport, where the structure is entirely made of wood, with water recuperation and solar panels for all domestic needs. The external skin will be made of a fabric, it's a convertible house.". The render is now built, here's what it looks like finished.

ARCHITECT LABEL Xain's Dancing Living House is a relatively small 3-story reinforced concrete cube. With a dance studio. One of 12 picks this week. See them all here.

L'Ordre des architectes du Québec has announced the winners of their 25th annual Prix d'excellence en architecture. A mix of commercial, institutional and residential architecture, a few projects got our attention. The Maison Bernier-Thibault above won the Prix Marcel-Parizeau for a project that doesn't exceed $150,000 (Paul Bernier, architect and Joëlle Thibault). Another was the Quai des Cageux in Quebec City, on the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain, a beautiful new park that stretches for miles along the St-Lawrence river. The prize for interior design went to Les Architectes Duchesneau & McComber for Lignes Aériennes, a loft conversion featuring unusual sleeping quarters, and for single dwellings the prize went to the Maison en U by Natalie Dionne architecte.

It didn't take much time for the installers to mud, tape and sand all of the seams. I wish I had my camera on hand during a few visits to the house because the guys mudding were walking around on stilts. I'm pretty sure it would have made for a decent photo or two. With the walls fully prepared, it was time for paint. It's quite surprising how much larger the spaces feel now that walls are primed - particularly the clerestory, which obviously gets the most amount of light. And, I must admit, that for the floors, choosing the species of hardwood was actually quite difficult for us. If you haven't had the luxury of walking into a hardwood store (or looking online for that matter), you'll quickly discover that there are thousands of options to choose from. For us, we wanted something that was strong, aesthetically pleasing and cost effective.

Luca Selva Architects' A house for Art at Arch Daily. One of 11 picks this week, the 10 others are after the jump.

Jorge García and Daniel Rojo's affordable Biehl House at Arch Daily. One of nine picks this week. Eight more after the jump.