Costa Rica is slowly gaining recognition for its contemporary architecture, so here are five residential projects that demonstrate the small Central American country's particular style of tropical modernism.

Casa Flotanta by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture
A series of pillars raise the interconnected rooms of this house by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture above the tree tops of the surrounding forest.
The firm's San Jose office was asked to design the family home for a steeply sloping site, and chose to lift the building off the ground to optimise views of the Pacific Ocean.
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Casa Osa by Obra Architects
A folded roof shelters a pathway between the indoor and outdoor rooms of this holiday home by Obra Architects. Located on the Osa Peninsula in the country's southwestern corner, the vacation residence was designed for an American doctor and sits on a hillside of a former mango farm.
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Ocean Eye House by Benjamin Garcia Saxe Architecture
Wooden walls can be folded back from the front of this house on the Pacific coast, opening up ocean views for the bedrooms and living spaces within.
The interior is designed as a series of interlinked terraces that provide different views of the landscape as residents move around the house.
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Estancia y Ficus by Cañas Arquitectos
Extensive glazing across this house by local firm Cañas Arquitectos provides vistas of the verdant lan...