Product Description

Though there may be distinctions between a house and a home, the fact remains that the fundamental ideas of shelter, life and death are intertwined with the architecture of the commonplace in every dwelling, from cave to castle. The house can be a measure of civilization, wealth or, indeed, intelligence; it is a barometer of existence. Depending on the architect and the client, a house can be at the very cutting edge of architecture, casting aside notions of the past in search of a new paradigm; it can accept the rules of urbanism while standing them on their head. It can float in the air or emerge from the depths of the earth. Where factors of cost may limit civic architecture to tried and trusted methods, some houses break all the rules, and help architecture to move forward. This book is not about decoration, nor is it a practical guide to building one s own house. It is, rather, a search that may lead the willing reader from Patagonia in Argentina to the cliffs of Dover Heights, Australia to see some of the most remarkable houses built in the past five years.

Featured architects/firms/artists:
3LHD Architects, Ábalos & Herreros, Adjaye Associates, Felipe Assadi + Francisca Pulido Architects, Shigeru Ban, Bernardes + Jacobsen Arquitetuta, Blank Studio, Gianni Botsford Architects, Will Bruder + Partners, Buro II, Carter + Burton Architecture, Nancy Copley, Graça Correia / Roberto Ragazzi, Durbach Block Architects, Eastern Design Office, Steven Ehrlich Architects, Elemental / Alejandro Aravena, FAR frohn&rojas, Fuhrimann & Hächler, Terunobu Fujimori, Sou Fujimoto Architects, Antón García-Abril & Ensamble Studio, Nabil Gholam, Sean Godsell, Ricardo Bak Gordon, Jorge Hernandez de la Garza, Jackson Clements Burrows, Jarmund / Vigsnæs, Carlos Jimenez, Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Patrick Jouin, Kamayachi + Harigai, KieranTimberlake Associates LLP, Mathias Klotz, Kengo Kuma, Leven Betts Studio , Andrew Maynard Architects , MOS, Mount Fuji Architects Studio, Nunatak, Pauhof Architects, Plasma Studio, Antoine Predock, Laurent Savioz, SELGASCANO, Shim + Sutcliffe, Álvaro Siza Vieira, Philippe Stuebi, Peter Stutchbury, Atelier Tekuto, TNA, Tonkin Liu, Tsao & McKown, Shoei Yoh, ZECC, Zhang Lei, René van Zuuk

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #186681 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-01
• Original language: French, German, English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Vinyl Bound
• 416 pages

About the Author
Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard University, and was editor-in-chief of the leading French art journal Connaissance des Arts for over two decades. He has published numerous articles and books on contemporary architecture, including TASCHEN's Architecture Now! series, Building a New Millennium, and monographs Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, Richard Meier, Jean Nouvel, and Alvaro Siza.

Customer Reviews

Photographers?
I like this book and the "Architecture Now" books but I have one issue. The photography credits are on a single page in the back of the book!

One of the things that make this book good is the photography. So why not give the credit on each page where the photographs are!?

Other than that the book is fun to read and fun to look at. The design is great too!