The idea and function, image, and built reality of the house vary from culture to culture, locale to locale, generation to generation, demographic to demographic. Houses do much more than provide a roof over our heads: They are sanctuaries, havens--our private kingdoms, our personalized cocoons. They are backdrops to our everyday lives. They are status symbols. They are economic indicators. For architects, they are dream jobs, test beds, manifestos. Only by understanding the predominant reality of and the prevailing attitudes toward the house can we appreciate the great leaps and changes it is--and always has been--undergoing.

The houses in this book represent new ideas about how to build houses, how they are rooted (and root us) to their locale, and how we use and regard them. The first chapter, "Tectonics," features houses that explore the novel application of materials and building techniques in the domestic realm. Next, "Context" showcases houses that actively engage in their site, drawing inspiration, whether in texture, form, or topography, from their surrounding landscape. Lastly, "Revolutions" addresses the significant shifts our lifestyles have undergone and how the house responded to them.

House features twenty recently built houses that have been designed by some of today's leading architects, including Steven Holl, Toshiko Mori, Alberto Kalach, and Rick Joy. By leading readers to the cutting edge of today's architecture, authors Ho and Barreneche relate today's building trends and hint at what awaits us in the future. Featuring more than 200 color photographs and plans, House is the perfect book for house enthusiasts worldwide.