Townhouses are some of the most interesting features of modern urban architecture. Below we present a selection of newly designed townhouses, unconventional architectural concepts in terraced housing for cosmopolitan families. The main feature of these houses is the imaginative use of space and the creative way in which natural light is allowed to enter.

A townhouse is a residence that many find combines the best amenities of a single–family home and a condominium. By definition, a townhouse is a home that is attached to adjacent houses, which sits upon land that you own. THE MODERN TOWNHOUSE will look at three types of town house projects that are increasingly popular in urban areas and close–in suburbia: 1) Renovation of existing town houses. This is a particularly popular activity in older, urban neighborhoods undergoing re–gentrification. Eighteenth and nineteenth century "shells" long in disrepair, are being gutted and totally modernized 2) Vacant lots, primarily in the inner cities, but also in close–in suburban neighborhoods where zoning restricts high rise housing, are being filled with four or five town houses that are built perpendicular to the street, usually in neighborhoods where the lot size would normally accommodate only one, detached house. This activity is in response to the increasing demand for urban housing where high land prices mandate multifamily housing solutions. 3) New, one–off townhouses, that are found primarily in wealthier neighborhoods where the high land cost can be recovered with a single, luxury town home. The book will be divided into these three categories and feature project from around the country including Baltimore, San Diego, San Francisco, Miami, and in smaller metropolitan areas.

Once the bastion of the haute bourgeoisie, the town house has now been embraced by families with young children, single urban professionals, and retired couples, all looking for more comfortable city or suburban living. Architect Alexander Gorlin explores a spectacular array of diverse town house designs (often referred to by different terms in different parts of the country) that carry this familiar symbol of architectural innovation and refinement into the twenty-first century. Creating the New American Town House features cutting-edge town houses that each draw from architectural tradition while achieving originality by both breaking from and adhering to the limitations of the town house form. Within the typical five-story frame and two parallel walls presented here are ingenious and exquisite and, above all, extremely livable design solutions to the constraints of this classic housing type. Ranging from sites in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, each of the buildings featured in Creating the New American Town House represents an eloquent contribution to the form and is designed by such celebrated architects as Steven Ehrlich, Hugh Newell Jacobson, Reed Krakoff, Stanley Saitowitz, and 1100 Architect. Each project is extensively illustrated with full-color photography that showcases the interior design as well as plans and drawings. Alexander Gorlin's insightful text continues the discourse begun in his The New American Town House, surveying the adaptation of this beloved urban dwelling to the demands of a new century.

This volume shows the great architectural diversity of townhouses, the ideal starting point for new approaches to urban living.

75 unique designs for attractive, efficient, environmentally friendly homes. Now available in paperback, this collection of 75 plans for small homes offers more than 500 usable blueprints and other illustrations for a variety of living spaces suitable for every environment and style, from a New England farmhouse to a sophisticated townhouse in the city to a Santa Fe ranch. The designs include site drawings, floor plans, elevation drawings, section drawings, perspective drawings, and exploded views. A brief introduction to each home describes its setting, the philosophy behind the design and its intended use, materials used, recommended landscaping, and more. Many of the homes come with money-saving and environmentally sound features such as solar panels and water heaters, wood stoves, ceiling fans, airlock entries, wind power alternatives, and natural gas heaters.

The townhouse has been playing an essential role again in the debate on architecture and urban design for about ten years now. That is particularly true in Berlin. Since the state has withdrawn from programs to build subsidized housing, new attention has focused on a renaissance of the inner city through individual, privately financed residential projects. In this volume of the Construction and Design Manual series, Hans Stimmann, who was Senate Building Director for Urban Development in Berlin for more than ten years and a pioneer of the current townhouse boom, summarises the townhouse's political strategies, roots in architectural history and theoretical concepts. The author also analyses around fifty examples and situates them in their urban context. > large-format photographs (exteriors/interiors) > true to scale drawings and plans > aerial photographs of the urban context > comparison of construction costs.

Continuing her exploration of English interiors, Ros Byam Shaw visits 14 distinctive townhouses full of charm, character and style. In Perfect English Townhouse, Ros Byam Shaw examines the timeless English style of decoration in a variety of Georgian, Victorian, and contemporary townhouses. Architecturally, these tall, narrow properties present challenges. How do you make the best of a basement kitchen with a low ceiling and little light? Or allocate space effectively when you live across five floors? And how do you maximize any outdoor space? Perfect English Townhouse features case studies of such homes, not only in London but also in the provincial towns and cities of England. Some feel like little corners of countryside surrounded by sidewalks, others have a more sophisticated urban allure; some are endearingly quirky, others more classical. All the interiors featured are interesting, inspiring, and reflect the personalities of the people who live in them. These are the kinds of spaces that most of us are familiar with, and that many of us occupy. What is unusual is how cleverly and creatively these examples have been decorated and designed, in the Perfect English style.