The typology of the townhouse originated in the late 19th century yet still represents a viable and attractive alternative to the detached single-family home. Several apartments spread across up to five floors are connected by a common staircase. In terms of urban planning, this type of structure makes it possible to reconcile dense urban settlement with open green spaces. Specially commissioned photographs and plan drawings of eight exemplary Lausanne townhouses illustrate texts written by international authors, who unfold the theme in its worldwide relevance. With contributions by Martine Jaquet Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani Luca Ortelli Jonathan Sergison Martin Steinmann Oswald Mathias Ungers Filip Dujardin (photographer)

"This publication contains the student work produced during the First Summer Academy for Architecture in Berlin. The Summer Academy took place during the month of June and July 1977 in the Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin-Kreuzberg." -- [pàgina [2]].

Paris, Antwerp, Zwolle, and Bremen--the Atelier Kempe Thill works in these cities on the building typology of the urban villa, which today essentially characterizes housing in Western Europe as a vision of contemporary living. The projects presented in this publication are all based on this basic type of structure. However, very distinct interpretations develop from specific national and regional features and their conscious conceptualization. The volume traces the projects by the Ateliers Kempe Thill in their relationship of tension between architectural design and lifeworld-related conditions. Numerous illustrations as well as texts by well-known architects and critics shed light on the buildings and their processes of origin. The catalogue thus provides a panorama of the conditions under which collective housing is currently developing in Europe.