Showcases architecture that's driven by a budget

What are the challenges architects face when designing dwelling spaces of a limited size? And what can these projects tell us about architecture – and architectural principles – in general? In BIG little house, award-winning architect Donna Kacmar introduces twenty real-life examples of small houses. Each project is under 1,000 square feet (100 square meters) in size and, brought together, the designs reveal an attitude towards materiality, light, enclosure and accommodation which is unique to minimal dwellings. While part of a trend to address growing concerns about minimising consumption and lack of affordable housing, the book demonstrates that small dwellings are not always simply the result of budget constraints but constitute a deliberate design strategy in their own right. Highly illustrated and in full-colour throughout, each example is based on interviews with the original architect and accompanied by detailed floor plans. This ground-breaking, beautifully designed text offers practical guidance to any professional architect or homeowner interested in small scale projects.

56 floor plans and elevations of houses that originally cost less than $15,000 to build. Recommended by financial institutions of the era, they range from Colonials to Cape Cods.

Mid-century modern house designs from 1954, includes sketches of floor plans and photographs of interior and exterior. Includes houses by George Nakashima, Richard Neutra, Paul Rudolph, William Beckett, David Henken and others.

As cities evolve architects are constantly searching for appropriate architectonic solutions, and in this book the authors present a systematic examination of innovative single-family houses and residential buildings in the context of presentday cities. The latest developments are reviewed in essays and thematic chapters discuss such topics as lowenergy building, the use of prefabricated materials, or low-budget building. A range of international examples from architects such as Wiel Arets, Shigeru Ban, Ben van Berkel, Kees Christiaanse, Philippe Gazeau, Frank O. Gehry, Steven Holl, Hans Kollhoff, Morger & Degelo, MVRDV, Jean Nouvel, Kas Oosterhuis, illustrate the subjects discussed. "Housing" and "Single-Family Housing" were previously published separately, each proving hugely popular. Now both volumes have been incorporated into a single, lowpriced edition.

There is no one way to design a modern urban house. Demand for space in cities the world over is higher than ever and new buildings must meet stringent energy saving requirements and negotiate a myriad planning regulations. But the best new urban architecture suggests invention and innovation are as critical as ever. The Contemporary House brings together seventy solutions, drawn from cities around the globe to explore the many ways in which architecture can enhance the experience of living in the city. Organized geographically, The Contemporary House offers a fascinating insight into the sheer variety of contemporary approaches to urban design, from reinventions of longstanding vernacular forms like terraces and townhouses, through to the fastchanging suburbs and inner cities of modern Japan, where the short lifespan of family houses provides architects with a template for aesthetic and technical experimentation. The book also provides an insight into the conditions that shape the architecture of some of the world's major cities, through recent history, signature styles, and current conditions on the ground. The Contemporary House is an essential guide to design in the modern city.

Small houses are no longer synonymous with cheap houses and lack of privilege. Instead, they symbolize a range of culturally coded values: compactness, efficiency, discrimination, discreteness, minimalism. Opening with a detailed exploration of the social and historical background behind compact housing in the twentieth century, this book goes on to feature 37 illustrated case studies that represent some of the best examples of small houses built worldwide within the past decade. Plan areas range from 7 to 150 square metres (75 to 1615 square feet) and each project embodies a particular design approach towards compact accommodation. The case studies are organized into three chapters - Rural Retreats; Urban and Suburban Bases; and Small Clusters and Multiples - and include work by such architects as Toyo Ito, Lacaton & Vassal, LOT/EK and Kazuyo Sejima.