Small Houses: Homes for Our Time maps 54 architects across 25 countries whose collective answer to climate pressure, urban density, and resource scarcity is a dwelling of no more than 100 square metres — proving that constraint is one of architecture's most productive conditions.
About This Book
As population growth, climate change, and resource strain reshape how and where people live, the small house has become one of architecture's most urgent propositions. Philip Jodidio's survey ranges from Tokyo's dense urban grain to Australian wilderness, Canadian forest, and an Ecuadorian rooftop, gathering 54 architects whose work across 25 countries demonstrates that reducing footprint does not mean reducing ambition. This is a book about sustainable architecture as a design discipline — not a compromise position but an active, inventive one. It documents a genuine shift in what residential architecture can be when the brief demands less and the response demands more.
Key Features
- 488 pages of residential case studies drawn from 25 countries, spanning dense urban infill to remote wilderness sites
- Projects include Takeshi Hosaka's Love2 House, Aranza de Ariño's Casa Tiny, and work by Jakub Szczęsny, Charles Pictet, Lada Hršak, BIG, and Fran Silvestre
- Published by Taschen, ISBN 9783836598903
What You'll Discover
- How 54 architects interpret a strict 100-square-metre ceiling as a generative design constraint rather than a limitation
- The relationship between small-scale residential architecture and broader environmental imperatives — sustainability, reduced land use, and lighter material footprints
- Geographic breadth from Brazil, Hungary, South Korea, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia, revealing how climate and culture inflect the same spatial challenge differently
- How shifts in lifestyle attitude — not just technology — are driving architectural experimentation in domestic scale
About the Author
Philip Jodidio is an architecture writer and editor widely published through Taschen, with an extensive catalogue covering contemporary architects and building typologies worldwide. His work consistently situates individual projects within broader cultural and environmental contexts.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 488
- Dimensions: 15.6 x 21.7 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9783836598903
- Publisher: Taschen
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and residential designers exploring small-footprint typologies, students researching sustainable housing, and design enthusiasts drawn to the intersection of spatial economy and architectural invention.