Product Description

This book is about castles and caves. Though there may be distinctions between a house and a home, the fact remains that the fundamental ideas of shelter, life and death are intertwined with the architecture of the commonplace in every dwelling, from cave to castle. The house can be a measure of civilization, wealth or, indeed, intelligence; it is a barometer of existence. Depending on the architect and the client, a house can be at the very cutting edge of architecture, casting aside notions of the past in search of a new paradigm; it can accept the rules of urbanism while standing them on their head. It can float in the air or emerge from the depths of the earth. Where factors of cost may limit civic architecture to tried and trusted methods, some houses break all the rules, and help architecture to move forward. This book is not about decoration, nor is it a practical guide to building one's own house. It is, rather, a search that may lead the willing reader from Patagonia in Argentina to the cliffs of Dover Heights, Australia to see some of the most remarkable houses built in the past five years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123507 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-01
• Original language: French, German, English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Vinyl Bound
• 416 pages

About the Author
Philip Jodidio studied art history and economics at Harvard University, and was editor-in-chief of the leading French art journal Connaissance des Arts for over two decades. He has published numerous articles and books on contemporary architecture, including TASCHEN's Architecture Now! series, Building a New Millennium, and monographs Tadao Ando, Santiago Calatrava, Norman Foster, Richard Meier, Jean Nouvel, and Alvaro Siza.

Customer Reviews

Variation on a common theme
"Architecture Now! Houses" is another spin-off book from the successful Architecture Now series, by Philip Jodidio. The concept of the book is quite simple - lots and lots of houses set in outrageous vast landscapes, designed by talented architects, with designs that would never get past planning permission here in the tightly packed urban streets of London.

If you are also interested in the Architecture Now! Green book, you'd be better off buying this one - at least this book sticks to the title and doesn't try to deceive.

The layout of the book, the plans, the snazzy photographs - all take precedence in the book - just as it has done with the vast volumes of books in the Architecture Now! series.

The concepts of the houses in the book are varied - but I felt slightly disappointed not to see ambitious house designs on a urban scale - houses that challenge the notion of living in monotonously designed dwellings, where there is a lack of personality.

Rather, in the book, the houses featured are either houses designed for themselves (the architects, that is), or houses that some millionaire would own, not houses that are on a more down-to-earth scale.

Again, the title of the book is misleading. If the book was called "Architecture Now! The most outrageous and scenic houses," then it would get five stars. However it does not, because the title suggests that the book would be intellectually challenging, or a collection of cutting-edge house design that could be replicated for everyone in the future. Instead you get seemingly one-off builds, arguably inserted into the book, for the wow factor.

Given all this, I've given it four stars (or maybe I'm too soft). Just bear in mind that it is not a book that you would feel inspired from.

Imagination set free
I am (still) delighted with the book. Although I will probably never be able to have one of those houses, it is for me a big inspiration anyway. Designs are fantastic, however a lot of modern materials are used in most designs, rendering them quite expensive to build. So it is not about 'build your own house cheaply', it is about if you happen to have funds for a nice house, don't do it yourself, give it to some excellent architects do it for you. Great title. Develops imagination.