This book, which fills a gap on the materiality of lived relations, examines households within the context of their immediate physical surroundings of home and shows how human interactions are reflected in built forms. Houses are dynamic participants in family life in many ways. They often pre-date the origins and outlast the life spans of their inhabitants, but they can exert a powerful influence on the organization of behaviors and the values of family members, as well as on the forms and flows of family life across the generations. Constituting wealth, investment, security and inheritance, they are an objective in and of themselves in many domestic strategies.
Drawing on developments within anthropology, archaeology, architecture and social history, the authors demonstrate, through detailed case studies, how household or family relations can usefully be mined to re-situate social theory in both space and time. Space, boundaries, family cycles, historic changes, migration patterns, ethnicity, memory and gender are all interrogated for the light they shed on how people interact with the physical world around them and what this means culturally and symbolically. Europe is an especially rich focus for this kind of analysis because it is distinguished by its long, well-documented history and a recent period of intense change.

This small house on the sea in a small city near Rome is one of the most amazing experiments made by the Italian architect. Strictly connected to the landscape, such as the Adalberto Libera's casa Malaparte in Capri, this building captures the landmarks of the Roman coast through small deformations in its composition. This particular research inspected by the Architect that, at the first glance, could remember an expressionist gesture, is instead a very interesting work on how to evolve the modern Italian architecture in a "contemporary" way avoiding that nostalgic behaviour taken by many members of Modern Italian Rationalist Architecture Movement (MIAR). As usual this book looks inside, outside and around this building as a "lecture" held by the writer.

Dover Castle is one of England's greatest fortresses. At its heart lies the Great Tower, a huge Anglo-Norman keep that has dominated the White Cliffs since the 1180s, remaining in continuous use thereafter. This book explores the history and development of the Great Tower in detail, beginning with its construction in the reign of Henry II and ending when the Ministry of Works took it over in 1930, to conserve and open it as a monument for public visits. The book is comprised of several chapters by thirteen contributors, and looks at three main themes. The first examines the making of the Great Tower as the centrepiece of Henry II's rebuilding of the whole castle on an immense scale in the 1180s, pointing to its English and Continental ancestry as well as the people and political circumstances which brought about its creation. The second theme is concerned with the subsequent history of the building as an occasional royal residence, the end of royal interest in the 17th century and its later use as a prison, barracks and ordnance store between the 18th and 20th centuries. A final theme examines trends in how the building has been interpreted as a public monument since 1930 and especially its most recent presentation, in 2009, to evoke appreciation of its use as envisaged when first built in the late 12th century.

For millions of people in the English-speaking world, the now standard image of the British country house is Brideshead Castle in Wiltshire: the domed and doomed baroque country seat of the Marchmain family seen in the BBC adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited. In real life, the house used for the television series is Castle Howard, one of the largest and most opulent private homes in England, located on 10,000 acres of gardens, parkland, and woods in North Yorkshire, now visited by more than 200,000 tourists a year.
Between 3,500 and 4,000 country houses--large, often elegantly furnished and surrounded by extensive estates--remain more or less intact in England today, although frequently converted to non-residential uses. Whether in public or private hands, the best known of them have become a major magnet for British and foreign tourists, attracting about 20 million paying visitors each year. Country houses, with their furnishings and landscaped settings, have been called England's one important contribution to art history. They figure prominently in the ongoing debate over how much of any "National Heritage" is worth preserving.
In The Fate of the English Country House, David Littlejohn describes the past glories and troubled present condition of "the stately homes of England," both those that continue to serve as private houses, and those that have been turned into museums, tourist attractions, convention centers, hotels, country clubs, schools, apartments, hospitals, even prisons. By means of extensive conversations with their owners and managers (the book contains more than 50 photographs of the houses), the author takes us on a private tour of these remarkable places and evaluates the many proposals that have been put forward for their survival.
In the opening chapter we meet three near-neighbors in Oxfordshire, whose personal accounts introduce many of the themes of the book: the 11th Duke of Marlborough, whose family has been living at Blenheim Palace since 1710; the 21st Baron Saye and Sele, whose ancestors built romantic, moated Broughton Castle between the fourteenth and nineteenth centuries; and the Honorable Ann Harcourt, mistress of Stanton Harcourt Manor, which has belonged to her family since the twelfth century.
Most of the conversations revolve around the financial, legal, and strategic problems of owning and running an immense, archaic estate, designed for an age of unquestioned privilege, grandiose entertaining, and an almost unlimited pool of servants: a time before income, capital gains, or inheritance taxes had to be taken into account, before one had to open one's gates to the hordes of tourists out "Doing the Statelies" between Easter Sunday and the end of October. Littlejohn finds that as government support for privately owned historic houses dries up, more and more of them are being converted to other uses, or left empty to decay, their paintings and furnishings sent to the auction houses to help pay tax and repair bills.
As they grow more and more difficult to justify or maintain, English country houses have become increasingly "endangered species" in today's alien economic and political climate. What is at stake is a major piece of England's architectural and cultural heritage, no easier to defend than superannuated ocean liners or great Victorian hotels. The Fate of the English Country House addresses the immediate future of these homes and allows readers to contemplate the history of great houses that have, in some cases, been owned and occupied by the same families for 200, 400, 600, or even 900 years.

Sensitively balancing historic preservation with contemporary innovation, Ahearn's timeless houses feel deeply connected to the stylistic character of their locales, even as their programs and plans celebrate how we live now. In these pages, Ahearn takes us on a journey through the award-winning private residences and public environments that he has created over his 45-year career. He entertainingly explains how his uniquely urbanistic point of view and novel, narrative-driven process help clients live out their dreams, in homes that recall the past, engage with the present, and look to the future.

Winner of the 2021 ARCC Book Award Complex Housing introduces an architectural type called complex housing, common to the Netherlands and found in other Northern European countries. Eight fully illustrated case studies show successful approaches to designing for density, which reflect values such as long-term planning, a right to housing, and access to light and air. The case studies demonstrate a wide range of applications including a mixture of urban and suburban sites, various numbers of dwelling units, low- to high-density approaches, different architectural styles, and organizational strategies that can be adopted in projects elsewhere. More than 350 color images.

City for City presents examples of the work of the City College Architectural Center over the past fifteen years. The projects selected are grouped under the categories of exhibitions, visioning exercises, planning and urban design studies and also include a few examples of assignments for implementation. The work was developed at the request of the affected communities and undertaken with their full participation. The projects were financed in various ways, from pro-bono studies to grant-supported efforts. These grants and the special support from state and municipal entities enable the center to develop the projects in greater depth. City for City illustrates the value of cooperative community-based work in which both sides learn and share in the experience. Such interactions offer valuable insights for both students and faculty not normally found in traditional architectural practices.

'Somerville knows more about wooden barn construction than almost anyone alive.'-The Telegraph 'A joyful reminder of why nature, being outside, being together and creating beauty is so good for the soul.'-Kate Humble, broadcaster and author of A Year of Living Simply 'For all our advances, it's hard to deny the modern world brings with it new ills of disconnection and disenfranchisement, but here in Barn Club they've found their cure.'-Barn the Spoon, master craftsman and author of Spon Nature meets traditional craft in this celebration of the elm tree, beautiful buildings and community spirit. Barn Club calls on us to discover our landscapes more intimately and to explore the joys of making beautiful things by hand, together. When renowned craftsman Robert Somerville moved to Hertfordshire, he discovered an unexpected landscape rich with wildlife and elm trees. Nestled within London's commuter belt, this wooded farmland inspired Somerville, a lifelong woodworker, to revive the ancient tradition of hand-raising barns. Barn Club follows the building of Carley Barn over the course of one year. Volunteers from all walks of life joined Barn Club, inspired to learn this ancient skill of building elm barns by hand, at its own quiet pace and in the company of others, while using timber from the local woods. The tale of the elm tree in its landscape is central to Barn Club. Its natural history, historic importance and remarkable survival make for a fascinating story. This is a tale of forgotten trees, a local landscape and an ancient craft. This book includes sixteen pages of colour photographs, and black and white line drawings of techniques and traditional timber frame barns feature throughout.

This lively interpretation of the changing design of US farmhouses during the 19th century is founded on owner-designed farmhouse plans from the East and Midwest, which are complemented by letters, biographical data, and over one hundred illustrations. In explaining how these transformations reflected changing aspirations and social and economic conditions , focusing on the eventual segregation of male and female domains, this study offers important new insights into the nature of American vernacular architecture and its role in US social history.

ntended as a comprehensive resource, Increments of Neighborhood is a compendium of recent built work for urban neighbourhoods, encompassing the spectrum of building types financed/built by today's American real estate industry - from single family and townhouses, through 'missing middle' stacked housing, stick-built housing, large multi-family, and high-rise buildings. This publication is the only resource in the marketplace that tabulates market-rate products that fill America's cities, as well as being a comparative resource that shows how these types can be deployed in a way befitting smart-growth using sustainable principles. The only resource of its type, Increments of Neighborhood will demystify the understanding of costs and type, contribute to the public realm for the non-architectural professional, and provide a breadth and range of significant new information for experienced architects who typically specialise in a particular segment of building products such as hospitals or single-family houses, information with which they are frequently unacquainted.

Illustrated with 200 barn sketches, diagrams, and maps, this book takes you on a journey through the St Croix River Valley. It grounds you in the geography, geology and biology of the region and introduces you to its original inhabitants, the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples, European explorers, fur traders and loggers and the settlers that followed them. It is a celebration of regional diversity and architectural expression through a single type of building - the barn.

"Some particular books I found useful for A Game of Thrones and its sequels deserve mention...Life in a Medieval Castle and Life in a Medieval City, both by Joseph and Frances Gies." -George R.R. Martin, author of the series A Song of Ice and Fire Medieval history comes alive in Joseph and Frances Gies's Life in a Medieval Castle, used as a research resource by George R. R. Martin in creating the world of A Game of Thrones. Newly reissued for the first time in decades, Life in a Medieval Castle is the bestselling classic that has introduced countless readers to the wonders of the Middle Ages. Focusing on a castle called Chepstow on the border between England and Wales, acclaimed Medievalists Joseph and Frances Gies offer an exquisite portrait of what day-to-day life was actually like during the era, and of the key role the castle played. The Gieses write eloquently about the many people whose lives revolved around the castle, from the lord and lady to the commoners of the surrounding village. We discover what lords and serfs alike would have worn, eaten, and done for leisure; the songs sung; and the codes of sexual conduct that maintained order. We learn of the essential role of honor in medieval culture, the initiation process undertaken by knights, and how castles attempted to keep the constant threats of outside violence at bay. Exhaustively researched and as engaging as any novel, Life in a Medieval Castle is the definitive text for anyone wishing to learn more about this fascinating era.

Designs and plans for constructing country homes with over 130 illustrations depicting interior and exterior designs, perspectives, and more.

The frescoes of Peruzzi, Raphael and Sodoma still dazzle visitors to the Villa Farnesina, but they survive in a stripped-down environment bereft of its landscape, sealed so it cannot breathe. Turner takes you outside that box, restoring these canonical images to their original context, when each element joined in a productive conversation. He is the first to reconstruct the architect-painter Peruzzi's original, well-proportioned, well-appointed building and to re-visualize his lost facade decoration-erotic scenes and mythological figures who make it come alive and soar upward. More comprehensively than any previous scholar, he reintegrates painting, sculpture, architecture, garden design, topographical prints and drawings, archaeological discoveries and literature from the brilliant circle around the patron Agostino Chigi, the powerful banker who 'loved all virtuosi' and commissioned his villa-palazzo from the best talents in multiple arts. It can now be understood as a Palace of Venus, celebrating aesthetic, social and erotic pleasure.

Ideal homes investigates the tastes and aspirations of the new suburban communities that emerged in Britain following the First World War. In a period when homeownership was becoming the norm, these communities sought out varieties of architecture and design that were both nostalgic and modern, reflecting longings for 'Old England' on the one hand and technological convenience on the other. The book draws on exhibitions, memoirs, advertisements and films, as well as surviving examples of suburban architecture and interiors, to identify a distinctively suburban modernism, embodied by the Tudorbethan semi. Arguing that the 'ideal' home of the period was both a retreat from the outside world and a site of change and experimentation, it concludes by considering how such houses are lived in today. This new edition also features an introductory chapter on researching the history of your own home. -- .

A lavish, full-color guidebook showcasing the most up-to-date innovations and latest trends in efficient and successful small space design. Packed with detailed color photographs, comprehensive layout illustrations, and essential information, 150 Best Tiny Homes is the ideal solution for making the most of small living spaces-homes between 500 and 800 square feet-common to contemporary urban environments. Inside you'll find 150 homes from around the world-each a model of efficiency and an inspiration for designing and decorating a range of compact dwellings. 150 Best Tiny Homes offers a variety of tiny homes in natural environments as well. Each has been created using site-sensitive designs that have a low environmental impact and reflect the stunning natural beauty of its surroundings. This ultimate compendium brings together the diversity of current trends in tiny home design and is an invaluable source of ideas for designers, architects, and homeowners.

Surrounded by a magical flair, villas have been the gleaming diamond of residential design since ancient times, characterized by generosity, representation and individuality. This classic form of habitation is a synonym for architectural distinctiveness with the nimbus of a refined way of living and sophisticated building culture – regardless of the style. For architects and interior designers, both the new construction and the conversion of a villa offer the exciting challenge of reinterpreting this building task with individual concepts. This volume presents the work of renowned architects as well as designs by young and up-and-coming design studios. Innovative thinking and creative refinement are required to realize the wishes and dreams of the client. Minimalist or opulent, traditional or extravagant, each villa offers a different design solution.

The idea of an environmentally respectful house is appealing to more and more people. In the last decade, architects from all over the world have been especially interested in the possibilities of an innovative home in a natural environment, with ecological solutions and a low impact on the environment. There is a great variety of this style of architecture both in terms of its use and in geographic location. This book serves as inspiration and progress for the world of architecture and the new generation.

'Addictive ... a charter for wistfulness' Observer 'An enchanting rabbit hole of handmade houses' The New York Times 'The Bible of pared back, natural living' Der Spiegel 'Take a deep breath and let the inspiration sink in' GQ Cabin Porn began as an on-line project created by a group of friends to inspire their own home building. As they collected more photos, their site attracted thousands of submissions from other cabin builders and a passionate audience of more than ten million people. This book is an invitation to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy the beauty and serenity that happens when nature meets simple craft.

As slums were cleared after the Blitz, there was a pressing need for housing. Successive governments championed prefabrication as a speedy solution. The resulting bungalows with slightly pitched roofs, pretty gardens and all the mod cons became home to hundreds of thousands of people around the country, often those who had not previously had the luxury of hot running water or a fridge. No wonder, then, that they became so loved. These squat little homes were meant to last just a decade - a mere stopgap as the country got back on its feet - but many of the prefabs are still standing, with residents often fighting to hold on to them. There has been growing public interest in these fast-disappearing houses, and the communities they fostered.. The book recounts residents' first hand experiences - from the first time they laid eyes on their prefabs to their attempts to hold on to their "little castles" beyond their designated "temporary" timeframe. The authors look at the success of post-war prefab housing in the wider context of British social housing. The book also looks at architectural innovation and imaginative design in the field of prefabrication and clever solutions being put forward to solve the housing crisis of today. Fewer and fewer prefabs remain - but you can still spot them here and there, sitting cosily among their big brick-built neighbours, a lesson in thoughtful design, community building and what it means to have a house to call your own.

From weekend homes to get-away cabins in the mountains, by the sea, or in the woods, this architecture embodies our longing for lounging in nature. For the first time in the history of humankind, more people live in cities than in the country. Yet, at the same time, more and more city dwellers are yearning for rural farms, mountain cabins, or seaside homes. These kinds of refuges offer modern men and women a promise of what urban centers usually cannot provide: quiet, relaxation, being out of reach, getting back to basics, feeling human again. Rock the Shack is a survey of such contemporary refuges from around the world--from basic to luxury. The book features a compelling range of sparingly to intricately furnished cabins, cottages, second homes, tree houses, transformations, shelters, and cocoons. The look of the included structures from the outside is just as important as the view from inside. What these diverse projects have in common is an exceptional spirit that melds the uniqueness of a geographic location with the individual character of the building's owner and architect.

So rich and unique is traditional Japanese architecture that it's nearly impossible to improve upon. Yet contemporary Japanese designers and architects keep finding fresh approaches to refurbish and take inspiration from the ways of old. Whether it's a pristinely preserved traditional house or a sleek modern apartment, the best Japanese homes share a love of cleverly designed spaces and warm materials like wood, brick, and bamboo. From a thatched roof farmhouse occupied by a Zen priest to Tadao Ando's experimental 4x4 House, from Shigeru Ban's conceptual Shutter House to a beautiful domestic homage to bamboo, this elegant compendium traverses the multifaceted landscape of Japanese living today. Enriched by 170 brand new, unpublished photographs, this edition takes you on breathtaking journey through the Land of the Rising Sun-complete with a list of addresses, should you wish to undertake this journey to Japan's most fascinating inns and homes yourself. An insightful glossary of key terms, such as tatami, shoji, and noren, will also help you come to grips with all elements of Japan's unique aesthetic of Eastern minimalism. About the series TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program-now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.

The castles and other properties owned and managed by the National Trust for Scotland are precious jewels in the crown of the nation's heritage. Ensuring they provide a wonderful experience for visitors requires expertise and enthusiasm from many people, mostly unseen, who offer specialist knowledge and long-term thinking. This book pays tribute to the craftspeople, gardeners, foresters, managers, guides, surveyors, architects, archaeologists, conservators, planners and more, who have made the Trust's properties so very special to so many people. It celebrates their many and various contributions as part of a long and continuing tradition in this beautiful large-format, highly illustrated volume.