This proclamation comes from the introduction to a publication accompanying the international competition Living in the City - one of many recent competitions, conferences and debates that have reawakened the interest of the public and of" architects alike in the design of high-density housing within the context of the contemporary city. Architects have long been involved in the design of one-off houses, carefully crafted signature works for wealthy individual clients, but the design of multiple housing has only intermittently engaged their attention. In the early twenty-first century, the new interest and motivation to find alternatives to outmoded and unsustainable conventional models for housing is attributed to a whole range of factors - changing demographics, changing work patterns,increased life expectancy, and technological innovations that have resulted in constant connectivity.

As cities have grown, housing has had to be provided to accommodate the increasing population. Driven primarily by the need to provide housing as cheaply and efficiently as possible, the ideas developed by the early Modernists have informed housing schemes worldwide. Today, in the context of a very different urban landscape, architects optimistic about high-density living are revisiting the conventional types and evolving new models. After an introduction covering the recent development of the apartment block as an urban housing type, this books consists of four chapters devoted to recent examples of urban housing from around the world. The projects are selected for their ability to demonstrate an innovative architectural approach.French examines four formal typologies: terraces and row houses, quadrangles and courtyards, city blocks and infiil, and towers and slabs. Photographs,drawings and specially drawn site plans place each featured project in its surrounding context. Hilary French, an architect and architectural historian, is Head of the School of Architecture and Design at the Royal College of Art, London. She has written and edited a number of books, including Accommodating Change: Innovation in Housing (2002) and Key Urban Housing of the Twentieth Century (2008).

Introduction

Chapter 1 Terraces and Row Houses
Schieflstaitte Housing Complex
Graz, Austria
Szyszkowitz. Kowalski

Condensed Housing Development
South Biesdorf, Berlin, Germany
Leon Wohlhage Wernik Architekten

Nieuw Terbregge
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Mecanoo

Housing Block 16X68
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Otis a rch itekti

In-between Terrace
Whatcott's Yard, London, UK
Annalie Riches, SiMa UIImayer, Barti
Gariboldo

Stuivesantplein Housing
Tilburg, The Netherlands
Erick van Egeraat

Yoakum Street Town Houses
Houston, Texas, USA
Wittenberg Oberholzer Architects

Housing on the Shore of Lake Gooi
Huizen, The Netherlands
Neutelings Riedijk

Chapter 2 Quadrangles and Courtyards

Westfield Student Village
Queen Mary College, London, UK
Feilden C/egg Bradley Architects

ka Maquinista
Barcelona, Spain
Josep Lluis Mateo -MAP Arquitectos

High Cross Road
London, UK
Walter Menteth Architects

Dwellings for Young People
Leipzig, Germany
H PP Hentrich-Petschnigg & Partner

Town House
Wimbergergasse, Vienna, Austria
Delugan_Meissl Associated
Architects

Mondrian Apartments
Sydney, Australia
Stanisic Associates Architects

Integrated Housing
Ingolstadt, Germany
meek architekten

Harold Way Apartments
Hollywood, California, USA
KoningEizenbergArchitecture

Donnybrook Quarter
London, UK
Peter Be rber Architects

Chapter 3 City Blocks and Infill

Estradenhaus
Berlin, Germany
popp.planungen

Rue Pelleport apartments
Paris, France
Frederic Borel

Alfonso Reyes 58 Apartments
Mexico City, Mexico
Dellekamp Arquitectos

Simmons Hall, MIT
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA,
Steven Holl Architects

Yerba Buena Lofts
San Francisco, California, USA
Stanley Saitowitz Office

Housing in Auwiesen
Winterthur, Switzerland
Kreis Schaad Schaad

D Residential Building
Venice, Italy
Cino Zucchi Architetti

Apartment Building Gasometer B
Vienna, Austria
Coop Himmelb(I)au

CODAN Shinonome Canal Court
Centre Block, Block 1
Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Riken Yamamoto and Field Shop

Schots 1 + 2
Groningen, The Netherlands
S333 Architecture + Urbanism

Chapter 4 Towers and Slab Blocks

173 Perry Street / 165 Charles Street
NewYork, USA
Richard Meier

Contemporaine
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Perkins + Will

Housing Tower
Theresienhohe, Munich, Germany
Steidle + Partner

Flower Tower
Paris, France
Edouard Franfois

Apartments
Maia, Porto, Portugal
Eduardo Souto de Moura

Macquarie Street Apartments
Aurora Place, Sydney, Australia
Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Social Dwellings
Lakua, Vitoria, Spain
Ercilla & Campo Arquitectura

Sejima Wing
Kitagata Apartments,
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue
Nishizawa/SANAA

Mirador Apartments
Sanchinarro, Madrid, Spain
MVRDV + Blanca Lleo

Footnotes / Selected bibliography

Project Credits

Index

Picture Credits / Acknowledgements