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