Homes have long served as key windows into the lives and values of long-gone societies. Anthropologists continue to study architectural remains of ancient houses to gain deeper insight into the lifestyles, practices and priorities of earlier humans. Though fundamentally structures of brick and mortar, homes carry a historical and social significance that transcends their physical confines. The third volume of the Homes for Our Time series, a collection of art books chronicling innovative domestic architecture, aims to evoke this same holistic understanding of homes as a reflection of the human experience. 

Indeed, as author Philip Jodidio reflects in the introduction of Homes for Our Time via Taschen. Contemporary Houses around the World. Vol. 3, houses are more than just dwellings. They are often powerful reflections of their era's social and political realities. Homes serve as physical manifestations of societal values and challenges, Jodidio argues, from environmental concerns and carbon footprints in contemporary designs to the post-war focus on establishing new architectural possibilities. 

Homes for Our Time celebrates the cosmopolitan designs of renowned architects, elucidating the evolving relationship between people and their environments. Take Japanese multi-disciplinary artist Mariko Mori. Using curvilinear white forms to construct a spaceship-like shell, Mori created one of the most recognizable homes on the Japanese island Miyako. Mori built her Yuputira house as both a home and an art studio, wanting the amorphous structure to reflect and harmonize with the surrounding rocky coast.

Other architects like Gurjit Matharoo pioneer innovative designs to account for harsher climates. Matharoo’s abstract, stone house Trees Sliced Through, built for a couple in Ahmedabad, India, was constructed to safeguard existing trees on the property, using brick circles and pile foundations to protect root systems. The use of durable materials like concrete, Kaddapah stone, aluminum and wood embody Matharoo’s commitment to sustainability and longevity. 

Encompassing over 50 more innovative homes from 25 different countries, Homes for Our Time. Vol. 3 encapsulates the splendor and significance of domestic architecture. The latest edition of the Homes for Our Time series continues to encourage readers to consider the beauty of nature and how architectural innovation is yielding new ways to preserve this wonder.

Homes for Our Time. Contemporary Houses around the World. Vol. 3 is now available to order online.