Home In The World: Houses & Cultures

Humans perch homes in trees and float them in lakes; they build them to last for centuries and make them portable enough to carry on their backs; they look for design inspiration in the landscape, in the human body, and in flora and fauna. A Home in the World offers a deep perspective on home design by revealing how different cultures have handled the essential task of building houses that reflect their ideals and values. In a time when home improvement is all the rage, this book sheds light on other, more global, meanings of the word "home." Authors Martine and Caroline Laffon lead us on a fascinating journey to distant lands to discover the enormous variety of vernacular and ethnographic domestic architecture. We explore a tree house high atop a forest, boathouses in Thailand, a mud-and-wood fortress in Togo, a hut in Siberia, and an intricate latticework structure in India. Illustrated with 150 images of houses around the world, this extraordinary volume will have great appeal for those interested in architecture, design, cultural anthropology, and travel.