Publisher: Oro Editions, ISBN: 9781957183091, Author: Paul Lewis
, Format: Softcover, 27.9 x 19 cm, 352 pp

Organised by material, and incorporating life cycle diagrams demonstrating how the raw material is processed into building components, this book shows how the unique properties of each material can transform the ways architects conceive houses. Building on the techniques of the 'Manual of Section', the book is comprised of newly generated cross-sectional drawings of 55 recent, modestly sized houses from around the world.

The house was selected as the vehicle for these investigations due to its scale, its role as a site of architectural experimentation, and its ubiquity. Each house is also shown through exploded axonometric, construction photographs and colour photographs of the exterior and interior. Introductory essays set up the importance of embodied carbon, the role of vernacular plant-based construction and the problems of contemporary house construction. Drawing connections between the architecture of the house, environmental systems and material economies, the book seeks to change how we build now and for the future.