Inner cities are experiencing a renewed boom - along with townhouses, a building type that is the most adequate expression of a new urban lifestyle. So for the past few years, many architects have been rediscovering and creatively reinterpreting the aesthetic and functional potential of townhouses.

Featuring 60 projects from around the world, this book offers a unique kaleidoscope of townhouses, which have recently been completed or are currently under construction. The range includes spectacular new, reconstructed and renovated buildings, each of which has its own very individual style of hand ling space, and especially the lack of it. The challenge is always the same - to optimally utilize inner-city space. The results include high towering buildings, buildings with split level living spaces, or very unconventional solutions. For example, Atelier Bow-Wow designed an intricate customized house for a tiny and labyrinthine construction plot in Tokyo; while in Berlin a former overground bomb shelter was revived as a residence with an integrated exhibition space by the architects of Realarchitektur.

The many projects of famous architects such as Lord Norman Foster, UNStudio, Richard Meier or Jean Nouvel, contribute to making this illustrated book an informative and inspiring collection of innovative townhouse architecture.