The book opens with a historical review of experimental houses over the last 500 years - with a particular focus on the twentieth century - covering the work of Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and others. It also outlines some of the key social, political and economic driving forces behind the development of houses in the twentieth century.
Projects covered in the rest of the book are organized by type: shelter and mobile homes, prefabricated houses, ecological houses, cluster houses, infill houses, conversions and re-use and one-offs. Each chapter opens with an essay outlining the theme. Outstanding examples from all over the world are then examined in depth, with analytical commentary accompanied by sections, plans and photographs.