Open House

336 pages, engl./fr.

The phenomenon of tiny houses fascinates as much as designing a home and is currently trending in various media. Yet interest in this architectural form is often superficial, driven by fantasies and lifestyle trends. In times of large migratory movements due to climate change, conflicts, or poverty and lack of economic prospects, however, there is an urgent demand for new types of temporary shelter. Open House discusses the topic of temporary housing in architecture, art, design, and humanitarian aid. Eighteen international authors explore the intentions behind such constructions, their underlying principles, and the lifestyle they convey. Their contributions reveal how these concepts relate to the very notion of habitat, to space, to pragmatic criteria, as well as to the time in which they are elaborated. Moreover, they address various issues of individual housing through the featured original installations and spatial experiments.