The importance of the house is fundamental to the human being and is meaningful to the cultural shaping of societies. This book asks to what spatial concept does today's architecture feel committed in this context? The different projects of London-based architect, Tony Fretton, in the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark exemplify a sensitivity to the local characteristics of the particular place in his design process. The buildings of Peter Zumthor, Pritzker Laureate 2009, frequently move between the realms of architecture and sculpture and the eight projects presented here emphasise his respect for the material and his great attention to detail. In contrast, Roger Diener's main focus is given to the urban experience, which is expressed in many and varied forms. He attaches particularly importance to recognising the city as a collective, but at the same time also a separated identity, by trying to understand its unique shape in a specific place and responding to it with his own form of architecture.