Where does architecture stand today? Can it tackle the more complex demands of our age in an adequate way? Does it do true justice to the user’s rising needs? And to what extent does it influence the relation between man and his environment? This book attempts to answer questions and to point out new, inspiring approaches in architecture. Starting out from traditional Japanese architecture, but also citing examples of classical Modernism, Open House offers diverse stimulus for a more imaginative planning and social praxis. Finally, successful examples by Rem Koolhaas, Herzog & de Meuron, Peter Zumthor, Katsuyo Sejima, Ryue Nishizawa and many others demonstrate not only the necessity to think seriously about a more open architecture, but also the simplicity of its realisation in everyday practice.