Saying that the city has once again become the preferred habitat of humans sounds a little like stating the obvious; nevertheless, it was not long ago -only since the last century- that such a statement has become an irrefutable truth. Inevitably, people have felt a powerful and rather inexplicable attraction for the masses, modernity, technology and all the things that humans have built, so the city in this way holds our strongest desires and highest achievements, but also our toughest challenges and greatest uncertainty...

To say that the city has once again become the preferred habitat of humans would be stating the obvious. It has been calculated that in the next few years nearly 80% of humanity will live or work in the city. Inevitably, people feel a powerful and rather inexplicable attraction for the masses, modernity, and technology. The city holds our strongest desires and highest achievements, but also our toughest challenges and greatest uncertainty.

The modern city imposes a rhythm on our lives that is reflected in our homes and in how we want them to be. Beyond its surface area, a house, as an extension of our own bodies, is and should be a mirror of our habits, customs and tastes; the entire urban space, from tiny flats to spacious lofts and single-family homes, must have a certain grandeur that its occupant can identify with. Just as the uniformity of a media-driven society searches for what's new and for style of its own, the need is similarly emerging to personalize our homes.

This book is a selection of projects of the current urban living space, from apartments designed to be refuges to diaphanous lofts conceived as places for experimentation and leisure. Apart fromthe variety of styles and programmatic requirements, all of them have something in common: the search for what is truly necessary from a living space. In the complex fabric and at times chaotic nature of the city, the contemporary home shies away from the superfluous and focuses on the individual and one's needs. Unique projects have been selected which reflect new ways of inhabiting and experimenting with distribution, materials, textures, and light; projects which are examples of interior micro-urbanism, of how a design can mould a space to make it personal, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. The possibilities are endless: here are a few of them.

Intro

Veen Apartment

Residential Laboratory

Mp3 House

White Loft

Apartamento Jote

Urban Living Space in Berlin-Mitte

Urban Refuge

Renovated Penthouse in Andorra

Family Loft

Jordi/Aida Living Space

Slender

Pasaje Sert Loft

Kaufman Loft

Steve House

Begur House

Perkins Herbert House

Kang Duplex

Xiangshan Apartment

Frankfurt Penthouse Flat

Sullivan Street Loft

Piazza Navona House

Choy House