
A townhouse is a residence that many find combines the best amenities of a single–family home and a condominium. By definition, a townhouse is a home that is attached to adjacent houses, which sits upon land that you own.
THE MODERN TOWNHOUSE will look at three types of town house projects that are increasingly popular in urban areas and close–in suburbia:
1) Renovation of existing town houses. This is a particularly popular activity in older, urban neighborhoods undergoing re–gentrification. Eighteenth and nineteenth century "shells" long in disrepair, are being gutted and totally modernized
2) Vacant lots, primarily in the inner cities, but also in close–in suburban neighborhoods where zoning restricts high rise housing, are being filled with four or five town houses that are built perpendicular to the street, usually in neighborhoods where the lot size would normally accommodate only one, detached house. This activity is in response to the increasing demand for urban housing where high land prices mandate multifamily housing solutions.
3) New, one–off townhouses, that are found primarily in wealthier neighborhoods where the high land cost can be recovered with a single, luxury town home.
The book will be divided into these three categories and feature project from around the country including Baltimore, San Diego, San Francisco, Miami, and in smaller metropolitan areas.

by Mark Anderson
Where Trulove focuses on how existing urban spaces are being reimagined through townhouse design, Sigler explores the cutting edge of prefabrication and modular housing—the industrial process that's making these projects economically viable. You'll see the architectural philosophy you just read about from the manufacturing side, understanding why these solutions work at scale.
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by Andrew James McLean
This is the sociological backbone behind the design trends Trulove catalogs. Massey examines why we're seeing this surge in townhouse development and urban infill—the demographic pressures, economic forces, and policy decisions that make these projects necessary. It's the 'why' to Trulove's 'how,' and it'll deepen your understanding of what you're looking at in those photographs.
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by Juhani Pallasmaa
Here's the philosophical counterweight to Trulove's practical focus. Pallasmaa asks what it actually *feels* like to inhabit these spaces—how materials, light, and spatial relationships affect us beyond what photographs show. If you found yourself wondering about the lived experience behind those renovated townhouse interiors, this book explores the sensory and emotional dimensions of architectural design.
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by Jane Jacobs
Published in 1961, Jacobs predicted exactly the kind of urban revitalization Trulove documents—she understood that mixed-use neighborhoods with varied housing types create vibrant communities. Reading her now, you'll see how her arguments about street life and neighborhood density directly justify the townhouse infill projects you've just studied. It's the historical foundation for contemporary urban design thinking.
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by Gaston Bachelard
This is a genuine curveball—a phenomenological meditation on how homes shape our inner lives, written by a philosopher, not an architect. But it's the perfect companion to Trulove because after studying all those floor plans and renovations, Bachelard asks: what does a townhouse *mean* to us? How does living in an attached home, sharing walls, create different psychological relationships to space than a detached house? It's poetic rather than technical, but it'll make you think differently about the designs you've just seen.
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