Paris, Antwerp, Zwolle, and Bremen—the Atelier Kempe Thill works in these cities on the building typology of the urban villa, which today essentially characterizes housing in Western Europe as a vision of contemporary living. The projects presented in this publication are all based on this basic type of structure. However, very distinct interpretations develop from specific national and regional features and their conscious conceptualization. The volume traces the projects by the Ateliers Kempe Thill in their relationship of tension between architectural design and lifeworld-related conditions. Numerous illustrations as well as texts by well-known architects and critics shed light on the buildings and their processes of origin. The catalogue thus provides a panorama of the conditions under which collective housing is currently developing in Europe.

Text by: Jean-Louis Cohen, Eric Lapierre