Imagine building a family home on a 220-square-foot lot, or splitting your bathroom into three sections so there is no need for a second privy. The Modern Japanese Home by Naomi Pollock explores the very subject, looking at how to build in a compact city with unique zoning laws, exorbitant costs, size restrictions and a changing social dynamic. Taking us from the “Multigeneration House” to the “Vacation House,” Pollock illustrates, through text and fantastic images, how Japanese architects such as Shuhei Endo, Jun Aoki and Hiroshi Nakao have built some of the most efficient, innovative and multifunctional contemporary homes in the world—despite the limitations. Featuring everything from sliding partitions to doggy cafés, this book opens one’s eyes to compact, luxurious living unlike any the Western world has experienced. (via Elements of Living)

Inspiration.