From tiny pit-houses in the Levant and Mesoamerica thousands of years ago to soaring skyscrapers in Dubai, New York, and Shanghai today, architect and urban planning scholar Stefan Al combines archaeology, engineering, social history, and environmental science to present the evolution of human habitation.
Discover how seemingly mundane elements—like door knockers and corridors—have altered everyday interactions and how material choices have remade the planet’s surface. He also confronts the darker side of domesticity, exposing the unintended consequences of architectural choices across millennia, including smoke-filled Neolithic dwellings, deadly fires in crowded Roman apartment buildings, and worsening social isolation in car-dependent suburbs.
He examines the myths and reality of future housing, including 3D-printed homes and space architecture built by robots. Drawing on global experiences and professional insights, he argues that understanding this history is crucial for building a sustainable future, transforming humanity's defining challenge into its greatest opportunity.
Al is a New York-licensed architect who holds a PhD in urban planning from the University of California, Berkeley. His book Dwelling on Earth: The Past and Future of the Places We Call Home (W.W. Norton) is available for purchase.
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