Book excerpt: Contemporary Indian Houses discusses fifty-one architect-designed built-up houses selected from different parts of India. They display the diversity of needs, tastes and building materials in the context of different weather conditions and social trends. Different architectural appearances or external expressions have determined the classification of the houses into five sections. This grouping keeps the reader’s growing interest in the external aspect of a residential structure. The emphasis is on the built-form rather than on the interior and its decor. Each house is accompanied by an explanatory text and supplemented by appropriate drawings and photographs to present a comprehensive picture of India's many-splendoured domestic architecture. Contemporary Indian Houses is a well illustrated document of changing trends in architectural tune. It is not only a reflection of contemporary Indian architecture but also source of reference material for architecture historians. Moreover, it fulfills the needs of architects and other professionals engaged in house construction activity along with those general readers who wish to keep themselves informed of what is happening in the field of creative design.