Peeking Through The Keyhole: The Evolution Of North American Homes

Since the Second World War, rapid developments in the economy, family structure, technology, employment, and lifestyle have transformed the home. Avi Friedman and David Krawitz guide the reader through the trends and changes, many of them ill-conceived and wasteful, that have influenced residential design and construction over the last fifty years.Offering pragmatic suggestions for many problems, including the damages caused by suburban sprawl, the limits of standard single-family dwellings, and the widening gap between rich and poor, Peeking Through the Keyhole unravels the effects of technology and consumerism on the way we perceive and use domestic space.

David Krawitz is administrative coordinator, School of Architecture, McGill University.