Superlight: Lightness in contemporary houses is a fantastic introduction to progressive design, with a focus on sustainable and ‘light’ architecture.

The problem with many books on architecture is that to get a sense of a house, you need to move around in it - enter the front door, move through the space, maybe even live there for years - before you can say that you have experienced it. Architecture is a three-dimensional art form that is difficult to capture on a two-dimensional page.

Wood often features as an accentual or complementary choice in modern building, cladding and panelling in timber to create a warm and attractive space while maintaining a simple, cost effective steel and/or concrete structure.

Small Houses, collated and written by Claudia Hildner, provides a unique insight into single family residences in Japan.

Scandinavian Modern Houses 4: The spirit of Nordic light is a stunningly beautiful book. Author Vibe Udsen has collated a gorgeous collection of some of Scandinavia’s best houses in this, the fourth instalment of the series, and there is certainly no sign of slipping standards.

Rock the Shack chooses to focus its viewpoint on structures that exist outside an urban context. Each house, cabin, retreat and lookout has an intimate relationship with nature and emphasises the isolation that they are built to capture and enhance.

Reciprocal Frame Architecture examines a specific architectural feature in detail, looking at examples of the form from Japan, England and America. The author Larsen includes great detail of the structural possibilities of the form while not hesitating to point out its limitations.

A book from the German publisher Birkhäuser, New Wood Architecture in Scandinavia provides a comprehensive overview of the use of timber in construction throughout the five Scandinavian countries.

Looking at contemporary examples of how traditional suburban houses have been reinvented, revised and renovated in Australia and New Zealand, New Suburban is the second book from Stuart Harrison and complements his first, Forty-six Square Meters of Land Doesn’t Normally Become a House. New Suburban is in particular a wel