This book starts on the front cover and ends on the back with no empty pages in between - to maximize available space. Which is what the book is about. With the largest houses in the world and ever-increasing suburban sprawl, we need to consider building smaller and more space-efficient homes. Showcasing 45 examples, Stuart Harrison explores how the constraints of space often result in the most innovative houses - bigger is not better.

Stuart Harrison is an architect, communicator and architectural advocate. He is director of the award-winning firm Harrison and White Architects (HAW), based in Brunswick, Melbourne. He has taught architecture widely, including running the Australian Architecture course at RMIT. He founded and co-hosts 'The Architects' on Melbourne 3RRR and has interviewed architects and designers from around the world. His new book, 46 Square metres of land doesn't normally become a house, for Thames & Hudson, was released in October 2011 and promotes a compact and innovative housing in Australia and New Zealand. He has also written for Architecture Australia, Monument and Lonely Planet, and is a regular correspondent for Architectural Review Australia; and has appeared on ABC-TV’s Art Nation.