...an engaging survey of the science of buildings and a reported account of the quest to improve life by deliberate design.

I read it, in a perverse spirit, entirely outside, on a sunny patch of grass, without a single person within seeing or hearing distance.

Great Indoors contains no slogs about how inclusionary zoning codes support affordable housing design. Instead, readers learn, for example, how dirt, water, and barbed wire are ingredients for easily constructed dome homes that have provided emergency housing for refugees and could better serve people in poverty.

Though some readers may be overwhelmed by the amount of information presented, the majority of it is fascinating and well worth pondering.

Journalist Anthes...explores cutting-edge innovations in architecture and interior design in her enjoyable and educational work of pop science.