This is an interesting book. The book is provided by TED, the now ubiquitous lecture source for interesting TED talks and things related,. And this is a TED related subject to hear from as architecture in the author's view should stimulate better thinking from building to beyond.

This book is an illustrated (and it would have to be) book about how different buildings interact with the environment from extreme places such as Antartica to more mundane environments. The main thesis here in these short vignettes is providing information about how the buildings are not typical spaces, but each is adapted to, in the author's view, the changing environment and the imperative for more sensitivity to the world surfing the buildings.

The audience for this book has an interest in architecture as a medium of understanding and also believes in architecture to transform spaces. As someone who does notice the relationship between architectural spaces and how integrated the building might be, I enjoyed looking through this book. I find the choices very compelling and these are mostly not buildings I was familiar with. The extreme locations present are places few people will ever visit, but the ideas generated think are well worthwhile for thinking of how to organize spaces in more shall we say mundane locations.

A worthwhile book that is well-presented. However, I think the book should have been more expansive on the subject as this is not very detailed in terms of interior spaces and perhaps that is not the goal. It did stimulate an interest in seeking further information on certain buildings however, so perhaps the thinking is to stimulate further research.

As a standalone book, this is fine, but not a great volume.