It is obviously difficult nowadays to explain to a new generation what exactly modern architecture is about. The best way to understand the buildings is through their plans, which were seen by their designers as descriptions of a way of life. In fact the plan is the most accurate measure we have of changes in architectural though since the Beaux Arts. The first volume of 'Key Buildings of the 20th Century' covered developments in this way over the first stages of the period until l1945, seminal and classic modern houses that enabled the leading talents of the modern movement to establish exactly what changes in ideals and in practical life-style society would require to be realized in the excellence of their designs. With this second volume David Dunster has faced a far more strenuous and challenging task in selecting from around the world a further fifty-one house designs that he now feels reflect most accurately the richness and plurality of architecture that has developed since 1945. The plan is again seen to be the generator of the whole design and the diverse range of house designs that these leading architects of the second half of the century demonstrate confirms that the future of modern architecture in an increasingly complex century remains in good hands. The examples display a remarkable new breadth of regional diversity that readily fulfils the aspirations of the pioneers of modern design.