In Japanese cities, the average house is 1,075 square feet. That makes sense when you consider that the country has a landmass smaller than Montana but a population that puts it at number 11 worldwide. Creativity abounds despite such constraints, notes Naomi Pollack in Jutaku: Japanese Houses (Phaidon, $25), which comes out this October. Pollack, a Tokyo-based architect, showcases more than 400 examples of contemporary residential design that defy gravity, redefine comfort, and dispel Western ideas of home. Featured work comes from up-and-coming designers as well as established architects such as Shigeru Ban and Jun Igarashi.