The Living House was the first book of its kind to present a detailed picture of the house within the social and symbolic worlds of Southeast Asian peoples. A pioneering title that has become a classic, this exemplary text draws on many sources of information, from architects and anthropologists, to the author's own firsthand research.

As it probes into the centrally significant role of houses within Southeast Asian social systems, The Living House reveals new insights into kinship systems, gender symbolism and cosmological ideas, ultimately uncovering basic themes concerning the idea of life and life processes themselves. A vivid picture emerges of how people shape buildings and buildings shape people, as rules about layout and uses of space have an impact on social relationships. Although intended first and foremost as a work of anthropology, The Living House will also appeal to architects, scholars and the interested general reader.

1. Origins
2. Perceptions of Built Form: Indigenous and Colonial
3. The Interrelation of Built Forms
4. Technology and Symbolism
5. Cosmologies
6. The Living House
7. Kinship and 'House Societies'
8. Space and the Shaping of Social Relations
9. Houses of the Dead
10. Migrations