Despite the fact that theorists probably live in one, homes are rather poorly theorized. Why is this so? Perhaps it is the ascent of the domestic in capitalist bourgeois culture – the world within a world – that makes them the seat of late modernity’s subjective turn which, in its turn, made home personal, and therefore ungeneralisable. Who knows.

What I do know is that architect, writer and associate professor in the Department of Urban Policy and Planning at Hunter College, New York, Stefan Al has written a new book on them, Dwelling on Earth: The Past and Future of the Places We Call Home, published with W. W. Norton but nine days ago on April 14th 2026, and which makes for the subject of this newest episode of the A is for Architecture Podcast.

Dwelling on Earth is a good book beautifully illustrated by David M. Dugas spanning two million years, from the caves and huts of our forebears to high-rises to 3D-printed houses of… tomorrow? Structured around the four major transformations that we use to describe human history - agriculture, urbanity, industry and now, sustainability, the book poses another meta question, one architects and writers have reflected upon more than somewhat: What is it to dwell? And, to be precise, is a home different to a house?

Stefan can be found at work here, on his own website here and on Instagram and LinkedIn. The book is linked above.

Music credits: ⁠Bruno Gillick

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