Considering the synthesis of modernity and tradition in contemporary architecture, this book focuses on 37 buildings completed in the 1990s. It examines a broad range of examples of international architecture that reinterprets rather than revives traditional forms, materials and construction techniques. The projects covered in this study range from better-known works by renowned architects such as Michael Graves, Renzo Piano and David Chipperfield, to less familiar buildings in Hungary, Nepal, Latvia and elsewhere. The fragmentation of nation-states and increasing plurality of political and cultural identities have led to a growing reaction in architecture against "global blanding" - the world-wide homogenization of images and designs. As a result, local context, materials and culture have become increasingly important concerns for architects, whose designs are now seen by the public as lending form to evolving regional identity.