It is not a matter of covering versus opening up windows. Instead, architectural magazine editor Baillieu takes to heart all the metaphors a window is known for--and more--to showcase the miracles of aperture design. Amid the glories of Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, and Philip Johnson, the history of windows is probed in both words and illustrations. Five different methods of using windows--avant-garde, as landscape frames, with color and illusion, in public spaces, and in sustainable design--are this book's centerpiece, supported by more than 40 different buildings. Many are breathtaking, such as Daniel Libeskind's Jewish Museum in Berlin (he's the World Trade Center's new architect). Others are somewhat straightforward, like the Miami Beach home constructed to obey the local laws of turtle protection. Still others, downright odd, as exemplified by Tokyo's naked house. Opening a new world onto design. Barbara Jacobs

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