In the 1990s the military began to use the acronym V.U.C.A. (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) to describe the dynamic and incredibly complex nature of modern warfare. Since then, the only constant has been an ever-increasing degree of complexity.

Complex Buildings, the new series of a+t magazine, identifies different conditions of complexity within architecture. Through classic and contemporary projects grouped into four blocks - Generators, Linkers, Mixers and Storytellers - a+t proposes complexity as a positive concept in the design process. The buildings selected are not evidently complex but essentially complex.