Architecture, as a profession, revolves around evolution and constant upgradation. Architecture is a research and analysis-based profession where knowledge plays a vital role. Architects need to constantly keep upgrading their knowledge with upcoming technology and inventions. Books are the oldest and most reliable source of information for any profession. The knowledge from a book can never go wrong. Books should be every architect’s best friend. Today with the technology we have, books can be downloaded online with just a click of a button. Reading a book has become so convenient and easily available, time constraints and convenience can hardly be an excuse. Books, unlike the internet, provide knowledge about any topic as a whole.
Architecture, as a profession, demands more readers. The architectural books talk about architectural aspects beyond design physics and construction laws. These books educate us about design, services, anthropology, interiors, colors, materials, psychology, sociology, economics, urbanism, landscape, built environment, architectural theory, heritage, culture, religion, human space and so much more. There are books related to each aspect of architecture. Not only architecture professionals but architecture students can also read such books and educate themselves.
As an architect, reading a book written by other architects is a way of conversing with the way those different architects work and think.
Here is a list of 20 most-read architecture books that every architect must read in 2023.
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The beautifully illustrated book by D.K Ching focuses on critical thought in designing architectural spaces. The book is perfect for a beginner to start with the basics of architectural vocabulary. This book has been recommended to beginner architects and architectural students for the past 40 years. This book is easily available in stores and libraries and even on the internet.
The cost of the book is approximately – 1,500 Rs.
2. Building for change – Architecture for creative reuse
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Published in 2022.
The new book was written and edited by Ruth Lang, Robert Klanten, and Rosie Flanagan. This book is a culmination of methods and strategies for a sustainable future. It focuses on the strategies of reusing, reducing, and recycling. Ways to creatively reuse the space and the material. This book can be useful not only for architects but also for students and environmentalists, and nature conservationists. This book is the perfect start toward a sustainable lifestyle.
The cost of the book is approximately – 1000 Rs, available online and in stores.
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This book is a collection of 100 buildings that represent the future. Two intellectuals - The founder of Architizer.com and a practicing architect, analyze and recognize the unique experiences that these 100 buildings have which represent the future. This book can be helpful for students and professionals for case studies and comparative analysis of buildings of the future.
Written by Marc Kushner, the cost of the book is approximately 1,400 Rs.
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Beautifully illustrated, this architecture book is a perfect gift for an enthusiast. This pocket-sized book is filled with significant movements in architecture as well as crisp biographies of
great architects. It also explores the evolution of the industry and of architectural masterpieces. This book evokes interesting conversations between humans and architecture.
This book is easily available in stores and online. The cost for this book is approximately 3000 Rs.
5. Understanding Architecture -Its Elements, History, and Meaning
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The book by Leland M Roth and Amanda C Roth Clark includes architectural styles from all over the world. It examines the meaning of architecture, structure, and function of architecture in ways that are accessible and interesting for both architecture professionals and students. The cost of the book is 5,500 Rs, available online and in libraries.
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This book by Julia McMorrough talks about the elements every architect needs to know daily. This book contains basic but the most vital information about everyday architecture. It is a compact guide to design that one can carry anywhere. This book streamlines the data provided in standard books and includes the most requested and indispensable architectural data.
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Book by Andrea Simitch, Val Warke is based on 26 blocks of architecture, It is a comprehensive learning tool. Starting from the basics and moving on to complex architectural designs, the Language of Architecture is a go-to book for reference for both students as well as architectural professionals.
The approximate cost of the book is 2,300 Rs.
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Just as the name suggests, this book is a fun and interactive way to learn about architecture. With numerous challenges for the user – from designing a skyscraper to creating a Constructivist monument, this is an amazing book for learning about architecture while having fun.
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The book is updated and revised, it is a comprehensive collection of architectural terms – with 25,000 definitions and 2,500 illustrations. The perfect architectural dictionary and a must-have architecture book.
The book is available both at stores and online. The pdf of the book is available online however the cost of the book is 9,300 Rs.
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This book talks about design in the context of sustainability. A comprehensive guide to reducing energy and carbon footprints and creating structures that are environmentally responsible. This book is a step for future innovations and strategies. It educates environmentalists, nature conservationists and enthusiasts, urban planners, and sustainable architects. The book also guides architectural students with sustainable futuristic designs.
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Interior design is a major part of architectural design. In India, the industry of interior design is moving at a fast pace. Having learned architecture in the era of computers and rendering software, a lot of today’s architects lack the ability to sketch. This book is a brilliant guide to help students and interior architects develop their sketching skills.
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The book by Frank Jacobus takes an unusual approach to understanding architecture. With numerous infographics, the book approaches architecture in an unconventional manner. This book needs to be on every designer’s library shelf.
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The Definitive Guide to Identifying and Understanding America’s Domestic Architecture by Virginia Savage McAlester A Field Guide to American Homes is a book that makes all the periods of domestic Architecture in America, easily identifiable. Covering more than 50 styles, this book is invaluable to architects, tourists, house buyers, and architecture enthusiasts. The illustrations in the book make it pleasing to the eye and informative.
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This book analyzes and focuses on the importance of details – technically and aesthetically. The book talks more about timber architecture, however, materials can change but the concept remains the same. In the upcoming years, the use of timber can be effectively used in designed spaces. Architects and students can learn about the basics of using timber and improvise for the future.
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This book by James Oles offers a new understanding of painting, architecture, sculptures, photographs, and prints specific to the region of Mexico. He looks at major works by such famous artists as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo but also discusses fewer familiar figures. The book focuses on the aesthetics of design. How art and architecture converse with each other which can be accepted and appreciated by all.
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This book reviews recent and traditional methods of interpreting artworks in different spaces. For architecture students, this book can be helpful for the subject of architectural theory.
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This book is an impressive collection of essays by architectural theorists, on the relationship between violence and space. The book gives personal opinions and thoughts about how design can be impacted by violence.
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This book helps the reader understand the connections between space, proportion, materials, and scale. The book will leave the reader with a very different perspective on architecture and its surrounding built environment.
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Tips and techniques for drawing on location by Gabriel Campanario In this book, Gabriel Campanario makes sketching fun and interactive for the readers. It helps the reader develop their unique style of architectural sketching.
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The Architecture of Happiness is an illustrated book on the philosophy and psychology of architecture and the connection between our identities and the location we are in. The generation we live in, demands and requests space to be more sensitive toward both built and human contexts. As architects of the future, one must understand the reason behind the space that they design. This book can help bridge the link between the psychology of humans and spaces in the evolving built environment.
Level up your approach and career with these architecture books
These are only a few of architectural books' vast oceans of knowledge. These books are available on multiple platforms, online and offline. The architectural books are helpful to all age groups irrespective of whether an architect or a student or a designer. One can read, learn, write and even sketch architecture. Being an architect is all about knowing more, constantly upgrading your knowledge, and evolving the methods of designing.
“Architecture is not so much a knowledge of form, but rather a form of knowledge.” – Bernard Tschumi.
Text provided by Pooja Gosar -
An Architect aiming to redesign the idea of design. She believes that architecture is a story of built and unbuilt. The architecture we see is not the whole story, there are multiple layers to it. Pooja believes in unfolding these layers to the world and exploring architecture beyond perception.
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