On Adam's House in Paradise: The Idea of the Primitive Hut in Architectural History

For An Architecture of Reality, by Michael Benedikt.  You can read it in a couple hours, and reflect on how its thesis has only gotten more applicable in the 25 years since it was written.

Donna sink, you seem to be quite helpful on these forums. I just ordered For an architecture of reality, it seems to be a good book. Thanks for the recommendations

taking measures across the american landscape by James Corner

short and sweet, great read and pics on every page!

Yes is More by Bjarke Ingels.

It aint a real theoratical book. But gives lots of information regarding the design process (specifically Bjarke Ingels sights ofcourse) that can be quite helpfull understanding architecture and is really easy to read.

sources of architectural form is a good primer that summarises the history of theory.  it is based on the author's theory about theory so not just a straight rewrite, but close enough.  very easy read.

On urban design, which every architect dealing with a multi-building project should be aware of:

Suburban Nation

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

The Triumph of the City

the geography of nowhere

This summer, I really want to discover my place within the realms of architecture theory.  I believe I am already developing my own 'vision' of what I believe is architecture, 

If that is how you feel, you need to challenge yourself. Don't settle for the average.

Read Delirious New York
 

@thecyclist - take any book by an architect (or architectural theorist) that discusses urban form and cities with an enormous grain of salt.  the best books on this subject are pretty dry and talk more about the political history of the built environment - I'd balance koolhaas with books like "cities of tomorrow" (which is a pretty entertaining book on the history of urban planning) and anthologies like "the city reader."

My biggest recommendation is to find inspiration outside the field.  read too much stuff by only architects and planners and you end up not making sense to anyone outside our little circle.

 the word "theory" is tricky, it could be such a chameleon. there is - seemingly- ahsitorical theory of the - seemingly- eternal contemporaries and history-centric theory of the anthologists, if i could use these terms for convenience' sake. there is also theory that compels the design and there is design-derivative theory. a priori theory (prescriptive, ideological) and theory after the fact (an archeology and genealogy of signification). do you want to be compelled or do you want to reflect? the older i get, the more i find that you are best served when you know how you're going to utilize what you learn. and the older i get, the more i realize how useless a lot of knowledge is when there is no oulet for it and how more fun it is to be able to do something rather than vegetate in front of its spectre..or buy a bunch of books that you'll lose interest in before you open or that will tantalize you with an interest that you can never match with stamina. best of luck

post repeated

In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. In about 50 pages of near poetry, Tanizaki describes the cultural sacrifices made by the Japanese for adopting western technologies and social practices, architecture being one of several of his examples. It's a great read for anyone who feels there is a certain plasticity or sterility to modern architecture, but aren't quite sure how to articulate how or why this seems to be.

Some good reads on this list.

I'll add Ideas that Shaped Buildings by Fil Hearn as a quick, easy-to-read book on history and theory. 

I'll also say that you shouldn't stick to the easy-to-read stuff. Best advice I've ever received about reading theory that is hard to read and comprehend was to read it the first time through just to read it, not necessarily understand it. If you do understand it, great! If you don't, just keep going. The first time through you need to try to see the whole picture. Then you can go back and revisit sections you didn't quite understand or look up words, etc. Most of the time we try to focus too much on the trees, when instead we should be focusing on the forest.

S, M, L, XL

@toasteroven

Thanks for the advice.  I am more interested in learning more about general design theories as opposed to theories regarding urbanity and landscape.  Perhaps you hit a good note when you say to look at visionaries like Koolhaus...maybe Gropius or Kahn too?

Finding inspiration outside the field is something no one has ever told me, but I have thought about it myself alone.  Travelling is a huge inspiration for me, and I'm not talking about visiting cities and looking at the architecture, but more of being a traveller, not a tourist; meeting the local people, hanging out, eating the cuisine, drinking, etc...

Tschumi + Rossi(architecture and the city) read Rossi first, then Tschumi-

koolhaas is a difficult read - he's not a great writer, and is very cynical - and while he has many important insights, he also paints a very broad brush over a lot of difficult issues (and again - you should be careful if you find yourself agreeing with his assertions - he isn't always correct - and second time you read any of his books, take the view that he might possibly be someone who hates people).  When reading any architect's writing, you should pay closer attention to their thoughts about tectonics, detailing, color, materials, and program, and be very skeptical of their beliefs on things like the city, infrastructure, transportation, and especially their thoughts on how people should live.

yes - definitely look outside architecture for inspiration.

i don't know what the heck passes as 'easy' but some very rewarding books on my nightstand recently....

'outliers', 'blink', 'the tipping point' - trio by malcolm gladwell. maybe the best threesome since... yeah. never mind. great books, all. there's a special edition artwork set for sale as well. retro arty goodness.

'the feeling of things' by adam caruso. kind of 'thinking architecture' -esque, but canadian and a better writer. for bonus points, throw in 'gardens of experience', which is a more singular essay, but still worth it. you can also download a bunch of his writings from their website.

'questions of space' - by bernard tschumi. i'm willing to bet maybe 3 people on archinect actually have this little book - came and went quick in the mid 90's. an a.a. publication, but by far the most lucid and cogent of his writings. left a deep impact on me. still pull it out now and again. lovely production quality as well.

'writings on architecture' by alvaro siza. translations of 30+ years of writing. picked this one up in the bargain bin for 3 bucks. seeing that the cheapest replacement on amazon is 250... yeah, not a bad deal. great sense of wit about siza, which you'd expect. another keeper.

lastly - 'why a man should be well dressed', a collection of adolf loos' writings about (you guessed it) clothing! a fun romp through the rompers of a man who's probably seen too many. but a quick, dirty read.  and on that note...

delirous n.y. is a good one (commies!) but how do you read s,m,l,xl,xxl,g-normous?

@toasteroven I very much like your comments. When I read architecture theory books, I tried to find inspiration for myself in my own thinking. I don't want to take directly what they write or believe and use it in my own practice. I feel like this is the only rational way to use theory. In conclusion, what Im saying is - it's not important about whether they're right or wrong, it just depends on what each person can find in their writings. That's why there are so many books one can read.

A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander

A Theory of Architecture, Nikos Salingaros

Complicity and Conviction, William Hubbard

A History of Western Architecture, David Wadkin

Why Architecture Matters, Paul Goldberger

The Architecture of Community, Leon Krier

If we're talking Christopher Alexander, read The Timeless Way of Building. It can be read very quickly by just reading the headlines, or you can take your time and read more about each item. IMHO, much better than A Pattern Language.

That's a great book as well.  Pattern Language is of course the classic.

will they ever release 4 volumes for SMLXL - one for S, another for M, and so forth.

this book is huge... can't even hold it properly when reading without my hands getting a work out, let alone carrying it around in my bag.

For a great overview of ideas from the later half of last century, Princeton Architectural Press has a collection of articles from the well respected 'oppositions' magazine, called the Oppositions Reader.

Cannot recommend it enough.

Lots of good suggestions here. I'll add:

"The Architecture of Happiness" Alain de Botton

Skip the Malcolm Gladwell books. They're completely worthless.

I found Juhani Pallasmaa's "The Thinking Hand" to be very interesting and his writing style coupled with corresponding imagery is very powerful.

stay away from pattern language, or anything from the Alexander camp.

start with books on capitalism and koolhaas.

nice. :)

How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand - a good and practical take on what constitutes quality in architecture and buildings.

Anything by Vincent Scully is pleasant and esy to read.

If you're interested in the experience of architecture over the aesthetics, check out Eyes of the Skin by Pallasmaa.

If you're interested in how buidlings age, check out On Weathering by Leatherbarrow and Mostafavi.

Both are relatively easy interesting reads.  I picked them up in undergrad, and I still go back to them on a regular basis.

+1 on How Buildings Learn. One of the best books on architecture ever written by a non-architect.

Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino Strange Details by Michael Cadwell

oh i forgot to add:

Citizens of No Place by Jimenez Lai

QUESTIONS OF PERCEPTION: PHENOMENOLOGY OF ARCHITECTURE, 

Steven Holl