jonathan glancey's "the story of architecture" perhaps?

this was the book in my intro class. some hinting at theory, a lot of pics of buildings and some bio stuff. not really flash. more educational for a high school/early college.

i taught a 5wk introduction to arch to 20 high school students this summer and over the course of the 5wks i had them each read a different arch book. the ones to which they responded best:

'manual: the architecture of kieran timberlake': relates themes/concepts to their built projects.

'architecture: meaning and place', by christian norberg-schulz: a historic survey but with a bent toward the philosophy/whys. his 'meaning in western architecture' is good, too, but didn't go over quite as well.

'planned assaults', by lars lerup: a series of projects from the 80's, but with a description of how very specific projects developed from narratives. a weird book but the one that got me really excited about the possibilities of arch back in '86. still works.

'in the footsteps of le corbusier' is a book of essays by contemporary architects, each describing personal response to corb. articles by calatrava, tshumi, etc. (but still pretty accessible).

finally, i didn't try this but steven holl's books (anchoring + others) are very good descriptions of how projects develop from ideas.

good luck.

thanks so far guys

I'd have to agree, "The Story of Architecture" is great... especially for that age range. There's a good balance of pictures, history, and theory. I saw it at Border's one night and loved it. Though, I copied down the ISBN and ordered it on Amazon for a 30% savings and free shipping.

Thinking Architecture -Zumthor
Precedents in Architecture -Clark and Pause
Fire and Memory: On Architecture and Energy -Luis Fernndez-Galiano
Form, Space and Order -Ching

(i know you said you weren't sure about this one, but if read cover to cover, it does quite well, rather than just keeping it on one's desk as purely a resource...the same goes for this book:Le Corbusier; An Analysis of Form -Baker)

I have found those texts to be extremely valuable throughout my studies of architecture...they always show me new things...even years later.

also, other writers dealing with 'architecture-ish' topics; Italo Calvino, for example, might supplement the list.

I have also heard good things about these but i haven't read them yet;
The Projective Cast: 'Architecture and Its Three Geometries' and her other book; 'Translations from Drawing to Building and Other Essays', both by Robin Evans.

Good Luck Joe!

It's hoked-out, but "Architecture is Elementary: Visual Thinking Through Architectural Concepts" offers a good introduction to concepts and comes equipped with enough workbook exercises to make you feel like you are back 4th grade piano.

It's a little didactic and visually uninteresting (way dryer than ching), but its actually pretty good at helping you know what to look for in architecture (a little too much emphasis on architectural styles -- what can I say, it was from the eighties.)

When it comes to getting into architecture, my view is the simpler to read, the better. And, dammit, if those exercises don't work.

I'd get something with really hot pictures to go along with this -- Maybe that little book with closeup details of Ando's work, I forget the name.

Everybody likes Ando. Even people who think they hate modernism and concrete.

give him the picture books. In the end, a picture is still worth 1000 words.

ahhh, nothing like overused cliches to defend absence of original thought.