Another thing to check out is a good reader in Arch Theory. It will collect together lots of brief essays and excerpts which will help you to understand the various architectural issues that people have been dealing with over time. Krista Sykes has an accessible one you could look at.
for a more recent take on architectural history, though maybe not as meaty as kostof, check out the books by jonathan glancey. also, these are likely to be at your standard b+n.
oh god, steven, no. really? form space and order? really?
there are few people here i respect more than steven, so seeing that on the list made me think twice.
then thrice...and i still can't think of any worse book about architecture than anything by ching. great illustrations but the content drove and drives(just now, flashback style) me up the wall. ;-)
for beginners all of the above are great. kenneth frampton is an old favorite for big words and great dense content, but my real favorite is pretty much anything by CRIMSON, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS. don't let the dutch scare you, they write great stuff in english, including this one and the attitude very irrverant, so quite fun.
jump - i don't refer to form/space/order on a regular basis NOW - but i'm pretty advanced (arguably?) from where i started.
i think it's an 'essential' as a starting point because it's so incredibly clear for a basic understanding of things like axis, grid, open/closed/solid/void, symmetry/assymmetry, repetition/unique elements, visual weight/mass, etc. and it relates these things to projects that have been recognized in the history of architecture.
but then i come from the position of: you can't break the rules until you know them. so yes: form, space, and order.
i wouldn't expect that you'd have f/s/o by your desk as a personal bible now, either, jump, but as a basic architectural primer, what about the content do you dislike?
If you are considering going to back to school for architecture, I feel it's appropriate to not only understand the history of the profession, but also the present day profession. I highly recommend this book:
"The Look of Architecture" by Witold Rybczynski is a very easy-to-read book that will give you a better understanding of the evolution of architectural style and the determinate forces that precede a shift in styles. Its a very interesting book even if the author's last name is rediculous!
those are the exact reasons we had ching in class in undergrad steven. most of the profs didn't use it though. i felt from the start that the book was a dissapointment -- an over-sold under-performing kind of product -- but didn't know why until years later.
i guess i dislike FSO because it is a cookbook. superficial analysis treated as though it has meaning when really it is on second examination mostly just an excuse to do nice drawings. it converts/reduces architecture to graphic design when in fact architecture is as far from that as possible. i think i intuited that even in first year, but now, some 15 years+ later, i am convinced it is more of a hindrance to education than help (i do believe education requires structure, but also that pattern-language type of approach leads to automatic design and becomes an excuse to refrain from thinking).
graphic analysis of the ching type is even worse in that it teaches the very bad habit of thinking program is a graphic tool and not an act of inhabitation. the masters that ching drew from knew that, but students probably would not get that. So i wouldn't recomend it.
i really hate kostof's writing style, which i find flowery and pretentious. my copy of 'a history of architecture' starred in a series of fantasies ranging from pelting it out the window to leaving it sitting in the rain. for me, frampton is much more palatable and i adore benevolo. while he certainly doesn't cover the history of architecture, reyner banham is a joy to read, too.
The World Atlas of Architecture - Crescent is the publisher. It's a coffee table book. Covers antiquity to the present pretty much the world over. Not too in depth, but then again, you'd need a big ass coffee table if it was.
Good general books on the history of architecture?
Anyone here have a suggestion on some good books providing an overview of the history of architecture, from antiquity to modern times?
I know that's kind of broad, but I'm considering going back to school for architecture, and I'd like to learn about the history of the profession
first, history of architecture or the profession? Kostoff, Betsky, Frampton all good sources, as i am sure there are more...
Spiro Kostof is good: easy to read and interesting.
olskool: Banister Fletcher
Fletcher and Frampton. The only two ways to rock it!
"A History of Architecture: Settings & Rituals" by Spiro Kostof is a great book.
Also there is Vincent Scully's "Architecture: The Natural and the Manmade."
Another thing to check out is a good reader in Arch Theory. It will collect together lots of brief essays and excerpts which will help you to understand the various architectural issues that people have been dealing with over time. Krista Sykes has an accessible one you could look at.
this may be too basic or brief, but I love Andrew Ballantyne's "Architecture: A Very Short Introduction" as a baseline to build on.
for a more recent take on architectural history, though maybe not as meaty as kostof, check out the books by jonathan glancey. also, these are likely to be at your standard b+n.
having said that, kostof is definitely a great place to start. mix in some benevolo.
and for a dabble of history with a good mixture of architectural basics, check out ching's form, space, order. it's an essential.
just get used to buying books now, illinirunner.
oh god, steven, no. really? form space and order? really?
there are few people here i respect more than steven, so seeing that on the list made me think twice.
then thrice...and i still can't think of any worse book about architecture than anything by ching. great illustrations but the content drove and drives(just now, flashback style) me up the wall. ;-)
for beginners all of the above are great. kenneth frampton is an old favorite for big words and great dense content, but my real favorite is pretty much anything by CRIMSON, ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS. don't let the dutch scare you, they write great stuff in english, including this one and the attitude very irrverant, so quite fun.
I still haven't read form, space, and order.
jump - i don't refer to form/space/order on a regular basis NOW - but i'm pretty advanced (arguably?) from where i started.
i think it's an 'essential' as a starting point because it's so incredibly clear for a basic understanding of things like axis, grid, open/closed/solid/void, symmetry/assymmetry, repetition/unique elements, visual weight/mass, etc. and it relates these things to projects that have been recognized in the history of architecture.
but then i come from the position of: you can't break the rules until you know them. so yes: form, space, and order.
i wouldn't expect that you'd have f/s/o by your desk as a personal bible now, either, jump, but as a basic architectural primer, what about the content do you dislike?
If you are considering going to back to school for architecture, I feel it's appropriate to not only understand the history of the profession, but also the present day profession. I highly recommend this book:
Architect: A Candid Guide to Profession
"The Look of Architecture" by Witold Rybczynski is a very easy-to-read book that will give you a better understanding of the evolution of architectural style and the determinate forces that precede a shift in styles. Its a very interesting book even if the author's last name is rediculous!
I agree with n_ A Candid Guide to The Profession is definetly a good book to read before persuing your architectural education.
+1 for the Trachtengberg. That book was required for at least two of my Arch History classes in undergrad...
+1 for Frampton of course...
those are the exact reasons we had ching in class in undergrad steven. most of the profs didn't use it though. i felt from the start that the book was a dissapointment -- an over-sold under-performing kind of product -- but didn't know why until years later.
i guess i dislike FSO because it is a cookbook. superficial analysis treated as though it has meaning when really it is on second examination mostly just an excuse to do nice drawings. it converts/reduces architecture to graphic design when in fact architecture is as far from that as possible. i think i intuited that even in first year, but now, some 15 years+ later, i am convinced it is more of a hindrance to education than help (i do believe education requires structure, but also that pattern-language type of approach leads to automatic design and becomes an excuse to refrain from thinking).
graphic analysis of the ching type is even worse in that it teaches the very bad habit of thinking program is a graphic tool and not an act of inhabitation. the masters that ching drew from knew that, but students probably would not get that. So i wouldn't recomend it.
1000 Plateaus
:-)
jus kidding
i really hate kostof's writing style, which i find flowery and pretentious. my copy of 'a history of architecture' starred in a series of fantasies ranging from pelting it out the window to leaving it sitting in the rain. for me, frampton is much more palatable and i adore benevolo. while he certainly doesn't cover the history of architecture, reyner banham is a joy to read, too.
The World Atlas of Architecture - Crescent is the publisher. It's a coffee table book. Covers antiquity to the present pretty much the world over. Not too in depth, but then again, you'd need a big ass coffee table if it was.
Modern Architecture from 1900 to the present
Buildings Across Time
Architectural Theory from the Renaissance to the Present
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