I'm interested in books which are enjoyable for amateurs. Thanks a lot!
RH-Arch
Jul 9, 12 1:37 pm
Modern Architecture: A Critical History by Keneth Frampton
Architecture and Disjunction by Bernard Tschumi
Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas
Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Robert Venturi
Toward an Architecture by Le Corbusier
On and By Frank Lloyd Wright by Robert McCarter
The Eyes of the Skin: The Architecture and the Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa
and many many others...
Rang
Jul 9, 12 2:21 pm
Start out with some light reading:
Sanford Kwinter, Architectures of Time: Toward a Theory of the Event in Modernist Culture (2001)
Janosh
Jul 9, 12 2:25 pm
Since there are only histories of architecture (and no definitive history), If you wanted to start with the big picture from various viewpoints, I would suggest the following:
Kostof's "History of Architecture"
Frampton's "Modern Architecture: A Critical History"
Banham's "Architecture and Design in the First Machine Age"
OneLostArchitect
Jul 9, 12 2:26 pm
Rand recommended tough reads for a amateur in my opinion. Those are books you will start getting into once you are in school.
If you want History, you want Kostof:
A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals by Spiro Kostof
Tee002
Jul 9, 12 3:48 pm
The City Shaped by Kostof should be on the list as well. I’m not so sure it will be a bit heavy for starter, albeit really good one to read.
RH-Arch
Jul 9, 12 4:16 pm
Also some other good read are Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch.
bob/bob
Jul 9, 12 4:23 pm
Try Michael Sorkin and Witold Rybczynski- accessible and interesting writers. I am in the process of reading Deyan Sudjic's The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful Shape the World and like it a lot so far. Mario Salvadori has a couple of good books on structure written for the layperson.
TIQM
Jul 9, 12 10:17 pm
"A History of Western Architecture" by David Wadkin.
metal
Jul 9, 12 10:49 pm
Don't read anything, just watch "my architect" and you'll be good to go.
garethcooper9
Jul 10, 12 6:38 am
History of Architecture by Kostof. Read it, if you like it then you can apply for an Architecture course.
curtkram
Jul 10, 12 9:13 am
the fountainhead. That's so realistic some people think it's non-fiction. Also, at some point in your college education a professor will refer to Howard Roarke. Might as well know who he is.
RH-Arch
Jul 10, 12 9:16 am
I recommend the Wikipedia page f the fountainhead. You will understand all the references people make without wasting the time or developing the the misconceptions created by the book (you will probably just develop them from somewhere else though).
Jul 10, 12 10:26 am
This might sound quaint, but if you want to read about architecture and arch history before going to university to study, try starting with the encyclopedia. Basic intro and from there you can then look at their references and sources for more info. And from there you can then follow your interests even further by looking at their sources. Dig through the footnotes and find your own way. Frankly, a lot of the books listed above can be a waste of time if you don't have a decent foundation.
Yo!
RH-Arch
Jul 10, 12 10:29 am
They still make encyclopedias?
curtkram
Jul 10, 12 10:37 am
I think the printed encyclopedia may be a thing of the past:
The importance of knowing and aspiring to be a starchitect far exceeds any other knowledge you can have on architecture.
honolulu _
May 3, 16 10:52 pm
I just read Kengo Kuma's "Small Architecture, Natural Architecture."
I highly recommend the two books. You can order an English copy of the book through the AA bookstore. The books aren't very thick, they go through architectural theory just as much as it does practicality in building...
accesskb
May 3, 16 11:13 pm
read all the books suggested here and you will have read more theory books than many graduating from university xD
I'm interested in books which are enjoyable for amateurs. Thanks a lot!
Modern Architecture: A Critical History by Keneth Frampton
Architecture and Disjunction by Bernard Tschumi
Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas
Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Robert Venturi
Toward an Architecture by Le Corbusier
On and By Frank Lloyd Wright by Robert McCarter
The Eyes of the Skin: The Architecture and the Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa
and many many others...
Start out with some light reading:
Sanford Kwinter, Architectures of Time: Toward a Theory of the Event in Modernist Culture (2001)
Since there are only histories of architecture (and no definitive history), If you wanted to start with the big picture from various viewpoints, I would suggest the following:
Kostof's "History of Architecture"
Frampton's "Modern Architecture: A Critical History"
Banham's "Architecture and Design in the First Machine Age"
Rand recommended tough reads for a amateur in my opinion. Those are books you will start getting into once you are in school.
If you want History, you want Kostof:
A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals by Spiro Kostof
The City Shaped by Kostof should be on the list as well. I’m not so sure it will be a bit heavy for starter, albeit really good one to read.
Also some other good read are Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino and The Image of the City by Kevin Lynch.
Try Michael Sorkin and Witold Rybczynski- accessible and interesting writers. I am in the process of reading Deyan Sudjic's The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful Shape the World and like it a lot so far. Mario Salvadori has a couple of good books on structure written for the layperson.
"A History of Western Architecture" by David Wadkin.
Don't read anything, just watch "my architect" and you'll be good to go.
History of Architecture by Kostof. Read it, if you like it then you can apply for an Architecture course.
the fountainhead. That's so realistic some people think it's non-fiction. Also, at some point in your college education a professor will refer to Howard Roarke. Might as well know who he is.
I recommend the Wikipedia page f the fountainhead. You will understand all the references people make without wasting the time or developing the the misconceptions created by the book (you will probably just develop them from somewhere else though).
This might sound quaint, but if you want to read about architecture and arch history before going to university to study, try starting with the encyclopedia. Basic intro and from there you can then look at their references and sources for more info. And from there you can then follow your interests even further by looking at their sources. Dig through the footnotes and find your own way. Frankly, a lot of the books listed above can be a waste of time if you don't have a decent foundation.
Yo!
They still make encyclopedias?
I think the printed encyclopedia may be a thing of the past:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/03/encyclopaedia-britannica-kills-its-print-edition/
However, wikipedia does have a page for starchitects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starchitect
The importance of knowing and aspiring to be a starchitect far exceeds any other knowledge you can have on architecture.
I just read Kengo Kuma's "Small Architecture, Natural Architecture."
I highly recommend the two books. You can order an English copy of the book through the AA bookstore. The books aren't very thick, they go through architectural theory just as much as it does practicality in building...
read all the books suggested here and you will have read more theory books than many graduating from university xD