Log in with Facebook 
Recently, I’ve been taking more of an interest in Architecture and building design, mainly because our new neighbours are architects! Because of this, I’ve started to get my head into a number of books that examine traditional and modern architecture from across the world, together with some other that focus more on studying. Here’s 10 books that I’ve recently discovered (thanks to EV Architects for the feedback!)
As always, the links in the article below are not affiliate links, just links to the books in case you want to purchase them from Amazon.
The future of Architecture in 100 Buildings. Marc Kushner.
Don’t be fooled by the title. This book showcases the architecture of overt 150 different Architectural building styles from across the world. The architectural designs featured in this book take you on a rollercoaster of creativity, from the incredible relocatable Halley research station in Antarctica to the wild reindeer pavilion in Hjerkinn Norway. This book is packed with stunning visuals that are accompanied by simple explanations. It’s just my cup of tea!
Archi-doodle – an architect’s activity book. Steve Bowkett.
This quirky publication provides an incredibly engaging way to learn about architecture. Packed full of beautiful hand drawn explainer sketches, this book contains a number of drawing exercises that are great fun and get you thinking. As someone that doesn’t have any drawing experience, I really enjoyed working my way through this book. This book also teaches you about a number of challenging issues that architects face when honing their craft. The Amazon description suggests this is a book for everyone, but I’d challenge this and say that its more for students and novices, like me!
Sustainable design. A Critical guide. David Bergman.
A very insightful book that’s more suited to practicing Architects or students (although I still enjoyed it!) This critical guide contains a detailed overview of the different techniques that Architects can apply to reduce the energy footprint of the spaces and structures they design.
The author touches on a number of ecological considerations that I wouldn’t have given a second thought to before reading his book. These considerations include Water and Energy efficiency, materials used, indoor environmental quality, and much more besides. This book isn’t packed full of stunning images, but the thought-provoking insight more than makes up for this.
Architecture in Wood: A World History. Will Pryce.
The Author of this book is considered to be one of the best Architectural Photographers in the world And so as you can imagine, the images in this publication are extremely high quality - it’s really hard to believe that many of the buildings featured in this book are actually constructed from wood! From the Water Pavilions of Taman Gili to the forbidden city, the structures in this publication are truly stunning. The book also contains a glossary that includes just about all of the terminology used to describe wooden buildings and the many different techniques used to construct them. I really enjoyed this one.
Sketching for Architecture and Interior design. Stephanie Travis.
I like my sketches, so I really engaged with the drawings from Stephanie Travis in this book, or more to the point, how to sketch them myself! This book contains 45 sketching exercises that start with creating simple 3D furniture, through to more complex cityscapes. Most of the techniques in this book are beyond me, but I enjoyed trying anyway!
There you have it.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the books that I’ve listed here. If you’ve read any other good Architectural books that you’d recommend then I’d love to hear about them in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
