What’s next on your reading list?
Reading is knowledge, to a greater degree for individuals within the design industry. There is no reason for us not to be reading architecture books on any given day. Design has such a vast structure of theories and thoughts that you have never seen because you have not read every book out there on the given subject. The books we have showcased above range from different context of professionalism, inspirational, academic, urban theory, monographs, graphic novels anything that engages your spark to sit down and read a new book while we continue to go through this pandemic.
1. Constructing Architecture: Materials, Process, Structures
Author: Andrea Deplazes
A fully rounded information and reference handbook that explain the design process from start to finish featuring numerous solutions through the design process, and a major emphasis on basic technical construction knowledge.
2. Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture
Author: Virginia McLeod
This book provides a vast variety of examples from the top 100 best residential homes to help architects consider and design details pertaining to floors, walls, ceilings, doors, windows, and staircases cross referencing between details to explain construction techniques further.
3. Ciudad Fritanga
Author: Ricardo Greene
This graphic compilation introduces us into the investigative chronicles, photos and essays about the middle-scale cities in Chile, giving us an insight into their city layout, food, daily habits, and the expectations and frustrations from citizens.
4. Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams
Author: Klaus Klemp
Rams is one of the most influential designers of the 20th century due to his main principles of “less but better” visualizing his definition of product design, his understanding of design and what it can and should do and the boundless inspiration that can be applied to design.
5. Atmospheres: Architectural Environments. Surrounding Objects
Author: Peter Zumthor
Throughout this book Zumthor explores the boundaries of atmospheres created during his design process, by imagining the spaces a building will inhabit from materials, objects, light effects, proportions, etc. everything that “really matters in the process of house design”.
6. Programs and Manifestoes on 20th Century Architecture
Author: Ulrich Conrads
The compilation of these manifestoes and programs delve into the history of modern architecture, comparing themselves in chronological order about the different styles and differences within this architectural style.
7. The Language of Architecture: 26 Principles Every Architect Should Know
Author: Andrea Simitch, Val Warke
This visual reference reintroduces us to the foundations of architecture, its language, basic knowledge, functions and usage within design through historical elements and overviews of design disciplines.
8. Neufert Architects’ Data
Author: Ernst Neufert, Peter Neufert
The organization of this building through building types has become a great reference of design and planning within a project by illustrating plans, sections, site layouts, and design details.
9. How to Study Public Life
Author: Jan Gehl
Gehl’s examination since the 1960s of urban population pertaining to sustainability has sparked questions within the design community, and how we can bring forth nature of life into cities for human use by studying city life and understanding all the factors of a public space and spatial planning.
10. Oppositions Reader: Selected Essays 1973 – 1984
Author: K. Michael Hays
This journal consists of collected important essays from 26 different issues of oppositions from well-known architects delving into theories of architecture from 1973 – 1984 that to this day still pertain to architecture.