Top Architecture books curated by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we have connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favouriteArchitecture books – and here are the answers.

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Top Architecture books recommended by experts
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Fundamentals of Architecture

Understanding the concepts of Architecture starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution

Yes is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution

Yes is Moreis the easily accessible but unremittingly radical manifesto of Copenhagen-based architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group, or BIG. Unlike a typical architectural monograph, this book uses the comic book format to express its groundbreaking agenda for contemporary architecture.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Architecture, Form, Space, & Order

Architecture, Form, Space, & Order

Architecture: Form, Space, and Order distills complex concepts of design into a clear focus and brings difficult abstractions to life. The book explains form and space in relation to light, view, openings, and enclosures and explores the organization of space, and the elements and relationships …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Robert Venturi: Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

Robert Venturi: Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

A "gentle manifesto for a nonstraightforward architecture," Venturi's Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture expresses in the most compelling and original terms the postmodern rebellion against the purism of modernism.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Learning from Las Vegas

Learning from Las Vegas

Overall, "Learning from Las Vegas" is a groundbreaking work that challenges the dominant paradigm of modern architecture and proposes a new approach that is more democratic and responsive to the needs of ordinary people. It is a must-read for anyone interested in architecture, urbanism, and cult…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment

Engineering in Plain Sight: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Constructed Environment

Engineering in Plain Sight extends the field guide genre from natural phenomena to human-made structures, making them approachable and understandable to non-engineers. It transforms readers' perspectives of the built environment, converting the act of looking at infrastructure from a mundane ine…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Why Architecture Matters

Why Architecture Matters

The purpose of Why Architecture Matters is to “come to grips with how things feel to us when we stand before them, with how architecture affects us emotionally as well as intellectually”—with its impact on our lives.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Additional Architecture Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Architecture, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Theory and design in the first machine age

Theory and design in the first machine age

First published in 1960, Theory and Design in the First Machine Age has become required reading in numerous courses on the history of modern architecture and is widely regarded as one of the definitive books on the modern movement.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Architectural Digest at 100: A Century of Style

Architectural Digest at 100: A Century of Style

Architectural Digest’s editors have delved into the archives and culled years of rich material covering a variety of subjects. Ranging freely between present and past, the book features the personal spaces of dozens of private celebrities like Barack and Michelle Obama, David Bowie, Truman Capot…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Little Corner: Coloring Book for Adults and Teens, Super Cute Designs of Cozy, Hygge Spaces for Relaxation (Cozy Spaces Coloring)

Little Corner: Coloring Book for Adults and Teens, Super Cute Designs of Cozy, Hygge Spaces for Relaxation (Cozy Spaces Coloring)

If you enjoy decorating your own cozy room, this Little Corner Coloring Book is for you.
This book features 40 illustrations of places with super cute decor, such as a fully equipped kitchen, a dreamy bedroom, a wooden fireplace, and many more!
It's an ideal present for yourself, your fami…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Arquitectura - Forma, Espacio y Orden

Arquitectura - Forma, Espacio y Orden

Esta introducción clásica a los principios de la arquitectura analiza de manera sistemática y exhaustiva los fundamentos de la forma, el espacio y la ordenación arquitectónicos a partir de prototipos y de ejemplos históricos de todas las épocas, culturas y ámbitos geográficos. Partiendo de los e…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The eyes of the skin

The eyes of the skin

The Eyes of the Skin has become a classic of architectural theory and consists of two extended essays. The first surveys the historical development of the ocular-centric paradigm in western culture since the Greeks, and its impact on the experience of the world and the nature of architecture.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Architecture of the City

The Architecture of the City

The Architecture of the City (Italian: L'architettura della città) is a seminal book of urban design theory by the Italian architect Aldo Rossi published in Padova in 1966. The book marks the shift from the urban doctrines of modernism to a rediscovery of the traditional European city.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Specializations and Deeper Architecture Knowledge

You've got your basics in order – time to move on to some advanced and specialized concepts. Architecture is evolving every day, these books can help you master it.

World Architecture: The Masterworks

World Architecture: The Masterworks

More than 350 color photographs celebrate the finest buildings from over two thousand years of civilization: Hagia Sophia, the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, Islamic masterworks at Isfahan, the Taj Mahal, the Palace of Westminster, Gehry's iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and much more.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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