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 favourite Architecture 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.

The Architecture of Happiness

The Architecture of Happiness

The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton explores how architecture influences our emotions and well-being. It advocates for the importance of beautiful design in our built environment to enhance our quality of life.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Delirious New York

Delirious New York

Delirious New York is a polemical investigation of that Manhattan; it documents the symbiotic relationship between its mutant metropolitan culture and the unique architecture to which it gave rise. Though this book argues that it often appears that the architecture generated the culture.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Experiencing Architecture - 2nd Edition

Experiencing Architecture - 2nd Edition

A classic examination of superb design through the centuries. Widely regarded as a classic in the field, Experiencing Architecture explores the history and promise of good design.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The works

The works

the parts of a machine, especially those that move: If you take the back off this clock, you can see its/the works.

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.

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.

Additional Architecture Reading

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

The Art of Home: A Designer Guide to Creating an Elevated Yet Approachable Home

The Art of Home: A Designer Guide to Creating an Elevated Yet Approachable Home

Whether it's through her thriving design business, Studio McGee, her popular Netflix series, Dream Home Makeover, or her online community of over five million followers, Shea McGee has shown the world how the principles of high-end design can be applied to any home. As the title of her new book …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

Encompassing both theory and practice, and illustrated with often witty drawings, 101 Things is an eclectic itemization of architectural philosophies, compositional strategies and tactics, design conventions, drawing and presentation techniques, and even tips about how to behave as an architect.…

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.

Call It Home: The Details That Matter

Call It Home: The Details That Matter

The details can make a room. The bullnose edge of a marble countertop. The wood grain and color of the flooring. The particular pleat of the drape. Amber Lewis, the esteemed designer known for her signature California-inspired style, obsesses over the tiniest of features to create her eclectic, …

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.

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.

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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