Top Architecture books recommended by experts

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

Table of Contents

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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Thinking architecture

Thinking architecture is an elegiac allegory on the simplest of feelings of touch, sound, smell and sight and its resonance with architecture. A keen observer, Zumthor is in perpetual search of truth, beauty and meaning.

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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 family members, and your coloring buddy.

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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 elementos primarios hasta llegar a las composiciones arquitectónicas más complejas, el libro examina …

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Additional Architecture Reading

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

Manual of Section

Section, along with plan and elevation, is one of the most important representational techniques of architectural design. Manual of Section is the first book to provide a framework to describe and evaluate this fundamental design process in architecture.

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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 suggests, designing rooms for maximum impact while also remaining approachable to any who enter is a…

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The poetics of space

The Poetics of Space (1958) explores how imagination fills a space with spirit and meaning, and reciprocally, how the space evokes feeling, memory, and fantasy in its occupant's imagination.

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How Buildings Learn

When a building is finished being built, that isn’t the end of its story. More than any other human artifacts, buildings improve with time—if they’re allowed to. Buildings adapt by being constantly refined and reshaped by their occupants, and in that way, architects can become artists of time rather than simply artists of space. From the connected farmhouses of New England to I.M. Pei’s Media …

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

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This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

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