25 Books That Every Architect and Architecture Lover Should Read

25 Books That Every Architect and Architecture Lover Should Read

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Whether you’re an architect, architecture student, or just a big fan of all things design, books are some of the best ways to expand your knowledge of the built environment and “learn from the greats.” That’s why we have compiled 25 of our favorite books for architects and architecture lovers.

Many of these books are popular pieces about architecture theory that seriously influenced the profession and represent the manifestos of specific architectural movements—think Venturi, Scott Brown, and Izenour’s Learning from Las Vegas and its relationship to the Postmodern movement. We also included great resource books that show how architectural drawings can truly be works of art. If you love flipping through beautifully detailed drawings, you’ll love Manual of Section or even A Visual Dictionary to Architecture.

Plus, if you’re looking for a gift for an architecture lover in your life, they might be missing an architectural classic that would complete their library. In this case, we think famous titles like the revolutionary Le Corbusier’s Towards a New Architecture or Rem Koolhaas’ Delirious New York are some great choices.

Scroll down for a taste of our favorite architecture books to add to your collection, and be sure to check out My Modern Met's Bookshop and our architecture collection for even more great titles.

Keep scrolling to find 25 great books about architecture.

 

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture

Francis D. K. Ching | $55

 

The Architecture of Community

Leon Krier | $45

 

The Architecture of Happiness

Alain De Botton | $17.48

 

The Architecture of the City

Aldo Rossi | $48

 

Black: Architecture in Monochrome

Stella Paul and Phaidon Press | $18.35

 

Cities for People

Jan Gehl | $55

 

Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture

Robert Venturi | $27.55

 

The Death and Life of Great American Cities

Jane Jacobs | $16.51

 

Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan

paperandclaystudio | $32.20

 

Design Like You Give a Damn [2]: Building Change from the Ground Up

Architecture for Humanity | $35

 

The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses

Juhani Pallasmaa | $45

 

Experiencing Architecture

Steen Eiler Rasmussen | $34.80

 

The Four Books on Architecture

Andrea Palladio | $49.95

 

The Future of Architecture in 100 Buildings

Marc Kushner | $15.63

 

In Praise of Shadows

Junichiro Tanizaki | $9.15

 

Jutaku: Japanese Houses

Naomi Pollock | $24.95

 

Learning from Las Vegas

Robert Ventury, Denise Scott Brown, Steven Izenour | $27.55

 

Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism

Julia Watson | $46

 

Manual of Section

Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis, Paul Lewis | $27.55

 

A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction

Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa, Murray Silverstein | $59.80

 

The Poetics of Space

Gaston Bachelard | $16.56

 

The Ten Books on Architecture

Vitruvius | $26.99

 

Towards a New Architecture

Le Corbusier | $15.59

 

The Works: Anatomy of a City

Kate Ascher | $24.84

 

Yes Is More: An Archicomic on Architectural Evolution

Bjarke Ingels Group | $27.60

 

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READ: 25 Books That Every Architect and Architecture Lover Should Read