3 Books Every Architect Student Must Read

Jenny Kendall – April 30, 2021

We all know that reading is good for you; it strengthens your brain connectivity, improves your memory, and of course teaches you new things. However, as an architecture student, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day to sit down and read a book, let alone a complex archi book without any pictures.

To help you out, I’ve compiled a list of three architecture books that are informative and engaging.

1. 101 Things I learned in Architecture School.

Rated 4.6/5 on Amazon and for good reason. This book is super quick to read with a diagram on every other page while also providing you with useful tips to use regardless of your point in architectural education. I read this before applying for uni, and still refer to it now during my final thesis project. If there’s one book you read after this blog post, this should be it!

2. Architect’s Pocket Book

Although this book doesn’t contain any pictures, what it lacks in aesthetics it more than compensates for in content. Ever wondered how wide a corridor should be for a public building or how many steps there can be before a landing in a flight of stairs? This book contains all those useful dimensions as well as information on structure, thermal calculations and properties and even tips for CAD. Less of a read, more of a handy to have on the side of your desk kind of book.

3. Rice’s Architectural Primer

Ever been in a lecture or read an article where they talk about volutes, cornice or quoins and had no idea what they’re referring to? Well this book is for you. Beautifully illustrated with watercolour drawings and bite sized chapters, it aims to teach you the vocabulary and grammar of British buildings. Other books by Rice look at other building types, however, this is my favourite.

Hope you enjoy expanding your knowledge with these three books!

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GritNova Ambassador, Jenny Kendall

Instagram: @J.k_architecture

Amazon Links (Not affiliated links)

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (The MIT Press): Amazon.co.uk: Matthew Frederick: 8601404279683: Books

Architect’s Pocket Book (Routledge Pocket Books): Amazon.co.uk: Hetreed, Jonathan, Ross, Ann, Baden-Powell, Charlotte: 9781138643994: Books

Rice’s Architectural Primer: Amazon.co.uk: Matthew Rice, Matthew Rice: 8601404380006: Books

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