mcmansionhell

Book Recommendations

Added 2017-02-27 16:38:16 +0000 UTC

I get asked a lot for non-academic, engaging architecture book recommendations so here are some:

General Architecture

Paul Goldberger, "Why Architecture Matters"
Alain de Botton, "The Architecture of Happiness"
Witold Rybczynski, "Looking Around", "How Architecture Works" and "Home"
Matthys Levy/Mario Salvadori, "Why Buildings Fall Down"
Mario Salvadori, "Why Buildings Stand Up"

Architectural Styles

Virginia McAlester, "A Field Guide to American Houses"
Carol Davidson Cragoe "How to Read Buildings: A Crash Course in Architectural Styles" (in the same series: Will Jones "How to Read Houses: A Crash Course in Domestic Architecture")

Suburbs and Cities

Jane Jacobs, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities"
Kevin Lynch, "The Image of the City"
Witold Rybczynski, "Mysteries of the Mall", "City Life" and "Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas About Cities"
Kenneth T Jackson, "Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States"
Joel Garreau, "Edge City: Life on the New Frontier"

I hope y'all find this useful. Be sure to add any others you think are relevant in the comments. Specifically non-academic books. I doubt everyone is going to be hyped about Vincent Scully or Rem Koolhaas...