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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
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
Lo—TEK. Design by Radical Indigenism
Julia Watson | $46
Manual of Section
A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction
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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