Comprehensive Architectural Theory Reading List + Housekeeping
73 Pieces on Architecture
This Substack is by David Perrine. I write about architecture, aesthetics, design theory, and philosophy. I share new posts weekly. If you enjoy my work, please consider subscribing.
Housekeeping
Thank you to everyone for reading and interacting with this newsletter. The recent growth has been surreal. <3
This will be my first paid subscriber post. From today onward, a little under half of my posts will be for paying subscribers. There are a few reasons for this transition.
The time and effort this newsletter requires has increased as I have started posting weekly. Paid subscriptions help to sustain the work I do here.
I plan on having guest authored content for future posts and I would love to compensate those guests for their work.
Revenue from paid subscriptions will help fund independent design projects which will be discussed in future posts (building chairs is expensive).
With that, I want to share some benefits to becoming a paid subscriber.
My full archive of posts will ALWAYS be available to paying subscribers.
Paying subscribers will get access to my reading lists and other paywalled content.
Paying subscribers will be able to suggests books from my reading lists for me to read. I will post reading notes about each suggested text (Please don’t spam me).
I apologize to those who subscribed with the impression that this would always be a free newsletter. I will be posting at least 2 free posts every month for those who are not willing or able to upgrade their subscription (No hard feelings).
Thank you all for your time and support.
- David Perrine
Why Read About Buildings?
Understanding architecture requires reading. There is much to learn from experiencing architecture but reading is just as important. Some have even said that the existence of architecture itself is predicated on what is written about it.
“Architecture is a fiction. Buildings, of course, are very real. Architecture, however, is everything that is about buildings, or about building. It is the way we think about buildings, talk about buildings, write about buildings, draw and compose buildings, and organize buildings. Until it becomes embodied in a building, it is therefore always a notional idea. When the proposition that is architecture becomes embodied in buildings, it disappears. It is very difficult to find architecture in a building, because you have to see it in ephemeral qualities such as proportions, the sequence of spaces or that most difficult phenomenon of all, space. Architecture, in other words, becomes completely abstract when it is built. It is then up to the critic or interpreter to tease architecture back out of the building. This is where writing takes over.” - Aaron Betsky, The Alpha and the Omega
Thus, attempting to understand today’s architectural landscape without reading is futile. High quality architectural work is consciously or unconsciously in conversation with what was done before. Much is lost when this context is not understood.
The field of architecture is also quite unique. Reading about architecture is almost like reading a Polymaths textbook, by necessity. It is impossible to build architecture without understanding a myriad of different hard and soft subjects. I’ve found that reading poly-subjects such as architecture builds a strong toolset for interpreting and interrogating the world. Nowadays, there are many subjects that have similar characteristics, but architecture was the original.
As a member of society, reading about architecture is insanely productive. Architecture is unavoidable in daily life. Interacting with architecture is not optional. Thus, developing an appreciation for architecture and design is deeply enriching as you will constantly be surrounded by the footnotes of your favorite books. As an avid reader of architectural theory. Buildings are memory recall machines, reminding me of texts I’ve read and building new associations between them and the built world. Walking around cities isn’t merely an activity of perceiving, It becomes a new way of thinking. I’ve found this new mode of being to be a huge blessing and it has transformed my daily life for the better.
Furthermore, understanding architectural theory is useful if you have control over your space. Once you understand design principles, you become equipped with the ability to vastly improve your own space which leads to a more pleasant life. Read more about this here:
Luckily, many architects left texts about the field and their work for us. They felt it was useful to write. Why exactly? Maybe it was simply to better understand their own thoughts or perhaps to communicate with others, or to make money, or maybe a combination of these. Nonetheless, these texts exist and the consumption of them has deeply impacted my life for the better. I hope they can be useful to you too. <3
I would also love to hear suggests if you believe the list needs amendments. Feel free to comment or dm me.
Reading List
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