Reading List | Introduction to Architecture Theory
Where to Start
This Substack is by David Perrine. I write about architecture, aesthetics, design theory, and philosophy. I share new posts bi-weekly. If you enjoy my work, please consider subscribing.
A little over a year ago, I made a reading list for contemporary architectural theory which I personally use to guide my own studies. These texts covers a wide range of advanced topics which are useful to those who already possess an understanding of the architectural theory and history canon. I felt it was time to produce an introductory reading list for those who are interested in architectural theory but may not know where to start. It covers what I believe are the fundamental theoretical ideas in our canon that inform today’s architectural landscape. I chose texts based on their significance to the field and their accessibility. I tried to include texts that can be useful without prior knowledge in theory. Thus, anyone can start from any of these texts without fear of being lost.
I hope you enjoy.
Happy New Year
Pre Modern
*** Vitruvius. (c. 15 BCE). Ten Books on Architecture
Alberti, L. B. (1452). On the Art of Building in Ten Books
Palladio, A. (1570). The Four Books on Architecture
*** Ruskin, J. (1849). The Seven Lamps of Architecture
*** Sullivan, L. (1896). The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered
Modernist
*** Loos, A. (1910). Ornament and Crime
Mies van der Rohe, L. (1922). The Glass Skyscraper
*** Corbusier. (1923). Towards a New Architecture (Vers une architecture)
Giedion, S. (1941). Space, Time and Architecture
Rowe, C. (1947). The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa
*** Johnson, P. (1954). The Seven Crutches of Modern Architecture
Late/Post Modern
*** Rasmussen, S. E. (1959). Experiencing Architecture
*** Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City
*** Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities
*** Venturi, R. (1966). Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (Check out my notes)
Rossi, A. (1966). The Architecture of the City
Tafuri, M. (1968). Theories and History of Architecture
*** Kahn, L. I. (1975). Silence and Light (lecture delivered 1959)
Alexander, C., Ishikawa, S., & Silverstein, M. (1977). A Pattern Language
Koolhaas, R. (1978). Delirious New York
Rowe, C., & Koetter, F. (1978). Collage City
*** Alexander, C. (1979). The Timeless Way of Building
Frampton, K. (1980). Modern Architecture: A Critical History
Hillier, B., & Hanson, J. (1984). The Social Logic of Space
Contemporary
Tschumi, B. (1994). The Manhattan Transcripts
*** Pallasmaa, J. (1996). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses
Hays, K. M. (Ed.). (1998). Architecture Theory Since 1968
Easterling, K. (2014). Extrastatecraft: The Power of Infrastructure Space
***I have marked texts that I believe are particularly accessible and significant
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Hello David. Thanks for the list. I wonder if these texts talk about architectural styles from around the world or the western styles only.
This post reminded me of that Charles Jencks Evolutionary Tree diagram, which I discovered an interesting recent article about: https://www.jencksfoundation.org/explore/text/the-drawing-that-ate-architecture