101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.85
Trade in 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.85, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"How to draw a line, the meaning of figure-ground theory, hand-lettering and the fact that windows look dark in the daytimeeach item has resonance beyond architecture. Books like this are brief tutorials in the art of seeing, a skill useful in every aspect of life on the planet." --Susan Salter Reynolds, latimes.com
The winner of a host of prizes, this delicately laid-out book advises students how to approach a number of design principles. Including advice on everything from "how to draw a line" to "how to sketch a one-point perspective of a rectangular interior space" this is a must-have for anyone starting out in the field. --Will Coldwell, The Independent
The winner of a host of prizes, this delicately laid-out book advises students how to approach a number of design principles. Including advice on everything from "how to draw a line" to "how to sketch a one-point perspective of a rectangular interior space" this is a must-have for anyone starting out in the field. --Will Coldwell, The Independent
Review
"The winner of a host of prizes, this delicately laid-out book advises students how to approach a number of design principles. Including advice on everything from 'how to draw a line' to 'how to sketch a one-point perspective of a rectangular interior space' this is a must-have for anyone starting out in the field." -- Will Coldwell, The Independent "How to draw a line, the meaning of figure-ground theory, hand-lettering and the fact that windows look dark in the daytimeeach item has resonance beyond architecture. Books like this are brief tutorials in the art of seeing, a skill useful in every aspect of life on the planet." -- Susan Salter Reynolds latimes.com " 101 Things de-mythologizes the jargon that obscures the real meanings of what is taught in design schools. Designers too often write in obtuse terms that make relatively simple concepts difficult to comprehend. But understanding how we perceive, experience, and interpret the spaces we inhabit should not make us feel dumb, or left out. This readable and graphically clear book is a great introduction to design terms, principles, and concepts. Anyone interested in design will learn much from this terrific book." -- Theodore C. Landsmark , President, Boston Architectural College, President 2006-07, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture "Matthew Frederick offers a wide-ranging assortment of architectural pearls of wisdom that every architecture student should understand, consider and embraceor perhaps rejectwhen first learning the daunting process of design. Encompassing both theory and practice, and illustrated with often witty drawings, 101 Things is an eclectic itemization of architectural philosophies, compositional strategies and tactics, design conventions, drawing and presentation techniques, and even tips about how to behave as an architect." -- Roger K. Lewis , Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Maryland, author of Architect? A Candid Guide to the Profession
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This short, postcard-shaped book is organised as a series of short observations about the practice of learning design. It is explicitly aimed at students of architecture: the author touts it as the book he wishes had existed in his own student days. However, it may be read by anyone interested in architecture who wonders how architects are trained to think about the design aspect of their craft.
Each observation stands alone (although a few seem to follow on, the subject always changes after at most two or three connected points), and each is illustrated by a small drawing. The author's views emerge cumulatively. The reader has the choice of reading continuously, or of dipping into the book at random when the need for inspiration strikes. I like books of this kind, which can be powerful when the writer has an original mind that expresses itself naturally in an aphoristic style, so I was well disposed towards this book before I opened it. Three things have remained with me after reading it.
The first is that many of Frederick's observations are not wrong, but rather banal: memorable neither for their content nor for the way they are expressed. Frederick is not an aphorist, and there is not a single thing here in his own words that is as striking as the few - and very worn - quotations he allows from Louis Kahn, Mies van der Rohe and Robert Venturi. Nor are the sketches better than workmanlike. The second is that this is yet another example of an architectural book in which book design has trumped content - the book is more attractive than substantial. The third is that the author offers an unwitting insight into why so many of our modern buildings are bad. It's hard to read the remarks on 'space planning' versus 'architecture' without reflecting on the role of the architect in every badly-designed architectural object one has ever had to inhabit, work in, or merely tolerate in one's environment. The unreflective self-regard of the architectural profession shines from too many pages.
Student architects may benefit from the practical information of a working professional concerning architectural drawing techniques and methods of project presentation in the design studio, though even they might be better served by, for example, Mo Zell's The Architectural Drawing Course: Understand the Principles and Master the Practices, only one of many such. Frederick's book is too disconnected and scattershot to serve as any kind of manual.
It would hardly be fair to criticize the author for having succeeded in his stated modest aim. For the general reader, however, the book is an attractive object, but ultimately a disappointing one.
Each observation stands alone (although a few seem to follow on, the subject always changes after at most two or three connected points), and each is illustrated by a small drawing. The author's views emerge cumulatively. The reader has the choice of reading continuously, or of dipping into the book at random when the need for inspiration strikes. I like books of this kind, which can be powerful when the writer has an original mind that expresses itself naturally in an aphoristic style, so I was well disposed towards this book before I opened it. Three things have remained with me after reading it.
The first is that many of Frederick's observations are not wrong, but rather banal: memorable neither for their content nor for the way they are expressed. Frederick is not an aphorist, and there is not a single thing here in his own words that is as striking as the few - and very worn - quotations he allows from Louis Kahn, Mies van der Rohe and Robert Venturi. Nor are the sketches better than workmanlike. The second is that this is yet another example of an architectural book in which book design has trumped content - the book is more attractive than substantial. The third is that the author offers an unwitting insight into why so many of our modern buildings are bad. It's hard to read the remarks on 'space planning' versus 'architecture' without reflecting on the role of the architect in every badly-designed architectural object one has ever had to inhabit, work in, or merely tolerate in one's environment. The unreflective self-regard of the architectural profession shines from too many pages.
Student architects may benefit from the practical information of a working professional concerning architectural drawing techniques and methods of project presentation in the design studio, though even they might be better served by, for example, Mo Zell's The Architectural Drawing Course: Understand the Principles and Master the Practices, only one of many such. Frederick's book is too disconnected and scattershot to serve as any kind of manual.
It would hardly be fair to criticize the author for having succeeded in his stated modest aim. For the general reader, however, the book is an attractive object, but ultimately a disappointing one.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I really enjoyed this book - lots of little things that make you think, and some really basic things that you probably wouldn't know unless you have finished architecture school. As I am just starting out, I thought it was great. Good tips for crits, drawing, etc.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book despite some of the existing critics, and after reading it, I can see where some of the harsher remarks came from.
I like the format of the book, and the style of the presentation: it reminds me of those "thought of the day" calendars, in a way. Pick a random page, and you will have a nice drawing and a clear and concise text about a variety of subjects.
My interest in architecture stems from level design for 3d games, so some of the advice was irrelevant, but overall there was enough food for thought that I found the book interesting.
I can see how someone who knows architecture would scoff at some of the remarks. Quite a few of the critics riled against the one on "how to draw a line", for instance. But I think these are quite valid. No matter your domain, sometimes, it's good to be reminded of the basics. You'd be surprised how much is taken for granted, as you advance in your skill. And I've no doubt architecture is the same.
But it's true that from the overall feel of the book, it reads as something aimed at the artchitecture student.
However, if there was an equivalent book for programming, I would probably cherish it. Sometimes, it's nice to just think about an aspect of your art and sort of ponder what you really know about it.
Having somebody throw all sorts of subjects at you might make you discover areas you neglected, and send you on your way to research it some more.
Think of it as a nice stepping stone towards a myriad of more specific subjects.
This is what this book certainly does for me, and in this I think it is very useful.
I like the format of the book, and the style of the presentation: it reminds me of those "thought of the day" calendars, in a way. Pick a random page, and you will have a nice drawing and a clear and concise text about a variety of subjects.
My interest in architecture stems from level design for 3d games, so some of the advice was irrelevant, but overall there was enough food for thought that I found the book interesting.
I can see how someone who knows architecture would scoff at some of the remarks. Quite a few of the critics riled against the one on "how to draw a line", for instance. But I think these are quite valid. No matter your domain, sometimes, it's good to be reminded of the basics. You'd be surprised how much is taken for granted, as you advance in your skill. And I've no doubt architecture is the same.
But it's true that from the overall feel of the book, it reads as something aimed at the artchitecture student.
However, if there was an equivalent book for programming, I would probably cherish it. Sometimes, it's nice to just think about an aspect of your art and sort of ponder what you really know about it.
Having somebody throw all sorts of subjects at you might make you discover areas you neglected, and send you on your way to research it some more.
Think of it as a nice stepping stone towards a myriad of more specific subjects.
This is what this book certainly does for me, and in this I think it is very useful.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A beautiful book on writing
This review probably will not pertain to you, probably will not be "helpful". I have little interest in architecture, but I discovered that this book presents me with an extended... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Peter Stephens
I wish I had bought it whilst still at uni.
This book its great. Easy to read- lots of little golden nuggets of ideas, makes alot of ideas that i sort-of knew finaly make sense. I wish i bought this years ago. Read more
Published 10 months ago by julien rc brown
Very insightful
A great little book that's full of insight into a difficult subject for an outsider to understand. I bought this book because I wanted to better understand [read: at least have a... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Cooing Woodpigeon
5*
i loved it!!! i found it so helpful, especially as a first year architecture student. i often found that my lecturer's speak in terms that are long winded and hard to understand. Read more
Published 17 months ago by faith
usual
I really like this little book.
I am a first year architect student and it has given my lots of hints and advice -things i would never have thought of. Read more
I am a first year architect student and it has given my lots of hints and advice -things i would never have thought of. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Ms. C. M. Hanson
A great book for eveyr architecture student!
This book is really easy to read and at the same time is very useful! The size is perfect for an everyday journey, too. I would recommend this book to every architecture person.
Published 19 months ago by Kristina F
Great little kick starter
Great little kick starter when low on morale! I sometimes find myself down in the dumps, stuck on an idea but a little flick through this helps clear my head. Great buy.
Published 20 months ago by archiStudent
Wish I had this book last year when completing my studies!
I have just fnished my last year of architectural education when I was told about this book by a friend, and how I wish I had it during my studies! Read more
Published 21 months ago by M. Gamal
A peftect gem
This little book makes a great gift for anyone interested in architecture. Simple and elegant with some great ideas.101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
Published 21 months ago by Philip
Absolutely excellent!
A great little book! So enjoyable to read. Excellently presented. Very inspiring for not only architecture students but art and design students as well. A unique treasure. Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2010 by puppets_smile
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
