Uploaded May 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A list of the architecture books essential to my practice and a look at my personal library. These are the books I keep close at hand in my studio and I've arranged them into six themes: history, narrative, process and making, machines and architecture; details, and fundamental architectural principles.
See also: thirtybyforty.com/essential-architecture-books
Links to the books in the order they're presented:
- Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity (Trachtenberg) amzn.to/2q71hYK
- Modern Architecture: A Critical History (Frampton) amzn.to/2qtjnas
- Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings. (Visser) amzn.to/2plZdio
- Reading the Forested landscape amzn.to/2plVJwz
- The Granite Landscape (Wessels) amzn.to/2q6V9Qr
- Thinking architecture (Zumthor) amzn.to/2plFVtn
- In Praise of Shadows (Tanizaki) amzn.to/2qtuEHX
- Condemned Building (Darden) Out of print (=insanely $$$$)
- Ghost (MacKay-Lyons) amzn.to/2pyFwPG
- Anarchitecture (Woods) amzn.to/2q47gj0
- Type Variant House (James) amzn.to/2qt87L5
- Boundaries (Maya Lin) amzn.to/2qt8chR
- The Work of Shim Sutcliffe https://taubmancollege.umich.edu/pdfs/publications/map/MAP9.pdf
-Tom Kundig Monographs. amzn.to/2q71YRQ
- Peter Zumthor: Buildings and Projects 1985-2013 (Durisch) amzn.to/2q77SSQ
- Building Machines. amzn.to/2q40FoM
- Instrumental Form. Wes Jones. amzn.to/2pm1uu6
- Gyroscopic Horizons. Neil Denari. amzn.to/2qtzGnw
- Morphosis. Buildings and projects. amzn.to/2q44dr0
- Blast Furnaces. (Bernd + Hilla Becher) amzn.to/2q4e9RC amzn.to/2pyziiN
- Detail publications
- Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture Series. amzn.to/2plLUhO
- The Works: Anatomy of a City. amzn.to/2q76HCX
- Wood and Wood Joints (Zwerger) amzn.to/2plXfyu
- Architectural Graphic Standards. amzn.to/2q4zDgL
- Form, Space, and Order. amzn.to/2q704R6
- Architectural Graphics. amzn.to/2qUAFNm
- Programs and Manifestoes on 20th Century Architecture. amzn.to/2plM2OA
- Lego Architecture Studio Companion book, amzn.to/2qUKaMC
- Unbuilding (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q4Sc4d
- Underground (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q6NEsM
- Cathedral (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q44Q3Q
- Castle (Macaulay) amzn.to/2qUKn2m
- Pyramid (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q733Jo
// GEAR I USE //
DSLR CAMERA:
* Canon 70D: amzn.to/29klz7k
LENSES:
* Canon 24mm f2.8 Lens: amzn.to/29l7ac5
* Canon 40mm f2.8 Lens: amzn.to/29x2QcI
AUDIO:
* Rode VideoMic Pro (hotshoe mtd.): amzn.to/29qlNM3
* ATR-2100 USB (dynamic mic): amzn.to/2dFDaKp
ARCHITECTURE GEAR:
* Prismacolor Markers: thirtybyforty.com/markers
* Timelapse Camera: thirtybyforty.com/brinno
* AutoCAD LT: amzn.to/2dxjMDH
* SketchUp PRO: amzn.to/2cRcojz
* HP T120 Plotter: amzn.to/2dBGf1O
* Adobe CC Photography (Photoshop/Lightroom) Plan: amzn.to/2dhq5ap
STARTUP TOOLKIT:
* Architect + Entrepreneur Startup Toolkit: thirtybyforty.com/SPL
ALL MY GEAR (UPDATED LIST):
*thirtybyforty.com/kit
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: "Making a Site Model - The Outpost Project"
youtube.com/watch?v=VsJrDScS5ZI
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
A list of the architecture books essential to my practice and a look at my personal library. These are the books I keep close at hand in my studio and I've arranged them into six themes: history, narrative, process and making, machines and architecture; details, and fundamental architectural principles.
See also: thirtybyforty.com/essential-architecture-books
Links to the books in the order they're presented:
- Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity (Trachtenberg) amzn.to/2q71hYK
- Modern Architecture: A Critical History (Frampton) amzn.to/2qtjnas
- Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings. (Visser) amzn.to/2plZdio
- Reading the Forested landscape amzn.to/2plVJwz
- The Granite Landscape (Wessels) amzn.to/2q6V9Qr
- Thinking architecture (Zumthor) amzn.to/2plFVtn
- In Praise of Shadows (Tanizaki) amzn.to/2qtuEHX
- Condemned Building (Darden) Out of print (=insanely $$$$)
- Ghost (MacKay-Lyons) amzn.to/2pyFwPG
- Anarchitecture (Woods) amzn.to/2q47gj0
- Type Variant House (James) amzn.to/2qt87L5
- Boundaries (Maya Lin) amzn.to/2qt8chR
- The Work of Shim Sutcliffe https://taubmancollege.umich.edu/pdfs/publications/map/MAP9.pdf
-Tom Kundig Monographs. amzn.to/2q71YRQ
- Peter Zumthor: Buildings and Projects 1985-2013 (Durisch) amzn.to/2q77SSQ
- Building Machines. amzn.to/2q40FoM
- Instrumental Form. Wes Jones. amzn.to/2pm1uu6
- Gyroscopic Horizons. Neil Denari. amzn.to/2qtzGnw
- Morphosis. Buildings and projects. amzn.to/2q44dr0
- Blast Furnaces. (Bernd + Hilla Becher) amzn.to/2q4e9RC amzn.to/2pyziiN
- Detail publications
- Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture Series. amzn.to/2plLUhO
- The Works: Anatomy of a City. amzn.to/2q76HCX
- Wood and Wood Joints (Zwerger) amzn.to/2plXfyu
- Architectural Graphic Standards. amzn.to/2q4zDgL
- Form, Space, and Order. amzn.to/2q704R6
- Architectural Graphics. amzn.to/2qUAFNm
- Programs and Manifestoes on 20th Century Architecture. amzn.to/2plM2OA
- Lego Architecture Studio Companion book, amzn.to/2qUKaMC
- Unbuilding (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q4Sc4d
- Underground (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q6NEsM
- Cathedral (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q44Q3Q
- Castle (Macaulay) amzn.to/2qUKn2m
- Pyramid (Macaulay) amzn.to/2q733Jo
// GEAR I USE //
DSLR CAMERA:
* Canon 70D: amzn.to/29klz7k
LENSES:
* Canon 24mm f2.8 Lens: amzn.to/29l7ac5
* Canon 40mm f2.8 Lens: amzn.to/29x2QcI
AUDIO:
* Rode VideoMic Pro (hotshoe mtd.): amzn.to/29qlNM3
* ATR-2100 USB (dynamic mic): amzn.to/2dFDaKp
ARCHITECTURE GEAR:
* Prismacolor Markers: thirtybyforty.com/markers
* Timelapse Camera: thirtybyforty.com/brinno
* AutoCAD LT: amzn.to/2dxjMDH
* SketchUp PRO: amzn.to/2cRcojz
* HP T120 Plotter: amzn.to/2dBGf1O
* Adobe CC Photography (Photoshop/Lightroom) Plan: amzn.to/2dhq5ap
STARTUP TOOLKIT:
* Architect + Entrepreneur Startup Toolkit: thirtybyforty.com/SPL
ALL MY GEAR (UPDATED LIST):
*thirtybyforty.com/kit
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: "Making a Site Model - The Outpost Project"
youtube.com/watch?v=VsJrDScS5ZI
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
