Items18The creator’s order
  1. 1How to Read Buildings (2008)How to Read Buildings (2008) 6.0/10 on Open LibraryPublished Jan 1, 2008Open this small illustrated guide at whatever caught your eye, whether it was an arch, a tower, or a roof. The examples put the same kind of feature beside versions from other periods and places. The next time you see a roof that slopes down on all sides, you’ll have a name for it and some older…0
  2. 2Experiencing architecture (1959)Experiencing architecture (1959)Published Jan 1, 1959Rasmussen pays attention to how buildings feel as you move through them. The rhythm of repeated openings is one place to start. Walk past a row of windows, then see what happens to your sense of pace when their spacing changes. The book also asks what texture, light, and sound tell you about a room.0
  3. 3A Field Guide to American Houses (2015)A Field Guide to American Houses (2015)Published Jan 1, 2015Start with the illustrated identification keys when you’re curious about houses on an American street. Look at a roofline first, then check the windows or porch against the drawings and photographs. It’s especially useful on a block where houses built decades apart sit next to one another.0
  4. 4Reading Architecture (2012)Reading Architecture (2012)Published Jan 1, 2012Use this illustrated reference when you can see a part clearly and still have no idea what to call it. The drawings help separate neighboring features, such as the decorated area above a medieval doorway and the upright that can divide the opening below it. The second edition also gives more space…0
  5. 5Why Buildings Stand UpWhy Buildings Stand UpSalvadori starts with the forces a structure has to carry and draws out what that means for an ordinary building. With an arch, try following the weight down from the curve to the supports on either side. It’s a good first book when you’re looking at a tall or wide space and wondering how the…0
  6. 6How buildings work (2005)How buildings work (2005)Published Jan 1, 2005Allen explains the jobs a building does for the people inside it, from moving air to keeping out rain. Read it with a room you know in mind. Where does it overheat in the afternoon, and what could the windows, shade, or insulation have to do with that? The drawings help make sense of things you…0
  7. 7Architecture: Form, Space, and OrderArchitecture: Form, Space, and OrderChing’s drawings make it easier to follow the route a building sets up for you. Start with the chapter on circulation and trace the sequence from the approach to the entrance and into the rooms. It’s a way to put your finger on why one doorway feels like an invitation and another makes you stop and…0
  8. 8A Visual Dictionary of Architecture (1995)A Visual Dictionary of Architecture (1995)Published Jan 1, 1995Keep this illustrated dictionary handy when a plan, a tour guide, or a contractor uses a term you’ve never heard. Entries are grouped by subject, so the drawings let you compare several parts of a stair or kinds of arches on the same set of pages. You can start with the feature you recognize and…0
  9. 9How to Read Houses (2013)How to Read Houses (2013)Published Jan 1, 2013The examples here take in Tudor timber frames, landmark British houses, and homes farther afield. Start with what the walls are made of and which parts of the frame you can see from outside. The photographs and drawings connect those clues to the place and period, which is useful when visiting a…0
  10. 10The Classical Language of ArchitectureThe Classical Language of ArchitectureFor buildings with a classical front, look at the top of the columns and then at the horizontal bands they carry. Summerson explains how those pieces fit together in systems called orders and how later builders borrowed and rearranged them. It gives you a way to compare two similar-looking fronts…0