Book description
The revered architectural reference, updated with contemporary examples and interactive 3D models The Interactive Resource Center is an online learning environment where instructors and students can access the tools they need to make efficient use of their time, while reinforcing and assessing their understanding of key concepts for successful understanding…
Why read it?
2 authors picked Architecture as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
In one of the most popular books published on form and composition in architecture, Francis Ching examines basic elements of form and space (edges, corners, planes, etc.) and strategies for their organisation (axes, grids, symmetry, etc).
Like Baker, he includes approach, entry, and movement through built form.
The examples are taken from contemporary and historical buildings. The text is short and the diagrams plentiful.
Ching has also written good books on basic ideas in building structure and construction, both helpful in analysing buildings beyond form and space.
From Antony's list on analysing architecture.
Both as a student, and now as a practitioner in the field of architecture, I found Ching's beautifully illustrated volume on architectural composition to be an indispensable resource. It offers a detailed guide to universal and timeless principles of architecture and environmental design. There are again similarities with A Pattern Language, but his prose is more pragmatic and his illustrations more elegant.
Ching’s diagrams are exquisitely simple and clear. There is just enough text, all tightly hand-lettered, to flesh out each concept. The range of modern and historical examples on adjacent pages—an ancient Japanese temple, a Wright house, and…
From Shannon's list on timeless architectural principles.
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