The ultimate book list for becoming a better architect

A collection of essays from architectural history experts. Click here for GoodReads.

An all encompassing epic of Britain’s council housing. From it’s Victorian origins to the Grenfell fire, Boughton uncovers the story of how the dream was born and why it’s faltering. Click here for GoodReads.

Caruso walks you through amazing case studies of the architectural system, with intelligent and insightful critique. Click here for GoodReads.

Forty revolutionised architectural history. The way he talks through even the most complex ideas, leaves you feeling like a genius. Instead of stuffy language, he opens the door to a whole new way of thinking and talking about architecture. Click here for GoodReads.

Once again, Adrian Forty is remarkable. Read his books and weep that you never got to be taught by him. Click here for GoodReads.

I’m not joking, you have to read his books. All of them. Click here for GoodReads.

Harvey explores exactly how our cities are at the heart of both capital and class struggles. Why urban space controls our narratives and how we can reorganise them to fight for us. Click here for GoodReads.

I read this book in my first year of university and it blew my mind. Seeing dust and condensation being described as a usable material and in fact a key experience of space changed how baby architect Charlotte viewed design.

Same as above. This is where you discover I have one way beef with Venturi. Click here for GoodReads.

The Latin America guide you need. Uncovering the new ways communities are building their cities for themselves. With radical architects and maverick politicians helping McGuirk shows us a whole new world of living. Click here for GoodReads.

Rendell is a key gender theorist within architecture. This book looks into how spaces were gendered in the early 19th century of London, revealing how gender is a complex shifting entity that architecture can influence. Click here for GoodReads.

Oh Hundertwasser, if only you were 70 years younger and not dead, I would of been your number 1 naked groupie. I love this book. It features his architecture alongside his essays, all of which are beautiful. Click here for GoodReads.

I actually don’t like this one but unfortunately, it does have to be read. Click here for GoodReads.

The late Colin Ward was a renown anarchist thinker. This collection of his public speeches is a beautiful requiem of his professional work and excellent intro in one of our greatest architectural thinkers. Click here for GoodReads.

This is THE architectural philosophy book. Published in 1958 this book takes you on a lyrical journey through what home truly means. Click here for GoodReads.

This is the best introduction to modern philosophy I’ve ever read. Witty and intelligent, Bakewell makes it easy to understand the complex history of the birth of existentialism. Click here for GoodReads.

I think this is the closest we’ve got to understanding the meaning of life. Like all good things it started out as joking bet; That it’s impossible to base an ethical system on her partner’s (Jean-Paul Sartre’s) philosophical work. What she produced in this book surpassed anything Satre wrote, a methodical understanding on humanity and our freedom. Click here for GoodReads.

Deleuze is one of the more architecturally minded philosophers, and this goes through some of his biggest ideas. Click here for GoodReads.

How are you meant to be a middle-class educated urbanite without this tucked under your arm? Yes it’s become stereotyped but it is a good book and a great introduction into race, feminism, and class. Click here for GoodReads.

Lefebvre is one of the few philosophers to directly talk about architecture. He argues that space is not a neutral container; It is the social outcome of shared historical, political, and economic processes. He believes every society produces its own space, which can then be used to maintain or rebel the power dynamics. It’s a very interesting book that is fundamental to understanding post modernist thought.

Satre talks through the fundamental dilemmas of human freedom, choice, responsibility & action. AKA all the decision architects make for others. Understanding the importance of freedom and where it comes from means we can build environments that encourages real living. Click here for GoodReads.

In just 60 pages Tanizaki will change how you view the dark. With his gentle appreciation of the overshadowed, he’ll make you want to sit in candlelight and dwell. Click here for GoodReads.

An absolutely incredible collection of essays from the first all-woman architectural conference in the USA. Each chapter examines our inherited ideologies on sex and gender in a unique and innovative way that theory becomes a page turner.

In this book we get to see the variety and importance of women in practice. Through lived examples and experimental theory, the rich diversity of what feminist architecture can be is revealed. Seeing the different methodologies and approaches to design each architect takes gives amazing insight into what feminist practice can mean.

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This is a wonderful anthology of feminist architectural theory. It contains a collection of ten outstanding essays, interdisciplinary in nature, that show the cross-connections of feminist thought and architecture with the world. If you’re searching for compelling projects to inspire you, this is a great source.

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This book explores the link between patriarchy and capital. It proposes a caring city that replaces our neoliberal urban landscape by identifying discriminatory features and proposing new environments that are socially and environmentally sustainable. If you want to see how grass-root movements can change the urban landscape this is the book for you.

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A collection of essays by the leading feminist thinkers. Entertaining and insightful each essay is a masterclass in architectural theory. Click here for GoodReads.

A feminist classic that shows why misogyny is at the heart of oppression and that we won’t free ourselves until there’s a radical reordering of society. By synthesising Freud, Marx, de Beauvoir, and Engels’s philosophies it’s shown that to achieve a free world, women must be free from reproductive work.

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The manifesto of material feminism, this book proposes that socialised care work will liberate women. It’s a methodical look at how class, race, and gender has been spatially configured by the industrial revolution to subjugate and control women. It then goes on to proposed feminist alternatives both utopian and pragmatic.

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This is an amazing book that showcases how misogyny has built our cities; The lack of toilets, streets to small for strollers, or inadequate visibility all lead to women being stuck at home. Kern dissects and dismantles these issues and then takes it further by providing a feminist city that tackles the social inequalities built into our cities. Click here for GoodReads.

Published by the feminist collective Matrix, this manifesto reveals the extent of discrimination built into our lives. It’s a revolutionary book that paved the way for equitable design in the UK.

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I adore this book! By dissecting the zeitgeist of playboy in postwar America, it exposes how an ideology can take hold of a nation through design. If you’re interested in biopolitics within architecture this is a fantastic read.

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This is a great introductory book for those looking into the issues of gender within architecture. It contains seminal essays on the interconnections between gender, sexuality, space, and architecture, with introductory essays to guide the reader through.

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This book explores why despite high levels of women studying architecture, very few make it to the upper levels of the profession. It also provides hope by showcasing women in the field that are challenging the status quo.

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Weisman asks the question what would our world look like if women were at the center of design. She follows the social histories of spaces and shines a light on how our spaces give privileges or penalties based on gender based social caste. Click here for GoodReads