101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

by Matthew Frederick

Book Overview

Concise lessons in design, drawing, the creative process, and presentation, from the basics of "How to Draw a Line" to the complexities of color theory.

This is a book that students of architecture will want to keep in the studio and in their backpacks. It is also a book they may want to keep out of view of their professors, for it expresses in clear and simple language things that tend to be murky and abstruse in the classroom. These 101...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262062666
• ISBN13: 9780262062664
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.89 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.2" x 5.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Not what I expected

As someone who has taught in Schools in Architecture in the US and Canada, I expected more than a collection of famous quotes. Not sure the graphics helped much either.

the road less traveled by M. Scott peck

101 I learned in Architecture school - objective, clean, sober, direct,splendid book, specially for architects, as I am. Even though, philosophically, it can be read by everyone. It will teach a lot. Congratulations for the author. Maria Thereza de Barros Camargo Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Not Only for Architects

Not Only for Architects "101 Things I Learned in Architecture School" is an enjoyable, well-designed little book. As a registered architect since 1968 I sometimes wish I could do a better job of making others understand why we do what we do. Matthew Frederick has captured the essence of what makes most of us tick. Lend this book to non-architect friends and to clients. If you don't get it back, buy another. From No. 1 "How to draw a line", to No. 101 "Architects are late bloomers", and my favorite, No. 72 "Design with models", this book is a gem.

Real wisdom, elegantly presented

One of those fantastic books that makes you feel smarter for reading it. The 101 little rules or principles that the author distills from his time as an architect are undoubtedly of use to an architect, but are also mind-openers for any curious and design- or art- inclined person. Each principle is stated in a sentence or two, with an accompanying illustration. Some are specific little rules (the pointlessness of spitting a room with a single step; people are wider in the Winter); some are perspective shaping (about negative space; about meandering ways of getting to somewhere often beating direct ways). The illustrations are elegant and compliment each principle perfectly. You'll find yourself idling over each, as the lessons behind the lessons sink in. If you have any asthetic inclinations but find yourself dealing too much with words, open this beautiful little book and feel those old synapses firing up. Great gift too.

As an Architecture Student this book is essential

I am an architecture student, and with every project in studio, this book is a reference to keep my mind in check. This book should be in every architecture students hands. Simple as that, if your an architecture student this $12 that the book costs is the best $12 you will ever spend.

I wish I had this book in Architecture School

I don't remember ever having a textbook for design studio - undoubtedly because this book hadn't been published yet. If it had, I would have had a wonderful little book that breaks down five years worth of architectural wisdom into 101 pages. I recommend reading it (about a ten minute read) before and a couple of times during the design process to refocus yourself. If nothing else, it should be required reading for first year students because it will teach you to speak architect. 'Parti' 'Figure/Ground' 'Positive Space' 'Negative Space' and all the other jargon architects tend to use are all defined here. The book contains advice on both the technical and the intellectual. Hints for everything from lettering to post modern theory share page space with reminders as varied as 'design in section' to 'if you can't explain your design in terms your grandmother understands, you don't understand your own design.' Nearly everything in the book is a hit. Even the cover is made from chip board. If you're a poor architecture student, scrape together some coffee money and get a copy. If you're already an architect, get a copy and remember a time before design problems were strip malls and warehouses.