arch books

Here is a list of architecture books for kids:

Architecture: Form, Space, and Order by Frank Ching.

It has great illustrations and tools can be generated for younger kids or older kids from the basic information in this book. It is a beauty.

“The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place” by E.L. Konigsburg
E.L. Konigsburg wrote “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which was one of my favorite books as a kid. I think that this book is wonderful too because of the main character, a girl who has a lot of fight in her – a girl willing to stand up for what she believes in – and it happens to be an architectural structure.

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
by Frank Ching. Him again?

The illustrations in this book are pretty great. It would be fun to look through and start a conversation with a child based on these drawings and ideas. They can trace things from it, you can blow up some of the illustrations and color them in, you can try to use the illustrations to find examples in your neighborhood.

Becoming an Architect: A Guide to Careers in Design

This is an interesting resource for someone who thinks that being an architect would be the greatest thing to do. There are interviews with real live architects and we get to find out why someone might have become an architect and what kinds of challenges he or she faces.

It feels like you are conversing with real live architects – and that is so great.

Buildings without Architects: A Global Guide to Everyday Architecture

If you ever want to know about an Indlu or a Ger, or if you have been thinking that you would like to build a house of reeds, like many other people do in the world – this book is a great resource. It has drawings of tons of different kinds of buildings, with illustrations showing the process for building and also a list of materials that are used. Get to it and you can build right away!

13 Buildings Children Should Know

So you probably are asking, “Why 13?” “Why not 11 or 12 or 632?”

Perhaps this author thought that 13 was a lucky number! For kids around 10 years old, this book has some activities and stuff to do, besides read, and that might be interesting for some of you, younguns.

Steven
Caney’s Ultimate Building Book: Including More Than 100 Incredible Projects
Kids Can Make!

WE thought this was a really cool book that was so chock full of ideas, you
might not need another book! WE love this book and hope to meet Steve someday
to talk over the ideas with him.

Iggy Peck Architect Iggy
Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty is a funny, sort of quirky book about
a little kid who is a self-starter…and who does his own thing, to eventually
save the day!

ABC book of Homes A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Center for Environmental Structure Series),
by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa,and Murray Silverstein wrote this fasciniating book – it is not a story book but a unique book that works almost like a workbook for various design issues and solutions – it is for older kids or adults and so very interesting we could not resist listing it here!

ABC book of Homes The
ABC Book of American Homes,
by Michael Shoulders is a book we like because it helps kids to see that
people live in ALL kinds of houses, not just the ones that they are used
to seeing around their own neighborhoods.

Old Penn Station book Old
Penn Station,
by William Low, is a great close-up of a place. This old train station in New
York City has been torn down, but it is a great memory book about how that
place made people feel.

Maybe it will make you fight for preservation of our historic buildings!!

gargoyle book Gargoyles,Girders
and Glass Houses, by Bo Zaunders, is a close-up look at the construction
of a few famous structures from around the world. Author Bo picked some really
great buildings to focus on!

Those Building Men book Those
Building Men, by Angela Johnson, is a poetic book that reflects back
on all of the men (not women, we are afraid!) who built our buildings, bridges
and other structures. It makes you think a bit more abstractly on this concrete
subject.

Twenty one elephants Twenty
One Elephants and Still Standing, by April Jones Prince, is a fun twist
on the story of the Brooklyn Bridge and how the famous circus man, PT Barnum
got involved with it! That is how we get the title about elephants in an
architecture book!

brooklyn bridge Brooklyn
Bridge, by Lynn Curlee, offers a deeper understanding of the construction
of this famous american structure in New York.

Frank Gehry Frank
O. Gehry: Outside In, by DK Publishing, is a good introduction to this
way out architect! He is a filled with wild ideas and maybe you could learn
enough to explain his work to your more conservative friends!

That’s How We Build a House DVD ,
by Spots Video

This is a cool video that teaches real terms about construction and building
from blueprinst to construction site to the final finished house. Only 28 minutes,
it would work well in a classroom or workshop.

Wood “Wood” by
Andy Goldsworthy

In this book, the author uses natural elements to create forms
and shapes to alter the built environment in INCREDIBLE ways. It is an incredible
book to peruse over and over to give you great ideas for projects to do outside.

The Man Who Walked Between the Towers “The
Man Who Walked Between the Towers”, by Mordecai Gerstein We love
this book because the Frenchman is so unbelievable in it and it is a beautiful
memory for the World Trade Center.

A Timeless Way of Building

This is one of our favorite architecture “idea” books. It is costly
and sort of mature, but it is the kind of book you can keep your whole life,
and just pick it up to think about the built environment in different ways.
It is a sort of philosophy that is very good for stretching your brain. It
is not directly for young kids, but it can beread and interpreted for them…we
know they are smart and wll understand it.

Under Every Roof