101 Things I Learned in Architecture School

101 THINGS I LEARNED IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL is a book that students of architecture will want to keep in the design 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 the things they tend to make murky and abstruse. These 101 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--provide a much-needed primer in architectural literacy and make concrete what too often is left nebulous and open-ended in the architecture curriculum.

Like all books in the popular and celebrated 101 THINGS I LEARNED book series, the lessons in 101 THINGS I LEARNED IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL utilize a unique two-page format, with a brief explanation and accompanying illustration. A lesson on how to draw a line is accompanied by examples of good and bad lines; a lesson on awkward floor level changes shows the television actor Dick Van Dyke in the midst of a pratfall; and a discussion of the proportional differences between traditional and modern buildings features a building split neatly in half between the two.

Written by an architect and instructor who well remembers the fog of his own student days, 101 THINGS I LEARNED IN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL provides valuable guideposts for students navigating the architectural design studio and the rest of the architecture curriculum. Architecture graduates, from young designers to experienced practitioners, will turn to the book as well for inspiration and a guide back to basics when solving complex design problems.