Architecture: Form, Space, and Order

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Summary: Good architectural designers handbook
Review: Ching presents a lot of principles of design for the architect to add theoretical bases for designs. If you design, this book gives you the vocabulary you need to communicate it verbally, as well as graphically.

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Summary: This is another must have!
Review: i know that some reviews here indicate that this book is not the right book for architects.and i can understand their point of view, because they were expecting something the book didn't give.as a matter of face i was dissappionted too when i 1st got the book, but now i know it's a real treasure and definately a must-have for architects and designers(especially beginners).
this book is the greatest illustrator of buildings throughout time, not in pictures but in beautiful sketches, from different angles and with a brief explaination of the design concept...it helps if u r studying history of arhitecture and u want to know the architects and their works.
another point is..this book is basically like it's title..form and space!
it describes different relationships between space and form in a clear and illustrated way.. this is basically the aim of the book... if u r asking for more..this is not the book for u!!


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Summary: again,,,,,,
Review: i must say ching is one the best. this a next book i like from which he authored. a must for architects!!!

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Summary: For students of architecture, one of those "must-haves".
Review: If you're at all interested in architecture, this is really one of the unanimously acknowledged essential books to have and to study through. Ching covers every imaginable basic idea of architecture in a very clear, accessible, and readable manner, all using his own excellent hand-drawn sketches and diagrams and hand-lettered text. In fact, the presentation alone is like a case study in how to do it right; taken together, the book is an invaluable learning resource and guidebook.

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Summary: a bad book for architects
Review: One of the most damaging books that has ever flooded architectural education. The book is the dullest and uninspiring compilation of platitudes without any critical referent. To the problems of architecture and architectural imagination, it offers as panacea the most insidious graphic banalities that can be used in a set of architectural drawings as pseudo-effective means of communication and design. The book presents in many drawings easy formulas or ready-made clichés, or smooth, ever-so-accommodating confirmations of graphic conventions that prevent any critical dispute of the most pedestrian and prosaic design protocols. The instructions divulged by this pseudo-didactic and professional publication reduce both the discipline and the profession of architecture to a trade without a critical radition.

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Summary: A Magnificent Architecture Resource Guide
Review: The first time I read this book, it blew me away. Not only did Ching use a simple way of explaining the principals of architechture, he also included numberous sketches and quotes about architecture. Since I'm hoping to become a arcitect myself, I will use as a treasured resorce in my architecture in high school, in classes at college and beyond. This book has found a brilliant way to introduce the world of architecture to the reader in such a way that a person with little interest in the subject will become enthralled with it. I've even begun to read the book again!

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Summary: Sort of Wierd
Review: This book instills a cold, alien feeling in this American. One third of the examples are huge classical buildings. That's OK, but is it practical today? The other 2/3 are these bizarre examples from the early 20th century, the rare types considered eye soars today. Together Aalto Alvar, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, James Stirling, and Frank Lloyd Wright pop up 127 times. So what's left is very little that will satisfy a traditional American. So, try to find a book that teaches the principles of form, space and order in a way you can relate to.

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Summary: Outstanding - Every Student of Architecture Must Study
Review: This book is not just for reading, but for studying. Each page uses excellent graphics to demostrate and teach the principles of architectural design. Each page teaches a principle and the following pages build on that principle.

This book is a text book and a study guide all in one book. I would recommend this book for student & practicing architects and interior designers.

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Summary: Fantastic
Review: This book is one of the most useful books I have. I keep it close to my desk.

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Summary: If you only have one book on Architecture, this must be it.
Review: This book lays the best foundation for architectural study and design of any book ever published. It should be required reading at every university and would make a great primer for high school students with enlightened teachers.