101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (Hardcover)

by Matthew Frederick (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"101 Things de-mythologizes the jargon that obscures the real meanings of what is taught in design schools. Designers too often write in obtuse terms that make relatively simple concepts difficult to comprehend. But understanding how we perceive, experience, and interpret the spaces we inhabit should not make us feel dumb, or left out. This readable and graphically clear book is a great introduction to design terms, principles, and concepts. Anyone interested in design will learn much from this terrific book."
—Theodore C. Landsmark, President, Boston Architectural College, President 2006-07, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture

"How to draw a line, the meaning of figure-ground theory, hand-lettering and the fact that windows look dark in the daytime—each item has resonance beyond architecture. Books like this are brief tutorials in the art of seeing, a skill useful in every aspect of life on the planet."
— Susan Salter Reynolds, latimes.com

"Matthew Frederick offers a wide-ranging assortment of architectural pearls of wisdom that every architecture student should understand, consider and embrace—or perhaps reject—when first learning the daunting process of design. Encompassing both theory and practice, and illustrated with often witty drawings, 101 Things is an eclectic itemization of architectural philosophies, compositional strategies and tactics, design conventions, drawing and presentation techniques, and even tips about how to behave as an architect."
—Roger K. Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Maryland, author of Architect? A Candid Guide to the Profession

Product Description
2008 Silver Award Winner, Architecture Category, Independent Publisher Book Awards. and Winning entry, General Trade Illustrated Category, in the 2008 New England Book Show sponsored by Bookbuilders of Boston.

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 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, making concrete what too often is left nebulous or open-ended in the architecture curriculum. Each lesson utilizes a two-page format, with a brief explanation and an illustration that can range from diagrammatic to whimsical. The lesson on "How to Draw a Line" is illustrated by examples of good and bad lines; a lesson on the dangers of awkward floor level changes shows the television actor Dick Van Dyke in the midst of a pratfall; a discussion of the proportional differences between traditional and modern buildings features a drawing of a building split neatly in half between the two. Written by an architect and instructor who remembers well the fog of his own student days, 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School provides valuable guideposts for navigating the design studio and other classes in 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 a complex design problem.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (September 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262062666
• ISBN-13: 978-0262062664
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,548 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish I had this book in Architecture School, September 21, 2007

By	DCArchitect (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

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.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As an Architecture Student this book is essential, October 30, 2007

By	Arch Student "Kyle" (Boston) - See all my reviews

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.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real wisdom, elegantly presented, January 4, 2008

By	Paul J. Quigley (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.