101 Things I Learned in Architecture School (The MIT Press) Kindle Edition

I last took an architecture class over 25 years ago. I am not an architect but I do own a home and we are looking to buy another one. This book has some great tips which will educate the home owner interested in doing renovations or simply re-configuring the house they already live in.This book has enabled us to look at some home features in a new light. What once was an expensive remodel now looks like it will be a much simpler project. The author really makes you think about a building's use of space and what the architect was thinking (or failed to think about for that matter.)I highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in architecture, home design, interior design, or smart home ownership. If it prevents you from making a stupid and costly mistake then it will have paid for itself a hundred times over.

I am not an architect, nor will I be. I am a student of interior design which is closer to architecture than the majority of the world realizes. This book is encouraging as a student who receives harsh and often belittling criticism on a daily basis in studio. I think that's the nature of these programs. Your process, your creativity, your effort is red lined incessantly and it can leave you feeling small and unbelievably discouraged. The opening of this book eloquently states exactly how it feels to be in design school. I love this book, it's a lifesaver.

Here it sits with a new design I am working on. I just finished reading it today and only wish I had looked at architectural school after graduating high school in 1964.I have been studying both architeture and interior design during covid-19 pandemic at 74 years young.As the author says most top architects are Late Bloomers! I have been one all my previous three careers.I don't see me going to school at this age however I was 50 when I became a certified physical fitness trainer!I am reading through the book again and again and again! May be just may be enough of the info in this little book will start to flow into my mind to actually design the home you see here on a friend's million dollar plus property on St John's USVI!

Truly great architecture, when realized, is the stuff of dreams. The kind of dreams that captivate us and leave us inspired to wake up and do the hard work to make life as it should be. This association between architectural design and life is interwoven. Architecture creates the spaces that life happens in.We are all possessed with a renewed relationship with our sense of space, thanks to a thrust upon us familiarity with it over the year. Some of us have been hard pressed to find balance, purpose, and renewal in the same space over the year. A study of architectural and design principles is just what one needs to fully grasp how to make familiar places into more dynamic and human centered experiences.Books like this one and “A Pattern Language” our essential for understanding how the spaces we live and work in everyday can detract or add to our lives. This knowledge could be immediately employed to refresh where you already are to better serve you or be the baseline for building something timeless in the future.

You must get this book to enhance your vision and concepts of design. Great!

I purchased this as my first architecture book and it was a great decision. While reading 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School I was surprised by how many details have to be considered in designing a structure. Matthew Frederick does a wonderful job of using clear and simple language easy for anyone to understand but yet still rich in knowledge. The book includes many helpful pieces of information ranging from designing structures to inspirational quotes. One of my favorite quotes in the book is “Architecture is the thoughtful making of space” (by Louis Khan) because it makes me think about architecture as an abstract concept rather than physical pieces. Within the design tips, there are straightforward do’s and don’ts, such as always emphasize the start and end of a line. Furthermore, Frederick also includes more interpretive tips like “The most effective, most creative problem solvers engage in a process of metathinking, or ‘thinking about the thinking.”’ I feel it would be even more helpful if there were some tips for his tips. Frederick writes down the goal that one should try to achieve but doesn’t necessarily mention the steps to get there. For instance, he states that “a good building reveals different things about itself when viewed from different distances,” providing no additional information. However, this could be done intentionally as a strategy to get the reader to think more because there are various ways to solve a problem in architecture. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in or curious about architecture.

This is a great book for everyone. My son is studying to be an architect and uses it frequently to keep perspective and for inspiration. As a non-architect, I find it makes me look at buildings and space differently. It opens up a sense of appreciation for layout and design. Each page is just an idea with an example drawing, so it doesn't read like a traditional book. It's great to just pull off the shelf, randomly pick four or five pages and reflect.

Bought this for my 14 year old son who wants to be an architect. It's an excellent read. Short bits of useful information that lay the foundations for anyone interested in this career path. He learnt key takeaways which I hope he'll remember for always.

This book is great. I'm not sure if you'd use it as a bedside book for guests, a loo book or a coffee table book. I used it to read cover to cover several times and think about. If you want to reflect on the use of space and design this is a great way to start.

My daughter did not find it any useful - extremely short quotes / notes, not what she expected at all . No problem with return

Something for a 5 year old

Ever since I started architecture last September, I was quite lost and clueless with what the course seemed to offer. A wide range of skills and interests; numeracy skills, literature reads, digital software, critical and analytical thinking skills, drawing, modelmaking...etc. Architecture is indeed a course that touches aspects on almost everything though we may not know all. Thanks for the book, I am now slowly paving my way towards being a though-not-so-perfect architect student but definitely a fearless one. AMAZING BOOK!