Books to Gift to Architects

What to get for your architect friend, family member, or coworker for the holidays?

A fountain pen? Another black turtleneck? How about a book?!

Here are some ideas- old and new- for awesome books that your favorite architect will love.

For social issues & architecture:

The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein

The Sprawl - Jason Diamond

The Address Book - Deirdre Mask

Queer Spaces - Edited by Adam Nathaniel Furman & Joshua Mardell

For the fan of fiction:

Loving Frank - Nancy Horan

Devil in the White City - Erik Larson

For the urban design enthusiast:

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces - William H. Whyte

The Great Good Place - Ray Oldenburg

The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs

Cities for People - Jan Gehl

The 99&% Invisible City - Roman Mars

Happy City - Charles Montgomery

For feminists (and everyone else):

The Women Who Changed Architecture - Edited by Jan Cigliano Hartman

Julia Morgan: An Intimate Biography of the Trailblazing Architect - Victoria Kastner

For the beginner:

Architecture, Form, Space, and Order - Francis D.K. Ching

The Seven Lamps of Architecture - John Ruskin

101 Things I Learned in Architecture School - Matthew Frederick

A Pattern Language - Christopher Alexander

The Image of the City - Kevin Lynch

The Poetics of Space - Gaston Bachelard

For the sustainable:

Cradle to Cradle - Michael Braungart and William McDonough

The Passivehaus Designer’s Manual - Christina J. Hopfe & Robert S. McLeod

Need more suggestions? Check out my FULL list of recommendations for Books for Architects on Amazon.