The Architecture Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

Amazing book if you want to study the basics of architecture, or as an architect to remind yourself what you studied in uni :)I want to have all of these books now..

Its a good book, you can try it out.However the packing is not good.I had to return first book due to damage and also replacement was also slightly damaged state due to poor packing.

Beautifully illustrative and very descriptive beginners guide to some of the finest architecture which holds significant importance internationally. The contents spans a vast range of eras. The DK book is not different to our large collection of hardback DK guides on a variety of topics. Each on a similar theme of encyclopaedic knowledge as an initial text to dip your toes into the chosen subject matter, without going into huge amounts of finer details.Each subject in this book has either a page or two dedicated to it on average. There is a very good index at the rear, as well as a simple contents at the front.The DK series, in our experience are suited for children, due to the highly visual layout and short, yet descriptive bursts of texts. Our children have used them from the age of 5, with the books still proving to be a valuable resource well into their early teens.Well recommended, especially for fans of the DK series which are altogether excellent and well researched!5 stars

At the time of writing this review, the price for this book is £15.99.This books is a great book for anyone interested in architecture! The global scope and visual approach with striking illustrations and graphics are sure to keep readers engaged while they learn about the most important ideas, technologies, and movements in the history of architecture and structural engineering. The inclusion of facts, charts, timelines, and graphs will help readers understand core concepts, making it accessible for people at any level of understanding. Overall, The Architecture Book seems like a comprehensive and captivating introduction to the subject.

The Architecture Book is another great entry in the DK's "Big ideas simply explained" series, but in this case it begins to show the limitations of the series' format. I've bought and read several other books from the series which I thought worked very well (Philosophy, Psychology, Literature - which naturally translate over well to book form), but this volume on Architecture in particular would have benefited from more illustrations. A picture is worth a thousand words, and I found several sections lacking in meaningful photos, drawings, or floor plans. Perhaps the space dedicated to double-page spreads of titles (which add nothing of value and look rather brutalist, akin to reading a communist manifesto) would have been better used to showcase some more examples of interesting buildings that didn't make it into their respective sections due to space constraints.What images there were, however, were consistently apposite and useful, as was the content overall. The book is a handy treasure trove of architecture facts, from the characteristics of various styles to the history behind the movements and examples of their early pioneers. The presentation of the text is sensible and well laid-out, and the "big ideas" are indeed "simply explained". DK also deserve recognition for including non-European styles, as these are overlooked all too often (even in books far more expensive than this one). It was great to see those international examples, as they offer truly unique and interesting perspectives on architecture that we in the West (due to the different direction our building styles evolved in) often haven't even considered.The book itself is of good quality, the hard cover is sturdy, the binding held up well, and there are of course the usual features to be expected like a useful paginated index, and a short glossary of common terms in the back. It was a pleasure to read, and I'll definitely refer back to it whenever I have to look up some architectural term or another.