improving design skills through reading?

[kentske]

Does anyone have any recommendations for books that you feel help to really teach design. I guess this relates to the question of whether design can be learned or is mostly talent. When talking amongst professionals i feel like i may have missed out a bit with the school that i graduated from. The school was more practical theory than design theory.

I believe that design is a combination of intuition, an "good taste" and largely learned. Currently i do a lot of construction documents and related work that is devoid of any design. Part of the problem is my ambivilance. Most of the design work in our office is given to other people. I think that timewise they get the job done faster and better, but design wise, I wouldn't be happy if i produced what they did. In otherwords i feel like sometimes the designs lack refinement, but at the same time I would be slower in the initial part of the design phase.

I would like to here peoples opinions of some good books that help take ones design abilities to the next level. All through school i felt like my ideas were pretty solid, whereas my execution of my ideas could definately use improvement.

[studio]

based on my personal experience, those just graduated fr school will be a design architect before they get involved in project management. Because we (graduate architect) have been practising the design for at least 5 years in the school. They will be more confident for doing design. Of course, some architects are not good in design, then those will be transferred to project team after a year.

Architects have to know everything, no matter design or management skill. otherwise, they are only an artist or manager.

in my first firm (quite a big firm), has been categories in few department as design and project. The design dept is team by those young architect and those are very interested in doing design. But in project team, they dont do design but contract. Most of the senior architects go here... however, my second firm is smaller, we do everything, according to major 4 phases.. this is what architect about... what i can conclude is this all depends on the firm resourses...

[am_i_wry]

I think you will struggle to find a book that will teach you how to design. Such a thing doesnt exist. There are books that will teach you about theory, form and even process but the actual act of designing is something that you need to develop through practice.

Your situation is similar in a lot of ways to things i see in practice. Those that are quicker are consequently cheaper. With design sitting at the front end and very often being speculative cheapness will win out in a commercial situation.

Sometimes that just comes down to who can draw quickest and while that is suprficially a fairly horrid notion getting your ideas down on paper quickly and directly is a big part of developing a design. Maybe developing better or new skills in drawing or visualisation will give you a foot in the door.

The other aspect is experience. Some types of project require a level of knowledge in order to produce something workable. Design doesnt exist in a vacumn and you need to know as much about the technical side of the design process as possible.

[acg]

the previous poster has a good point, in that ther are very few books that will teach you a set recipe for designing.

What you will come to know in practice is that design is definitely something you continue to learn. the fun sketches and drawings are only a small part of it. your design skills will be honed when you understand how buildings go together, and those fun sketches are translated into expensive details. Budget however is no reason to avoid using your creative side, but merely a challenge to hold the concept throughout the design process. So design really becomes just that, a process for getting to the final work, and it doesnt end until the last spike has been driven.

I would recommend three books though, to give you a good foundation in understanding relative principles on spatial arrangement, human geometries ( anthropometry and egronomics), form and material. These principles are constant throughout design since primative technology erected the first structures, and are still true today in many forms. The books are as follows: Vitruvius Ten Books on Architecture, Le Corbusier: Towards a New Architecture, and Thinking Architecture by Peter Zumthor.

Remember they are not gospel, but good background to form a fundamental basis in most if not arguably all the architectural ´truths´. Id be surprised if you hadnt come across some of these in school.

[mx2]

I admire the fact that kentske acknowledges the differences between practical experiences and the ability to design. However I do beleive that practical knowledge is an important component towards becoming a better designer. Essentially, designing is really the synthesis of accumulated knowledge and experiences expressed with a flair of talent...in other words, it's part science (knowledge) and part art (intuition). They both require continued research and practice and books are a good place to start but so is attending seminars, visiting great buildings, taking pictures, sketching, reading and applying various theories, seeking continuous critique, participating in critique, talking to other designers,, etc, etc....

...being a good designer doesn't begin or end with books, but it does help in acquiring knowledge of the various ideas and methods. I would recommend visiting a local bookstore or library and just start reading...you will soon learn what direction you need to follow...

mx2.5

[Architorture]

find books that will teach you 'how to design' is a very tall order to fill since just about every architecture book out there generally aims to show the end product and the pretty pictures and very little of the process and thoughts and work that went into the creation of that final piece of architecture...

i think mx2 stated it well... the very best way to get better is by doing and by discussing with others- since of course it helps very little to create without any feedback to know if what you are doing is 'good'

in terms of reading i would simply suggest you read things that interest you- especially things that aren't directly related to architecture... they will enrich your knowledge and critical thinking skills... so long as what interests you isn't celebrity gossip or something similar... you can often times find inspiration and great ideas in the least expected places...

[Tipton]

I'd recommend the Nature of Order series by Christopher Alexander;
The Phenomen of Life: The Nature of Order, Book 1
The Process of Creating Life: The Nature of Order, Book 2
A Vision of a Living World: The Nature of Order, Book 3
The Luminous Ground: The Nature of Order, Book 4

I'd also recommend A Pattern Language by him too.