Discover podcasts, books, and guides to support you as you explore a future in architecture.
Podcasts
Tips and Tactics for Aspiring Architects
The creators of The Second Studio cover a range of tips and tactics for aspiring architects. Looking to choose the right architecture program or how to create an impactful portfolio? Find out here.
Welcome to the Young Architect Podcast with Michael Riscica
Architect and host of the Young Architect Podcast, Michael Riscica, introduces himself, how Young Architect got its start, and what you can expect to learn from these podcasts.
Archispeak
What’s it really like to work in architecture? Since 2012 architects Evan Troxel and Cormac Phalen have been podcasting their brand of real talk on everything from design, tools, and work/life balance to generational differences, mentoring, job hunting, and more.
99% Invisible
Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we’ve just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. 99PI is one of the most popular podcasts, and is available via RSS, and through other apps.
Design Matters
Hosted by designer, writer, educator, and artist Debbie Millman, Design Matters centers on how the world’s most incredibly creative people—designers, writers, artists, musicians, educators, scientists, philosophers, athletes and performers—design the trajectory of their lives.
Architectette
Architectette is a podcast that inspires, elevates, and connects women in Architecture, Design, Engineering, and Construction. Architectette wants to encourage and inspire more women and minorities to become licensed architects, promoted to leadership positions, connected in a strong community, and champion equality and inclusion.
Life of an Architect
This podcast responds to the public curiosity and common misunderstanding about what architects do and how it is relevant to people’s lives, engaging a wide demographic of people in a meaningful way without requiring an understanding of the jargon or knowledge of the history of the profession.
Creative Pep Talk
This podcast responds to the public curiosity and common misunderstanding about what architects do and how it is relevant to people’s lives, engaging a wide demographic of people in a meaningful way without requiring an understanding of the jargon or knowledge of the history of the profession.
Design Better
Hosted by Eli Woolery and Aarron Walter, the Design Better podcast explores creativity at the intersection of design and technology.
Tracing Architecture – “Future of Architecture with AIAS”
For this live event, the three current AIAS presidents at Arizona State University, the University of Arizona, and The School of Architecture discuss their diverse experiences in the past three years and how that has shaped their education and early careers.
Books
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
Developed to simplify language and concepts that are often complex, these lessons in design, drawing, creativity and more act as a much-needed tool for any architecture student. Written by a fellow architect and professor, “101 Things I learned in Architecture School” provides valuable advice and inspiration for all in the field.
The Language of Architecture
In order to master the foundation of architecture, you must first master the basic building blocks of its language; the definitions, function, and usage. This visual reference includes an introduction to architecture design, historical view of the elements, as well as an overview of how these elements can and have been used across multiple design disciplines.
The Architecture School Survival Guide
This handy guide provides basic tips and hints to help students make the most of their work. Advice ranges from the practical (how to orient a building on a site) to the thought-provoking (notions of taste) to just plain fun (how to dress, or not to dress, like an architect).
Letters To A Young Architect
Christopher Charles Benninger offers mature reflections on his fifty-year journey from studying under Jose Luis Sert in 1960s America to his influential work in India. The book, a collection of autobiographical essays and lectures, explores architectural theory, contemporary urban issues, and the commonality of the human condition.
How to Architect
If you are just starting on that journey or thinking about becoming an architect, How to Architect is a place to begin. If you are already an architect and want to remind yourself of what drew you to the profession, it is a book of affirmation. And if you are just curious about what goes into the design and construction of buildings, this book tells you how architects think.
How Architecture Works: A Humanist’s Toolkit
Introducing the reader to the rich and varied world of modern architecture, Witold Rybczynski reveals how architects envision and create their designs. He teaches us how to “read” plans, how buildings respond to their settings, and how the smallest detail can convey an architect’s vision. How Architecture Works explains the central elements that make up good building design. It is an enlightening humanist’s toolkit for thinking about the built environment and seeing it afresh.
Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses To Humanitarian Crises
Design Like You Give a Damn is a compendium of innovative projects from around the world that demonstrate the power of design to improve lives. It offers a history of the movement toward socially conscious design, and showcases more than 80 contemporary solutions to such urgent needs as basic shelter, healthcare, education and access to clean water, energy and sanitation.
Design Like You Give a Damn 2: Building Change from the Ground Up
The indispensable handbook for anyone committed to building a more sustainable future. Following the success of their first book, Architecture for Humanity brings readers the next edition, with more than 100 projects from around the world. Packed with practical and ingenious design solutions, this book addresses the need for basic shelter, housing, education, health care, clean water, and renewable energy.
The Architecture Reference & Specification Book: Everything Architects Need to Know Every Day
The updated and revised edition of The Architecture Reference & Specification Book contains vital information that’s essential to planning and executing architectural projects of all shapes and sizes, all in a format that is small enough to carry anywhere.
The Interior Design Reference & Specification Book: Everything Interior Designers Need to Know Every Day
This updated and revised edition of The Interior Design Reference & Specification Book gives you the information essential to planning and executing interior projects of all shapes and sizes in a format that is as easy to use as it is to carry—now including interviews with top practitioners from across the field of interior design.
Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture
This book offers the first comprehensive overview of alternative approaches to architectural practice. This book provides multiple examples from across the globe of how this has been achieved and how it might be achieved in the future. Particularly pertinent in the current economic climate, this book offers the reader new approaches to architectural practice in a changing world. It makes essential reading for any architect, aspiring or practicing.
Architects of an American Landscape
The small, reserved Olmsted and the passionate, Falstaffian Richardson could not have been more different in character, but their sensibilities were closely aligned. In chronicling their intersecting lives and work in the context of the nation’s post-war renewal, Hugh Howard reveals how these two men created original all-American idioms in architecture and landscape that influence how we enjoy our public and private spaces to this day.
Architecture for Teens: A Beginner’s Book for Aspiring Architects
Explore an overview of architectural movements and designers from prehistory to modern-day, and check out inspiring interviews with working professionals. With tons of practical advice for pursuing a career, you’ll find out how you can become an architect and help build an environmentally responsible world from the ground up!
Guides
Your Guide to a Career in Architecture
This resource for students in grades 5-12 provides helpful information about pursuing a career in architecture—including key skills, recommended academic preparation, and next steps after high school.
Your Guide to Helping Students Consider a Career in Architecture
This resource for K-12 school counselors and educators provides helpful information for guiding students toward a career in architecture—including key skills, recommended academic preparation, and next steps after high school.
AIA K-12 Pathway Initiatives
Across the United States, K-12 students have access to a wide range of design and architecture resources, including online platforms, workshops, camps, educational programs, design competitions, internships, and scholarship opportunities. This online guide provides the opportunity to use a search and filter feature to find nearby resources.
Destination Architect
Destination Architect is an online, informational guide that provides a helpful overview directed at driving passionate professionals to their final destination in the field. From detailing licensure requirements to the recommended experience needed, utilize this guide to propel you into a successful architecture career.