Doug Patt, an architect and the author of the book, ‘How to Architect’, teaches about architecture through the use of videos, drawings, books, stories etc. He shared with us his book and a video about being and becoming an architect, which was just released by MIT Press earlier this year. Available globally, this is great for students considering the field or studying architecture. This is also beneficial for architects who want to remember why they became one.
In the book, Patt creatively transforms the word ‘architect’ from a noun to a verb. He presents to readers the basics of architecture with chapters A-Z and takes you on a journey into how architects think from design and construction jargon to characteristics, such as ‘quirky’ and ‘zeal’. A video and a brief review of the book after the break.
Whether you are considering the profession, a current architecture student, or an architect yourself, you will definitely enjoy this light-hearted, yet true to form book. For example, for ‘E’, he defines ‘ego’ as it relates to architecture. I’m sure many architecture students can relate to his description of the ‘…studio course involving long hours and hard work, critiques and reviews,” and those experiences being ‘…one of the most memorable, stressful, and, sometimes humiliating parts of an architect’s education.”
Then, in relating to the profession, his description for the letter ‘R’ can be something many architects may familiarize themselves with. The definition for ‘routine’ goes into the many jobs architects have in the office, many of which, are outside of the actual designing part of the job.
Whether you are a fan of architects or one yourself, I can guarantee that this book can give you a pretty simple, get descriptive light into the profession. You will also appreciate the way Patt is able to invent a verb out of the word and cleverly describe it using every letter in the alphabet.
