Is anybody out there? I am new to this group and it looks like not much activity lately, but I thought it may be interesting to see what you guys think of for your top 5 most influential architecture books. My list as of today is (in no particular order)

1. Architecture - Form, Space, Order -Ching
2. Studies in Tectonic Culture -Kenneth Frampton
3. The Place of Houses -Moore, Allen, Lyndon
4. Silence and Light -Kahn/Lobell
5. The Image of the City -Kevin Lynch

as a sidebar, I just finished AA Words 2: Anti-Object by Kengo Kuma and found it very thought provoking as well as Thinking Architecture by Zumthor, so as they settle we'll see if I make any adjustments. Anyway hope to see some posts soon!

As a layman, I am always puzzled about the absence from the canon of Christopher Alexander's A pattern language. I also like William Whyte's The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, Jan Gehl's Life Between buildings and Stewart Brand's How buildings learn.

Many works from star architects have poor usability and adaptation to their surroundings. The cover of your Silence and Light book shows a concrete wasteland, bared of both humans and nature. Just two miles away here in Vienna, a Zaha Hadid project suffers in silent neglect. Another one, a functional disaster, is in the planning stage ...

I agree that A Pattern Language is an important book, that and Genius Loci by Christian Norberg-Schulz are two that I always refer back to. My top 5 list is always changing and those two have been there before, sometimes it depends on what type project I am currently working on. I will have to check out Whyte's and Gehl's books since I am not familiar with them. Brand's book is also a good choice.

As far as the reference to Kahn's courtyard at Salk Institute as a concrete wasteland I will have to strongly disagree, however if you are just basing the comment on the book cover, I can see your point. Part of that space's magic is the experience of being there. I found it to be a profound space due to the feeling created by the perceived monumentality of the structure along its sides juxtaposed with the open end to the Pacific and the opposite end to a basque of trees. A place that stimulates reflection, contemplation, inspiration and interaction.

I do commend you on your book selection, for a layman you have picked a couple that talk about the essence of architeture instead of getting suckered in by pretty pictures. I don't keep up with Hadid's work so can't comment on what her buildings are doing to your city, but you are right that some of the star architects lose sight of context and function in favor of formalistic expression.

I'll have to agree with dimwizard that the Salk institute shouldn't be judged by a photograph - it's a pretty amazing space to be in.

Not sure I could pick my top five architecture books. Ching is great and I also really like Norberg-Schulz. I'm also a big fan of the details of modern architecture by Edward Ford. Mostly, though, I have monographs, rather than writing about architecture. Of those, the one I pull out the most often is probably Shigeru Ban's.

lorin77 brings up a good point. what i have listed so far I would consider Mentally Inspirational books I refer to often. I have quite a few monographs too, so to expand on the list here are some I refer to most often for Visual Iinspiration, in no particular order:

1. Herzog & de Meuron 1978-1988: The Complete Works
2. Fujimori Terunobu: Architecture
3. El Croquis 86 MVRDV
4. A U Extra Edition: Peter Zumthor
5. Sverre Fehn

Very interested to hear what other people enjoy, and maybe why...

Whyte (Youtube) and Gehl are interested in the question what attracts humans to public places. Gehl is famous for transforming a Copenhagen central area from car dominance to a pedestrian area (similar to New York's plan for Times Square).

Thanks for the heads-up on the Salk Institute. My impression was based solely on the photography (which reminded me on a hot midday stroll along an empty Boston's Christian Science Center). Architecture renderings always have dummies. I wonder why architecture photography is mostly devoid of humans (and human artefacts, and life)? Perhaps I am more interested in the use of space than the design of space ...

How do you choose a monograph? I am always conflicted, as many are bulky, of strange size, expensive and hagiographic.

Unless a monograph is being published after an architect's death, it is usually his or her firm's job to put together what material goes into the book - hence the adulatory tone.

As for the expense - I ask for them for my birthday and christmas! My boss gets me one a year (this year's treat was L.A. Modern - its a wonderful book) and my parents got me the enormous Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century Architecture when I (recently) got my license.

I thought of another mentally inspirational book (I like that distinction, dimwizard) - How to see by George Nelson.

Rather than comparing, I'd just like to add recent reads or re-reads: 'The Hidden Order' (Yoshinobu Ashihara); 'Questions of Perception' (Holl/Pallasmaa/Perez-Gomez) and 'Design For Life, The Architecture of Sim Van Der Ryn'. Pattern Language appeals to many but I've always found it to be too formulaic; prefer his earlier 'notes on a synthesis of form' myself. For pure joy regarding small-scale and personal environments check out 'Building with Awareness' by Ted Owens and 'Norwegian Wood (the work of Wenche Selmer). And lastly, for a glimpse of the future of architecture, hunker down with a copy of Jeremy Till's 'Architecture Depends'. Has anyone else read it? Richmon

Good suggestions Richmon! I have not heard of 'The Hidden Order' or 'Building with Awareness' so will have to check those out. I am just finishing up strange details and always thought architecture depends has an intriguing cover. I will read that next, any thoughts before I get started?

Maybe this suggestion is too retro but, if the criterion is 'most influential,' my top book choice is Andrea Palladio's 'Four Books on Architecture.'