Books have always played a role in my design process. I recall many hours spent in the architecture library at university mining the shelves for new ideas. In daily practice one has to actively make space for seeking out fresh ideas and inspiration. I’ve found that some of the most inspirational books have nothing to do with architecture, they're in adjacent or completely unrelated disciplines. By consuming a variety of source material I find it easier to make connections and surface new ideas overlaying the work of others with problems I’m actively trying to solve in my architectural work. This is called bisociation, defined as : the simultaneous mental association of an idea or object with two fields ordinarily not regarded as related. A pun might be the simplest form of bisociation.
Here’s a list of the books highlighted in the video, in order:
THE PHOTOGRAPHY STORYTELLING WORKSHOP - Finn Beales
MECHANICS VEST POCKET REFERENCE BOOK - John Wolfe & Everett Phelps
PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING - Aaron James Draplin
HABITAT - Tom Hegen
A TALE OF LIFE + CRAFT - Garde Hvalsøe ( 2020 ebook version slightly different, but free to view )
HOUSES - Sean Godsell
HELL YEAH OR NO - Derek Sivers
Because my inspirations and collecting tastes are always evolving, I keep a record of what's inspiring me "NOW" on a dedicated page here on my site. When it's time to update it, I simply copy it so I don't lose record of it and can keep it as a running archive of how things have changed over time.
