Things to know: about this genre

These three books aimed at architects were an inspiration for this collection. I think they represent a distinct genre that might at one time have been called a miscellany or a commonplace – a collection of interesting and inspiring quotes or thoughts.

In these Things collections, everything is presented in small chunks. These are easy to digest, and you can stop and reflect on them without being swept through to the next idea.

There may be no great intellectual scheme provided. It emerges as your reading meets your experience.

They don’t fill in much detail - everyone has Google now.

Different traditions and approaches collide. You may find didactic explanations, or proverbs.

Michael Sorkin’s book is particularly cryptic, and even poetic at times. It was posthumously published as a book, but originally it was just a list. He was evidently a charismatic character and influential practitioner and critic. How about...

27. The proportioning system for the Villa Rotonda.

28. The rate at which that carpet you specified off-gasses.

29. The relevant sections of the Code of Hammurabi.

30. The migratory patterns of warblers and other seasonal travellers.

He just points the way, and you need access to Google and a good imagination.

It’s eclectic, and juxtaposes nerdy detail with imaginative cultural awareness and strategic thinking. Information designers need this too.

I am little suspicious of the round numbers, though: 101 things, 250 things. You wonder what was discarded or added just to reach the number. See my thoughts on Essence, accident or ornament?.

Frederick, M. (2007). 101 things I learned in architecture school. MIT Press.

Sorkin, M. (2018). Two hundred and fifty things an architect should know. Princeton University Press.

Ivers, B. C. (2021). 250 things a landscape architect should know. Birkhäuser Verlag.

Heathcote, E. (n.d.). 128 things about the city. Reading Design. https://www.readingdesign.org/128-things-about-the-city