Library: AASL Core Reference List: Histories/Surveys

Core Historical Surveys

Ching, Frank, Mark Jarzombek and Vikramaditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011.
Fletcher, Banister, and Dan Cruickshank. Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture. 20th ed. Boston: Architectural Press, 1996.
Frampton, Kenneth. World Architecture 1900-2000: A Critical Mosaic. 10 vols. New York: Springer, 1999-2002.
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v. 1. Canada and the United States / editor Richard Ingersoll
v. 2. Latin America / editor Jorge Glusberg
v. 3. Northern Europe, Central Europe and Western Europe / editor Wilfried Wang
v. 5. The Middle East / editor Hasan-Uddin Khan
v. 6. Central and Southern Africa / Udo Kultermann
v. 7. Russia-USSR-CIS / editor Yuri P. Gnedovsky
v. 8. South Asia / editor Rahul Mehrotra
v. 9. East Asia / Guan Zhaoye
v. 10. Southeast Asia and Oceania / editors William S.W. Lim, Jennifer Taylor
Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, Seton Lloyd and Trewin Copplestone. World Architecture: An Illustrated History. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963.
Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals. International 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Norwich, John Julius. World Atlas of Architecture. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1984.
Rev. and expanded version of: Great Architecture of the World published in 1975.
The Phaidon Atlas of 21st Century World Architecture. Comprehensive ed. New York: Phaidon, 2008.
The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture. Comprehensive ed. London: Phaidon Press, 2004.
Watkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. 5th ed. London: Laurence King, 2011.

Supplementary Historical Surveys

U.S. Architecture: Core Surveys

Andrews, Wayne. Architecture in America: A Photographic History from the Colonial Period to the Present. 2nd ed. New York: Atheneum Publishers, 1979.
Hunt, William Dudley. American Architecture: A Field Guide to the Most Important Examples. New York: Harper & Row, 1984.
Martinson, Tom. The Atlas of American Architecture: 2000 Years of Architecture, City Planning, Landscape Architecture and Civil Engineering. New York: Rizzoli, 2009.
Covers pre-Columbian environments, colonial architecture, period styles, selected building types, city planning, landscape architecture, and civil engineering.
Packard, Robert T., Balthazar Korab, and William Dudley Hunt. Encyclopedia of American Architecture. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995.
Smith, G. E. Kidder. The Architecture of the United States. 3 vols. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press, 1981.
"An illustrated guide to notable buildings, A.D. 1115 to the present, open to the public."

U.S. Architecture: Supplementary Surveys

Carley, Rachel. The Visual Dictionary of American Domestic Architecture. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1994.
Reiff, Daniel D. Houses from Books: Treatises, Pattern Books, and Catalogs in American Architecture, 1738-1950: A History and Guide. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State Univ. Pr., 2000.
"Provides a documented and illustrated survey of the influence of published designs on the styles, motifs, and sources of houses in villages, small cities, and suburbs in America from 1738 to 1950."
Smith, G.E. Kidder. A Pictorial History of Architecture in America. 2 vols. New York: American Heritage Pub. Co., 1976.
Smith, G. E. Kidder. Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996.
Illustrated survey of some of America's most distinguished buildings, ranging from cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde to important modernist structures.
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Update to 1981 1st ed. of: The Architecture of the United States.

Period Surveys: History of World Architecture Series

The volumes in the History of World Architecture series were originally published in Italian under the general editorship of Pier Luigi Nervi. They were translated into English and published by Abrams in 1971-80 with black & white illustrations; these volumes measure 10 x 11 1/4 inches. In 1985-89 the series was reedited by Electa / Rizzoli and color photos were added, but the volumes shrunk to 8 5/8 x 9 1/2 inches. The volumes were reissued by Phaidon in the early 2000's, with new front cover photos.

Period Surveys: Pelican History of Art series

Originally published by Penguin, volumes in the Pelican History of Art series have been reformatted or revised and reissued with new introductions by Yale University Press as the Yale University Press Pelican History of Art. Additional volumes have been published and titles of some of the reissued volumes have changed. Many volumes in this series focus on architecture.

Important series

AIA Guide To... [various publishers]
The American Institute of Architects and its various chapters have published guides to the architecture of many U.S. cities.
Garland Architectural Archives. New York: Garland Pub.
Reproductions of architectural drawings from the archives of prominent modern architects.
Global Architecture. Tokyo: A.D.A. EDITA, 1970-1999.
Each volume details one or two important buildings from the modern movement, with photographs, drawings, and site plans.
World of Art series. New York: Thames & Hudson.
A constantly growing series that has been a market leader for 50 years; includes many architecture and design titles. Includes period surveys, geographical surveys, architect surveys, topical surveys, and special focus titles.

U.S. Architecture: State Histories

The Society of Architectural Historians has published 16 volumes in their Buildings of the United States book series. The Historic American Buildings Survey has also published several surveys and catalogs of historic architecture by state.