Reddit mentions of Learning from Las Vegas - Revised Edition: The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form

You should read some Robert Venturi, he created names for all this crap in the book, Learning from Las Vegas. Basically, that there are no rules anymore and that any style can be applied in anyway one would want. Out of context, against typical uses, etc. No rules and no material definition. It is basically Amusement Park Architecture.

The world of Post Modernism is quite wide though. I would argue everyone from Predock to Koolhaas on the avant side, to your typical contemporary apartment complex, as shown in OP's image, is all POMO.

edit: spelling

Or, Learning From Las Vegas - Revised Edition: The Forgotten Symbolism Of Architectural Form by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour.

From Wikipedia

>The book coined the terms "Duck" and "Decorated Shed"--descriptions of the two predominant ways of embodying iconography in buildings. The work of Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown adopted the latter strategy, producing formally simple "decorated sheds" with rich, complex and often shocking ornamental flourishes. Though he and his wife co-authored several additional books at the end of the century, these two have proved most influential.

An Essential Reading List For Designers

Source: www.tomfaulkner.co.uk

All books have been linked to Amazon for review and possible purchase. Remember to support the authors by purchasing their books. If there are any issues with this listing let me know via comments or pm.

Architecture

• The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture by Phaidon
  
• The Architecture of the City by Aldo Rossi
  
• Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi, Denise Scott Brown & Steven Izenour
  
• Modern Architecture since 1900 by William J R Curtis
  
• Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture by Phaidon
  
  Communication Design
  
  
• Essentials of Visual Communication by Bo Bergström
  
• Visual Language for Designers by Connie Malamed
  
• Visual Communication: From Theory to Practice by Jonathan Baldwin & Lucienne Roberts
  
• This Means This, That Means That: A User's Guide to Semiotics by Sean Hall
  
• Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture by Marita Struken & Lisa Cartwright
  
  Fashion Design
  
  
• Fashion Design Course by Steven Faerm
  
• Fashion Today by Colin McDowell
  
• The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Gehlhar
  
• Deluxe: How Luxury Lost it Lustre by Dana Thomas
  
• The Fashion Book by Angela Buttolph Editors of Phaidon ?
  
  Furniture Design
  
  
• Furniture Design by Stuart Lawson
  
• Eames by Gloria Koenig
  
• Design of the 20th Century by Charlotte & Peter Fiell
  
• 1000 Chairs by Charlotte & Peter Fiell
  
• The Encyclopedia of Furniture by Joseph Aronson
  
  Game Design
  
  
• The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses by Jess Schell
  
• Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
  
• [Challenges for Game Designers](Challenges for Game Designers) by Brenda Brathwaite
  
• Level Up!: The Guide to Great Video Game Design by Scott Rogers
  
• Screenplay: The Foundation of Screenwriting by Syd Field
  
  Graphic Design
  
  
• Grid System in Graphic Design by Josef-Muller Brockmann
  
• The Art of Looking Sideways by Alan Fletcher
  
• A Type Primer by John Kane
  
• The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst
  
• The New Typography by Jan Tschichold
  
  Information Design
  
  
• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte
  
• Show Me The Numbers:Desiginingg Tables and Graphs to Enlighten by Stephen Few
  
• Envisioning Information by Edward Tufte
  
• Information is Beautiful by David McCandless
  
• Information Graphic by Sandra Rendgen
  
  
  Industrial Design
  
  
• The Design of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman
  
• The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda
  
• Manufacturing Processes for Design Professionals by Rob Thompson
  
• Process: 50 Product Design from Concept to Manufacture by Jennifer Hudson
  
• Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell
  
  (cont'd)
  
  

The SCI-Arc has every single one of their guest speaker lectures online. That's a good way of getting to hear from world class architects in their own words. They'll talk about anything from their recent works, to their philosophies, to other architects.

I'm sure as an architecture lover, you already have some architects you like, so invest in their published works. They will explain their philosophies and design approaches quite well.

I'd recommend S,M,L,XL by Rem Koolhaas, since it's been one of the most influential books for contemporary architecture.

Along the same lines, Learning From Las Vegas by Venturi is another work that exploded onto the scene and changed the discourse.

If you spend a few minutes on Amazon, you can easily be staring at thousands of dollars worth of delicious books.

Best happy ending yet. I'm a huge proponent of the comparison of architecture, it's writing and theory, and graphic/web design. Christopher Alexander is fantastic. I recommend going back to his earlier work before the three you mentioned called "Notes on the Synthesis of Form."

A few other great architecture books to consider:

• In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki —
  Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi —
  The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses by Juhani Pallasmaa

I'm curious. You mentioned you were an undergrad, and in your 3rd and last year of studio? What kind of program is it? Is it for a BS in Arch? I ask because at my college, for a BArch, there are 5 years of studio.

Edit: I'll add what helped me, I'm pretty sure everyone goes through this at some point. I tried to renew my love for architecture, and did so pretty well. Check out some architecture magazines, go on a small field trip to a good building nearby (2-3 hour drive away, something you never got a chance to see). I also highly reccomend these two books on architectural history/theory. Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas and Learning from Las Vegas by Robert Venturi. I found them both very interesting and, no offense to the theorists of the early 20th century, but these are a little more for our time.

Not explicitly about casinos, but Robert Venturi’s Learning from Las Vegas is interesting

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Las-Vegas-Forgotten-Architectural/dp/026272006X