Pictorial Encyclopedia of Historic Architectural Plans, Details and Elements: With 1880 Line Drawings of Arches, Domes, Doorways, Facades, Gables, Win

I bought this book while still a student in architecure school. After many, many years of professional practice I still regularly pull this book off my shelf when I need a jolt out of "designer's block". This book is a reference tool and nothing else. It contains many reference sketches from a variety of architectural elements including but not limited to plan form layouts, facade massing elements, door and window surround details. It is not highly detailed in terms of each and every line and form. It is however highly useful for forms and massing. Just what the designer sometimes needs to generate an idea when design ideas don't seem to be forthcoming easily. I have actually used sketches for say a gate and then adapted an idea developed from it to formulate an entry detail unrelated to a gate. Often the finished idea does not look like the sketch found in this book from which it originated...but then that is the idea of a designer...sometimes all we need is as concept or spark of an idea to let our imiginations develop it into the final product. Of all the architectual books I own (and there are many) this one has been used by me the most.

As an artist, long have I looked for books helping to graphically show in simple detail elements of architecture. Perfect for medieval to pre-industrial societies, designing literally everything structural. A must resource for village and city design, if only there were more like this. Less text, tons of graphics, all straight and simple, clean lines, clear and useable well thought out pieces for difficult puzzles.