(Part 2) Best architectural presentation books according to redditors
We found 614 Reddit comments discussing the best architectural presentation books. We ranked the 251 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
I totally love the Christopher Alexander books. Definitely check out his The Timeless Way of Building which is a great companion piece to A Pattern Language. You should know that his works, while great in my opinion, are sort of considered idiosyncratic and not really in the mainstream of architecture/urban design.
Here's a short reading list you should look at:
The Smart Growth Manual and Suburban Nation by Andres Duany & Jeff Speck. Another set of sort-of-companion works, the Manual has a concrete set of recommendations inspired by the critique of modern town planning in Suburban Nation and might be more useful for your purposes.
The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs is probably the most famous and influential book on city planning ever and contains a lot of really original and thoughtful insights on cities. Despite being over half-a-century old it feels very contemporary and relevant.
The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler is similarly mostly a critique of modernist planning principles but is both short and very well written so I'd definitely recommend checking it out.
Makeshift Metropolis by Witold Rybczynski: I can't recommend this entire book, but it does contain (in my opinion) the best summary of the history of American urban planning. Really useful for a historical perspective on different schools of thought in city design over the years.
The High Cost of Free Parking by Donald Shoup is the book on parking policy. It's huge (700+ pages) and very thorough and academic, so it might be harder to get through than the other, more popular-audience-oriented titles on the list, but if you want to include parking as a gameplay element, I really can't recommend it highly enough. It's a problem that's thorny enough most city games just ignore it entirely: Simcity2013's developers say they abandoned it after realizing it would mean most of their players' cities would be covered in parking lots, ignoring that most actual American cities are indeed covered in parking lots.
Finally there's a bunch of great blogs/websites out there you should check out: Streetsblog is definitely a giant in transportation/design blogging and has a really capable team of journalists and a staggering amount of content. Chuck Marohn's Strong Towns blog and Podcast are a great source for thinking about these issues more in terms of smaller towns and municipalities (in contrast to Streetsblog's focus on major metropolitan areas). The Sightline Daily's blog does amazing planning/transpo coverage of the Pacific Northwest. Finally [The Atlantic Cities] (http://www.theatlanticcities.com/) blog has incredible coverage on city-issues around the world.
I hope this was helpful and not overwhelming. It's a pretty big (and in my opinion, interesting) topic, so there's a lot of ground to cover even in an introductory sense.
I am assuming from your profile that you are in the U.S. and will be attending a U.S. school.
First of all, I echo what others have said about questioning "Architecture Engineering". Architecture and Engineering are related but otherwise completely different disciplines. Yes, you use some mathematics and engineering knowledge when practicing architecture, and many engineers also use design principles, but in terms of your education these are very different majors. If I had to guess based upon other programs I've seen, I would hazard that "Architecture Engineering" is some kind of composite course that covers bits of Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Construction Engineering, maybe Mechanical Systems (HVAC, Plumbing, Etc.), and maybe even Construction Management. Each of these is difficult academic program all its own, and I can't imagine there being meaningful time for any sort of Architecture Studio curriculum, let alone interior design.
That said, you need to decide if you want to go into Design(Architecture/Interior Design) or Engineering first; don't waste time and money pursuing programs that you aren't interested in. If your goal is to become a practicing, licensed architect then you need to get a NCARB accredited degree from an accredited College of Architecture. This usually takes the form of getting an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Architecture followed by a Master of Architecture. The Master's degree is the actual accredited, professional degree which is required in order to become licensed. Of course, that means you could study whatever you wanted as your undergraduate degree and still apply to a Master program, but I think you'd be very lost without the solid foundation that an undergraduate architecture degree gives. During or following school, you also must intern under a licensed Architect who will sign off on how many hours you work for the Architecture Experience Program. Once you have completed these hour requirements as well as the professional architecture degree from your Masters, you must pass the Architectural Registration Exam, a series of exams which test your capabilities and education. Finally, after that, you may legally practice architecture and call yourself ARCHITECT.
So, regarding your questions, it's VERY important that you start actually researching the profession of architecture to see if it's even what you want to do. I HIGHLY recommend you read Architect? A Candid Guide To The Profession by Roger Lewis. It's the most accurate, thorough and honest overview of the entire process of practicing architecture that I've found. Architecture is a competitive field which requires an intense dedication and discipline to mastering a wide array of complex and disparate skills. It costs a lot of money and at least 7 or so years of your life to become an architect. One upside is that the skills you learn can be applied to all kinds of other industries, though, so many people don't even stick with architecture following graduation but find work in all kinds of other design fields.
Architects, in general, don't make very much money. In general, you won't really be hitting your stride in your profession until your early 50s. Most of this job is sitting down at a computer/desk for very long periods of time doing very monotonous work for someone else. In practicing professionally, you'll find that most people want a simple box for their home/business, and would much rather spend their money on their families/a boat/investments than a nice building. I don't say all this to be cynical, but it's just part of it you have to be ready for. Most of this job is enormously fulfilling, but it's on you to find that.
If, after all of this, you are still interested in Architecture, here's my recommendation for preparing for the Fall:
Of course, this is all based upon my own meandering experience, and parts of this probably don't apply to every person. Take it with a grain of salt.
Feel free to DM me if you have any further questions. Good luck!
I've found this book really helpful for different techniques. They cover hand drawing and rendering techniques as well as some tips for how to tweak things in Photoshop to achieve certain results.
I found a copy at my library and eventually found a cheaper used one to keep on hand for reference.
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Drawing-Techniques-Architects-Landscape/dp/0471741906/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333056540&sr=8-1
In my intro GIS class, we used this book. It is friendly to learning the basics of the program and some geoprocessing.
In the next class, we moved to this one, which overlaps some and expands more on the geoprocessing bit.
Each book comes with a 6 month license for ArcMap 10.0.
There are two books that are decent
SystemVerilog for Verification and SystemVerilog for Design
I have found The Designer's Guide to VHDL by Peter Ashenden to be a god-send for learning VHDL from a language perspective. I have found nothing as good for SystemVerilog. Those two books I mentioned are close though.
My personal opinion is that SystemVerilog is cool, but frankly just an unmitigated shit-show of language design. They should be ashamed of how poor it is.
There is no concept of a standard library, and things that should be in a standard library are core language. Then there is this idea of a "Verification Methodology" like OVM and UVM, which are libraries, but they are glued into the core language through MACROS!!! MACROS!! I'm not kidding. It is almost comical how bad it is.
As I've said before. We need an open source simulator that can handle multiple language simulations, and then to replace this mess with something modern and awesome.
I would also suggest checking out this guys stuff http://syswip.com/. It is a little funny in some places, but it really helped me understand so of the approaches that a designer could take. The approach a UVM guy would take, is sadly, almost completely different than this. I don't think it is better though depending on what you are doing.
design drawing
(not an architect, but it was helpful to me. may be more general than what you are looking for, but does include sketching.)
I think so :) There's loads on amazon and such, I have this and one similar to this at the minute for when I just need to distract myself and not really think about anything :)
http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Foundation-Engineering-Braja-Das/dp/0495668109
That book had a fairly good explanation, however it was more on the soil side. No rebar calcs or anything like that... It focuses more on bearing capacity of the wall
Fun! I remember free-hand drawing elevations of the house I lived in around your age. You might ask for Architectural Graphics by Francis Ching. It is a good introduction to architectural drawing concepts and techniques.
Andres Duany is an authority in American urban planning that has strongly influenced my perspectives on all of this. He co-authored one book that explains how we got into this mess (Suburban Nation), and another that gives a good overview of what we should do to fix it (Smart Growth Manual). The first is full of good, hard facts and data to back up the claims he makes in the book. Both can be purchased for about $25 on Amazon.
A Jacksonville, Florida newspaper also did a very good comparison of exactly how cheap a streetcar system could be constructed (The Little Rock River Rail) with the bloated inefficiencies that stemmed from the overenthusiastic plans for a tram in Jacksonville (that still hasn't been built).
This site offers a continuation of the debate using the same two examples
Here's a list of rail transit systems in the US if you want to compare and contrast. I figured you might find it interesting.
Houston is a good example of what happens when we fail to distinguish 'good' growth from 'bad' growth. I always joke about how suburban Houston follows a template of a Kroger, and HEB, a Walgreens and Super Target that seems to be stamped onto the landscape at every major intersection. Its hard to imagine converting the mess into more urban communities, but if we use these clusters of commercial development to anchor higher-density residential growth along the edges that are tied together with designated pedestrian and public transit corridors, we will free up large quantities of land to further intensify development when parking areas are no longer needed and when big-box stores reach the ends of their life cycles (which usually top off at about 25 to 30 years). Remember that most commercial growth in suburban areas is, more or less, disposable. We can use this to our advantage to allow redevelopment to take place in an orderly and incremental manner.
The development of pedestrian corridors is not as expensive and complicated as you would think. The biggest problems are the single-use development patterns and the meandering streets that developers use to create a sense of depth to the subdivisions. In suburban areas, the house located behind yours may be over a mile away by road. The good thing about pedestrian corridors is that they don't really require large rights of way and they can be squeezed into areas where roads can't be (between houses). Geographically, most homes in the suburbs really aren't that far away from activity centers (as I like to call them), but the collector/distributor road systems employed can turn that short trek into a very time-consuming ordeal. If pedestrian corridors could offer a sort of short-cut to these, the time required to walk somewhere could compete with the time required to drive there. Once you get people moving on their feet, you'll really start to see changes to the landscape.
Within suburbia, I think the areas in close proximity to activity centers will enjoy the best chances for survival in the future. I think that the rest of the periphery will turn into less-desirable and low-income areas. But the saving grace in all of this is that household sizes in poor areas are usually larger than those in more affluent areas, so my prediction is that density in suburban areas may actually increase with an influx of poor people being pushed out from gentrifying inner-city neighborhoods. And since the reliance on public transportation would be carried with them, I think an increase in transit use in suburban areas would follow as well. So in the end, the urban shake-up may actually have the unintended consequence of dramatically improving the efficiency of the suburban landscape, but that's just my opinion.
Because this is such a HUGE topic, check out my other posts on this thread for some additional ways we could further modify these areas to make public transit and pedestrianism more viable. Sorry it took me so long to respond to your post. Let me know if you want me to clarify anything further.
In my humble opinion, the following are great and important reads for a newcomer into the subject.
Experiencing Architecture by Rasmussen
Any and ALL of Frank Ching's books, starting with Form, Space and Order
Sun, Wind, and Light is a timeless reference book.
The Dynamics of Architectural Form by Rudolf Arnheim is a great study on environmental psychology.
Also, Pattern Language if you're a complete masochist and really want to go DEEP into the subject.
I've got more if you're interested, but that should keep you busy for quite a while haha. Best of luck and I hope you find them as enjoyable as I have.
http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Foundation-Engineering-Braja-Das/dp/0495668109
http://www.amazon.com/Foundation-Design-Principles-Practices-Edition/dp/0135897068/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415146021&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=foundation+design+cudotu
API RP 2A, 21st edition contains foundation design guidelines. API RP 2GEO is the latest API foundation design document but is not widely adopted yet. Both are good resources if API codes are being used in your jurisdiction.
A site-specific geotechnical report should be used for any significant installation and should provide details on how to design foundations for your specific site.
This book looks like it could be useful but I haven't used it myself. I typically use a general foundation engineering book for background and the site specific geotechnical reports for more detailed information.
For starters there's a couple of good books on amazon...This is the one that I use.
Fundamentals of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing by Alex Krulikowski
PM me if you want to talk more.
This is the book I used:
https://www.amazon.com/Geometric-Dimensioning-Tolerancing-David-Madsen/dp/1605259381/ref=pd_sim_14_10?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1605259381&pd_rd_r=WQ2JXCM5KNMT07AGPN7C&pd_rd_w=nAFqV&pd_rd_wg=phYwy&psc=1&refRID=WQ2JXCM5KNMT07AGPN7C
Alternatively, you could always go straight to the source:
https://www.asme.org/products/codes-standards/y145-2009-dimensioning-and-tolerancing
https://www.asme.org/shop/certification-accreditation/personnel-certification/gdtp-y14-5-geometric-dimensioning-and-tolerancing
I would Recommend Francis D.K. Chings Architectural Graphics
Some of my students have also had good luck with The Architect's Studio Companion
Cool renderings. What program/engine are you using?
Ching: Form, Space and Order
A wonderful book. Hand drawn and hand lettered.
For ISO drawings my go to is this.
Precedents in Architecture: Analytic Diagrams, Formative Ideas, and Partis is an excellent book of examples. It's expensive, but your school's library should have it (if not multiple copies).
Good luck!
Nice work. if youre interested in improving your hand rendering skills check this out. some of it is pretty tough, but just duplicating it will make you better. lots of different techniques in there.
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Drawing-Techniques-Architects-Landscape/dp/0471741906
If you are looking for reference material, look also for references to Pro/Engineer Wildfire, which is what it used to be called. Not too much changed between Pro/E and Creo beyond adding a ribbon instead of menus.
When I was learning, I used an earlier version of this textbook:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585038156/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
And it was very helpful. Creo is in many ways very unintuitive, so having a book was great.
I really, really enjoy Color, Space, and Style- lots of great information. Prescedents of Architecture is great as well.
You might want to check at r/Architecture for more advice, though, since the Interior Design sub is sadly not geared towards actual Interior Design.
i am reposting these links i provided in this thread.
Check out these free Google E-books Alphabets and other materials for letterers, Ames alphabets,Alphabets. They all have a few examples of Fraktur. I also recommend Fraktur Mon Amour. And never stop practicing.
Two of my favorites:
http://www.amazon.com/101-Things-Learned-Architecture-School/dp/0262062666
http://www.amazon.com/Archidoodle-Architects-Activity-Steve-Bowkett/dp/1780673213/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449462767&sr=1-1&keywords=archidoodle
The Intro to GIS course my university offers uses a book called Getting to Know ArcGIS that I found pretty easy-to-use and helpful when I took the class a while back.
Francis Chings books a really good place to start, i still use this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Architecture-Space-Francis-D-K-Ching/dp/0471286168
https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Geometric-Dimensioning-Tolerancing-Krulikowski/dp/1111129827/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J79KBEFH0WKF6KDZ2B0X
Its a steep price but its what I used in my GD&T course.
If you want something like a course with everything broken into pieces and with review questions after each lesson its not bad.
It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!
Here is link number 1 - Previous text "one"
----
^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete
you might like this one next
Black Sirkka is on the Fraktur mon Amour CD, there's some great contemporary frakturs listed in there
Sounds like you need to hit the internet hard or pickup some books on print reading because man, if you're taking CNC classes and can't read a print, you're in over your head. My trade school required manual machining and print reading before being allowed to progress into programming and CNC machining.
Print reading is fundamental and if you can't read a print well, you can't program and you can't decide what strategies to apply to your process. You'll end up an operator without it.
Theres also several different ways tolerance prints, GD&T seems to what everyone is moving to. That being said, about half the prints I get are ASME and the others are GD&T.
You'll have to find out what system is going to be used in your classes and go from there to decide exactly what you need to learn for your education. For GD&T I used: http://amzn.to/2tiWi8T and it was okay but not great. ASME was included in another textbook I had at the time.
Good luck man, print reading is absolutely critical to being successful in this trade and most shops won't look at you twice if you can't read a print.
Edit: Forgot to add to brush up on your trigonometry.
Design Drawing by Francis Ching
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Drawing-Francis-D-Ching/dp/0470533692
He covers perspectives and a host of other architectural drawing types, as well as things like line weight, tone and shading.
Also Architectural Graphics also by Ching.
http://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Graphics-Francis-D-Ching/dp/0470399112/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_z
I'm pretty much learning from scratch myself. I'm using this book, and so far it is very helpful. It comes with a 180 day trial license.
I also got in touch with the professor of a GIS class at my local community college, and though the class isn't being offered in a convenient time frame for me, she sent me her syllabus and offered to answer questions when I have them.
I'm sure you could do something similar wherever you are.
There are also free online tutorials on the ESRI website, and websites with free GIS data to mess around with: 1, 2
Q&A Site for GIS users.
Saw this book and thought of this thread:
ArchiDoodle
It's pretty cheap and would be an easy intro.
System Verilog is just Verilog with OOP, I'd start learning about that first. I'd just get a older edition text book. We used this https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1461407141/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VFTMYSQVKP7Z9GB91S86
It's a 26 story mixed use high rise. The footprint does vary a lot as you move up the building, first 10 floors contain a parking garage plinth (Ungodly, but we're having to work around an existing structure that takes up a quarter of the lot. Because of that, our parking is way less than optimal, but its the best we could do). First floor is retail, and we do have a sky lobby with some building ammenities and a public resturant and some things along those lines. On floors like that, the core takes up a smaller portion of the overall square footage because we have a larger building footprint. We're also restricting the amount of stories of our building because after a certain height we hit a few city ordinances that to implement would make the building less cost efficient.
The 87% is just on our typical office floors. It's actually not the most efficient floors, our first floor is because of the large retail spaces in comparison to the core (larger floor plate with the same core and a negligible additional stair). $$$ for the developer.
On the upper floors, the percentage is a little lower because the overall floor plate is smaller, however the core is the same size. We were able to terminate an egress stair when the floor plate stepped back, but that reclaimed floor space only does so much.
In school, I was taught that the most optimum core would be 1/10th of your floor plate... in real life I haven't seen that achieved too often.
I recommend The Architect's Studio Companion for helping you get a feel for the spaces that make up a core, and sizing them appropriately for your building occupancy type and footprint.
Buy this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Manual-Engineering-Drawing-Specification-Documentation/dp/0080966527
This is your bible for engineering drawing, a copy of BS 8888 is very useful as well as ISO EN 129.
What are you shooting for?
RTL Modeling with SystemVerilog for Simulation and Synthesis: Using SystemVerilog for ASIC and FPGA Design
SystemVerilog for Verification
Pong Chu's Books
Digital Design and Computer Architecture
Xilinx University's Workshop Labs
Intel Workshops
Intel Tutorials
Fundamentals of Building Construction
Building Construction Illustrated
madsen and madsen
edit: this was the one we used at OSU.
precedents in architecture by roger clark will give you a solid basis for rudimentary diagramming. circulation, parti, geometry etc is all covered in the book in a simple and clean way.
http://www.amazon.com/Precedents-Architecture-Analytic-Diagrams-Formative/dp/0470946741/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416148936&sr=8-1&keywords=roger+clark+architecture
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Manual-Engineering-Drawing-Specification-Documentation/dp/0080966527/ref=oosr
The above is a good textbook on engineering drawing, it's based on BS8888.
The most important thing is to think about how a component is going to be manufactured. If you have an array of holes for which the location relative to each other is important then position one relative to your datum and then dimension the rest of them relative to that hole.
Take care with running dimensions as you get compound tolerances.
I'm taking the pre-architecture courses now, and I've recently graduated from a computer drafting program (AutoCAD and Revit with some Sketchup).
If I was going to start over again, I'd want to know how to draw. Definitely develop good line control (through contour, blind contour, and just line drawing exercises).
Model building is another important aspect. It's all about craft and getting familiar with the materials. You may end up using other materials but foamcore and basswood are the two go to materials in my classes.
For now, and my knowledge is limited, if you're going to learn any software, I'd focus more on Photoshop, Sketchup, and Rhino.
Helpful books would be Form, Space, and Order, Design Drawing and Drawing, A Creative Process all by Francis Ching.
I'd also study art and architectural history. Having a good knowledge base of different styles would help you in your own designs.
Find out what CAD package they have or are getting. It sounds like a smaller shop so I'd guess Solidworks or Inventor (typically cheaper).
Then, my recommendation is to pick up a tutorial book. I liked Planchard for Solidworks and Toogood/Zecher for Creo (used to be called Pro/E). This was 7+ years and versions ago, but I remember modeling all the stuff on the cover so the tutorials haven't change much and the quality probably hasn't either. I don't really have recommendations for other packages...once you're on your third it's really just figuring out what the new buttons look like.
You can find tutorials online but they are almost never worth it in a business setting. Most are incomplete and disjointed so you'll waste enough man hours it's worth it to just get the book.
Happy to help.
I'm still no expert but I learned windows scripting out of necessity to save time and make my work life easier and more enjoyable. Telling the machines to do the iterative work while we just watch and monitor is a big part of being a sysadmin IMHO.
Here's a pretty comprehensive page on windows shell commands and such:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Windows_Batch_Scripting
I bought this book a bout a million years ago which helped me understand the more esoteric features of the windows shell and also fill in some knowledge gaps. There's probably better books out there now on the same topic.
If you want to be a scripting wizard for any platform, start looking at unix shell scripting with bash. Read up and develop a competency on utility programs like grep, awk, sed, cut, find, xargs, sort, tr, join. Learn regular expressions with a vengeance and eventually you'll end up at perl.
This book changed my life as an admin. I use many of the same unix skills on Windows by way of Strawberry Perl and GNU Utils for windows in combination with the cmd shell.
Here's the same script in perl which is actually easier for me to write and maintain.
Are you studying ancient construction materials and methods of 500 - 1000 years ago to learn how failures occured back then? Ex Cathedrals falling down
If you want to learn the successful best practices of construction today, you could study Fundamentals of Building Construction : Materials and Methods
Technical books published by Wiley and Sons are typically densely packed with information and worth the expensive cost. I find that if information is very valuable to highly paid professionals, you can't find it on the internet for free.
I'm currently in graduate school. Most of the textbooks I bought were for my technical classes like environmental technology or structures. I have used:
Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius. I used this in my theory class. It's a pretty neat book that offers classic principles of architecture.
The Ethical Function of Architecture This is another theory book that offers more contemporary architectural issues. I'm not the biggest fan of theoretical readings but it's not too bad.
Building Construction Illustrated by Francis Ching
Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings
Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School This is one I think every architecture student should own. Its very small and simple.
Incredibly old, but I still have it on my bookshelf: https://www.amazon.com/Windows-Shell-Scripting-Timothy-Hill/dp/1578700477
Architectural Graphics
Freehand Drawing for Architects and Interior Designers
Design Drawing
These should provide plenty of foundational skills and examples of the kinds of handdrawings you may find useful.
http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Guide-Frame-Construction-GRAPHIC/dp/B001TK58C0/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343273443&sr=1-9&keywords=graphic+guide+to+frame+construction
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Studio-Handbook-Second-Edition/dp/0080890520/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1WGFWI6A2OZ2N&coliid=I16KNZVNIDVF12
http://www.amazon.com/The-Professional-Practice-Architectural-Detailing/dp/0471180165/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1WGFWI6A2OZ2N&coliid=I26JFNT5BY71M6
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Electrical-Equipment-Buildings-Grondzik/dp/0470195657/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1WGFWI6A2OZ2N&coliid=IY5LJHN8CO5I
I read enough stupid philosophy books in college, that shit has absolutely no bearing in the professional world.
%~dp0 if the SCCM guy's best friend.
I learned about this from Tim Hill's excellent book "Shell Scripting" in the 1990s. Still well worth having on your desk.
http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Shell-Scripting-Timothy-Hill/dp/1578700477
JLC has a Field Guide online that I just started reading.
$9.99 for a years subscription to get access to it.
http://www.jlconline.com/how-to/
There is also: https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Electrical-Equipment-Buildings-Grondzik/dp/0470195657
I have a PDF copy if you like.
https://www.amazon.com/Architects-Studio-Companion-Preliminary-Design/dp/0470641916
This is what we used at uni:
https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Building-Construction-Materials-Methods/dp/1118138910
A lot of suggestions for Legos. I may be wrong, but that seems a little juvenile for a 12 year old girl.
I would suggest getting her this book: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Drawing-Techniques-Architects-Landscape/dp/0471741906
Then, when you take her to look at architecture, you can sit for a while and do a sketch. This doesn't just help practice sketching, but also develops an appreciation for architectural details through observation.
Perhaps buy her a book of Frank Lloyd Wright drawings, most of which were done by Marion Mahony, who is responsible for the Wright "style" drafting. They are great inspiration. A short (15m) documentary titled "“A Girl Is A Fellow Here”: 100 Women Architects in the Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright" covers Mahony, who was one of the first woman architects licensed in the world. It can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/5494646
I agree with others who have suggested getting her into shop work, building things is very fulfilling.
Good luck.
I work in the oil and gas industry in the UK at work we use this:
Manual of Engineering Drawing
I find it has most things like welding symbols, dimensioning principles and surface finishes it is pretty much my bible at work.
As for an actual standard like BS8888 they all cost £100+ and I can never find them online.
Hope it helps.
My favorite is a book about what was not built in Los Angeles. Its fascinating to see what LA could have looked like. http://www.amazon.com/Never-Built-Los-Angeles-Lubell/dp/1935202960
I think this might help. Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing by David Madsen. It includes all the symbols and examples of drawings from companies.
https://www.amazon.ca/Geometric-Dimensioning-Tolerancing-David-Madsen/dp/1605259381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481873866&sr=8-1&keywords=Geometric+Dimensioning+and+Tolerancing
If you like black-letter and calligraphy, this is a beautiful book
http://www.amazon.com/Fraktur-Mon-Amour-Judith-Schalansky/dp/156898801X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292733562&sr=1-1