25 Gift Ideas For Architects (2022)
25 Gift Ideas For Architects (2022)
The charm of a good gift lasts long after it’s unwrapped
We’ve put up a list of 25 worthwhile gifts full of pretty little details. Gifts that will enhance your architect’s productivity, delight them with their beauty or simply make their life happier. Design is always slick and thoughtful and Form and function are at all times on point with these presents — curating to meet the needs of today: Less stress and more snacks, self-care, and travel.
It’s important to mention that we genuinely love these products and no, we haven’t been bribed to include them in this list (though we’ll happily agree to be corrupted next year).
Without further ado, these are, as of 2022, our favourite seasonal gifts for everyone who appreciates good design, naughty or nice…
(If you are the architect in question, make sure you share the article with the right person)
1. An Architectour Guide of London
The guide that elicits joy and wonder — emphasis on wonder. From London’s truest icons to the glitzy little secrets (hidden staircases, Brutalist buildings and architectural discoveries of a lifetime), this guide aims to make your London explorations as thrilling as falling in love for the first time. Plan your city outings with this guide and, if you want to build up to the experience, be informed that no images will spoil your visits; this book is only made of sketches.
Perfect for: the experienced traveller
Price: £50
Buy here ⇄
2. A difficult-to-get Omega x Swatch timepiece
We know — it’s far from breaking news at this point — but the Omega x Swatch BioCeramic Speedmaster MoonSwatch Collection is becoming more and more coveted since its launch on March 24th. A series of 11 timepieces in a variety of colours, all based on the Speedmaster Professional case and design, each inspired by a different body in our solar system. Swatch, known for accessibility, irreverence, and colour and Omega, known for luxury, quality, and innovation have created a watch that is synonymous with one of humankind’s greatest achievements.
Perfect for: the dreamer (who has a hard time arriving on time)
Price: £210
Buy here ⇄
3. A smart leather watch box
Shall we admit now that we’re fascinated by time? We find watches, planners and calendars the essence of form and function, on a more ephemeral kind of way. That’s why if your dear architect has spent a great deal of money on watches (also known as entering adult age) this might be a great solution to multiply the joy of owning too many of them.
Perfect for: the architect that has too many watches
Price: £199
Buy here ⇄
4. Well designed cutlery
We love food, eating it, preparing it and, most importantly, sharing it. Hosting lunches and dinners becomes even more exciting with the right cutlery. What we love about Cutipol — besides their impeccable functional design and light weight — is the fact that not everybody will appreciate its qualities. But when they do, you’ll know those are the kind of guests that deserve to be invited again. This is the sort of gift you won’t buy to yourself but that you’ll cherish forever when given to you.
Perfect for: the entertainer
Price: from £300
Buy here ⇄
5. A National Trust Membership
There are so many places in the UK that are worth visiting: Castles, former residences and even the archaeological site of Stonehenge. Having a membership will give you free access to monuments that you didn’t even know they existed. If your dear architect is behaving like a workaholic, or even worse, hasn’t seen the outdoors for the most part of the year, this membership is a kind gift for her.
Perfect for: the museum fan
Price: £76.80
Buy here ⇄
6. A desk chair by Charles and Ray Eames (1950)
Having a design chair — the naughtiest of dreams for an architect. If your dear architect has absolutely everything in life, this might be the truly one thing to make her happy. Be warned though, she will protect it as Gollum protects the ring and nobody other than her would ever be allowed to actually sit down. In fact, she might never dare sit down herself.
Perfect for: the one that (still) works from home
Price: £1,000
Buy here ⇄
7. Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Despite having no formal training as a planner, Jane Jacobs (1916–2006), was an urbanist and activist whose writings championed an innovative, community approach to city building. The Death and Life of Great American Cities introduced ground-breaking ideas about how cities function, evolve and fail. The impact of Jane Jacobs’s observation, activism, and writing has led to a ‘planning blueprint’ for generations of architects, planners, politicians and activists to practice. A must read.
Perfect for: the book lover
Price: £5.70
Buy here ⇄
8. A wooden reading rest
Reading is a fun aspect of being an architect, unless, you know, you are doing an Architecture PhD and have to do it all day long. Anyways, reading something heavy (literally) with the right support can be quite relieving. We’ll confess we’ve sometimes used this as an alternative to visiting the physio but most of the time is because we love (and when we say love we mean we are obsessed) with books. Reading is indeed a delight.
Perfect for: those who spend too much time reading heavy books
Price: £99
Buy here ⇄
9. Book a Contemporary Tour of London
This increasingly popular tour in London is hosted by Architectour and it’s already making an impression (according to our fans, but mainly to our mothers). Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration but if you want get inspiration by the world’s top contemporary buildings, joining one of our Contemporary Tours and seeing these gems in a real-life scale will have quite an impression on you.
Perfect for: the explorers
Price: £140
Buy here ⇄
10. Architect’s calendar 2023
Why buy a regular diary when you can choose an architectural one? We’ve always thought of calendars as an aspirational thing: A 12-month space containing dreams, successes and progress overall. If you’re going to spend a great deal of time looking at that life compilation, it better be a good one.
Perfect for: the eternal planner
Price: £36
Buy here ⇄
11. Harry Potter And The Cursed Child (Parts I & II)
If your dear architect talks a lot about Delirious New York by Koolhaas and is fascinated by all the unbuilt architecture in general, she definitely needs less philosophising and more relaxing. Let’s put books aside (maybe just for a day) and enjoy a West End Show in the hope she will finally relax that mind of hers. This play is extremely well produced: The flying actors, moving stage and overall magical tricks. However, is the excitement of sharing the ‘oohhhs’ and ‘aaaahhss’ with a bunch of Potterheads that will truly bring the right atmosphere.
Perfect for: the Harry Potter fan
Price: From £130
Buy here ⇄
12. A Yayoi Kusama champagne bottle
The iconic Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama, sends a cheerful message to the whole world by imagining a unique, joyful and colourful creation specifically made for Veuve Clicquot. If you intend to welcome 2023 with bubbles, you might as well want to make it extra chic!
Perfect for: the champagne lover
Price: £160
Buy here ⇄
13. A Table Tennis Set
After the pandemic, we’ve become obsessed with all things wellness. We find yoga matts, weights and running shoes as essential as AutoCAD, Photoshop and pencils. That’s why, if you haven’t got a lot of time to exercise (or socialise for that matter), this set will help you keep active. Your non-architect friend might have recommended it years ago and now we reassure you. From architect to architect.
Perfect for: those who need to move their bodies
Price: £11.99
Buy here ⇄
14. A Tight-Cuddles candle
We’ve tried a bunch of expensive candles and while Feu de Bois is the one and only, we’ve discovered some others that are worth the coins. This candle smells of a cozy night under a blanket in winter. It feels like the warmth of a cuddle in a candle and in all honesty, December and January would be unbearable without it.
Perfect for: the one that has recently moved to a new house
Price: £25.99
Buy here ⇄
15. Happy Socks
That moment when you realised that your colleague on that Teams call might have been bare feet was a turning point of your career (as if you worked in high heels from your home office). They say socks are the new shoes, hence getting a nice comfy pair is worth the investment.
Perfect for: those who no longer wear shoes
Price: £11.95
Buy here ⇄
16. A folding bike
What about the commuters? We hear you say. Don’t you worry as we also have the perfect gift for those who don’t — or mostly won’t — work from home: an urban bike that weighs just 7.45 Kg and folds like no other. Andrew Ritchie, the founder, obsessed over that 40 years ago, and has brought two-wheel riding back to what it used to be — fun.
Perfect for: the commuter
Price: from £4,100 (they have cheaper versions)
Buy here ⇄
17. A piece of art
Besides collecting all things architecture, your dear architect might also be an emerging art collector. It all began with postcards and posters, but now they want to get real. Why not beginning a collection with one of our original London drawings? There is only one of each location, making it exclusive, but they are all the same size, which makes them look good when together.
Perfect for: the emerging art collector
Price: From £70
Buy here ⇄
18. A sturdy suitcase for world travels
Talking about making winter more bearable, let’s plan future travels! Assuming short trips are more feasible during these times of potential recession, a small cabin suitcase should suffice. We’ve tried — and arguably broken — a lot. We’ve suffered the pain of their weight and the unease of their wheels. That’s why we highly recommend this Rimowa Cabin U model: 4-wheel spinner, less than 2 Kg and sturdy as a beast.
Perfect for: the explorer
Price: £445
Buy here ⇄
19. Beautiful napkins for beautiful food
Research shows that eating a meal in good company increases our happiness and gives us a greater sense of wellbeing. It enables us to relish in positive and enjoyable experiences, however big or small. These beautiful napkins will not only help to have a positive impact on the guest receiving the meal, but also on the host preparing it.
Perfect for: those who take their meals seriously
Price: £42
Buy here ⇄
20. A wine pourer that keeps wine in perfect condition for up to a year
In vino veritas, one of those delightful truths of life. We consider ourselves experts in this matter — at drinking it but maybe one day also at making it — and there’s no worse feeling than opening a great bottle of wine knowing that part of it will be wasted. Some bottles are special, and deserve to be enjoyed over the course of time without going off. That’s why this gadget is a revolutionary, it allows you to preserve still wines for weeks, months, or even years.
Perfect for: the wine lover
Price: £249.90
Buy here ⇄
21. A cervical chiropractic pillow
Amongst the many relaxing things one can do before going to bed, spending 10 minutes on this pillow is perhaps the most impactful action. By this small gesture, your neck stretches your shoulders relax and your brain finally receives an effective cue to shut down. Reminding ourselves to breathe is necessary. And do it so with the right posture is even more important.
Perfect for: the workaholic
Price: £29.99
Buy here ⇄
22. Zaha Hadid ‘Niche’ table centrepiece with interposable elements
We need to confess that we’ve bought dozens of Alessi products just because they were beautiful—a juicer that looks better on the living room shelf than in the kitchen and an expresso coffee maker that is so painful to clean that has never been used, among other impulsive purchases. However, this centrepiece is not only beautiful when empty, it also works really well when full.
Perfect for: the Zaha Hadid fan
Price: £175
Buy here ⇄
23. A new pair of headphones
Do the Apple-owned noise cancelling headphones live up to the hype? Welllllll… We aren’t a big fan of its sound in terms of reliability. But, if you want to have fun, these are your headphones. They are where the party in terms of headphones is and given that your architect probably needs some fun while modelling, they will be everything they need.
Perfect for: the music enthusiast
Price: From £199.95
Buy here ⇄
24. Sea salts for a calming bath
Anything involving water is a good gift in general as there aren’t many architects — or humans — who are able to survive without it. Sea salts are the goddess of all great baths — they are known for their therapeutic and healing properties, as well as their ability to ease stress and boost your overall health. To finish the day, get the bath running, pour some great smelling salts and dissolve the day away. A bubble bath has to be one of life’s greatest pleasures (that and working on AutoCAD for a day without any fatal errors).
Perfect for: those who’ve earned a break
Price: Support your local business :)
25. Clean air
Successfully funded through a crowdfunding campaign (we’ve been there too!), Briiv is the world’s most sustainable air purifier. What’s beautiful about it is that it uses natural biodegradable resources to filter the air. Three types of filters are included: reindeer moss, coconut coir fiber, and silk matrix. The air filter is small and compact, so it maximises the space in your home or office — and you can control it from your phone or using the touch-free interface.
Perfect for: those who need to sleep better
Price: £329
Buy here ⇄
Shopping for overly-picky, demanding and self-righteous architects should be fun. We hope you enjoyed this list and are now full of ideas for this Christmas. If you’re around London during the festive season, make sure to check our London Guide or book one of our tours.
And now… let’s bring on the cookies and milk! Ho Ho Ho! 🎅🏼🎄