A most delightful gift list for Christmas 2023

If you’re already counting down the days until Christmas — some of us enthusiastically, as in Love Actually — you’ll likely be busy putting up a tree, making gift lists and organising your festive agenda. Most of all though, rejoicing in all these activities. Truly, what a pleasure. 

Like every year, 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 present at all times — curating to meet the needs of today: Less stress and more enjoyment, 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 2023, 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 — two of the most delightful aspects of travelling. 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 leather magazine file

Shall we admit now — in the digital era — that we’re still fascinated by paper? We find books, planners and magazines the essence of form and function, on an eternal kind of way. That’s why if your dear architect has spent a great deal of money on magazines (also known as entering the more mature architectural age) this might be a great solution to keep things beautifully organised.

Perfect for: the magazine collector
Price: £99
Buy here ⇄

3. The ultimate architect’s scale

Working with our own tools is a blessing — some architects still carry their first tape measure, and some of us (accidentally) bring it everywhere in our purse. The confort that comes from relying on the same tools makes it important to invest in solid new additions; and colourful set like this one will help you in your mission to enjoy more your job. Just for the record, some of our best designs happen at our desks, with our regular stationery!

Perfect for: the workaholic
Price: £10
Buy here ⇄

4. La crème de la crème of milk frothers

Do you know any architects that don’t like coffee? Yeah, us neither. Anything involving coffee is a good gift in general as the experience can be soothing. To take a break, ground coffee beans, froth the milk and plan the afternoon until the delightful smell invades the kitchen is one of life’s greatest pleasures (that and working on AutoCAD for a day without any fatal errors).

Perfect for: the coffee addict
Price: £89
Buy here ⇄

5. A Happiness Neom 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: £50
Buy here ⇄

6. Modernist Match Box

Successfully founded by building their own retail distribution network (we’ve been there too!), Blue Crow Media goes beyond printing books. Modernist Matchbox No 1 — Trellick Tower is the first in their new collection of handsome matchboxes to use, collect and share. Featuring striking illustrations by Paul Catherall, the collection begins with Goldfinger’s Trellick Tower.

Perfect for: those who have expensive candles
Price: £9.95
Buy here ⇄

7. Architecture-inspired jewelry

We need to confess that we’ve bought dozens of extravagant earrings just because they were beautiful — but there’s something extra charming in buying jewelry that has a meaning, one that only other architects will be able to recognise. This brand is inspired by intricate buildings and their iconic floor plans. The best part, however, is that they do more than earrings.

Perfect for: the vainest architect
Price: £67
Buy here ⇄

8. Gotham, the font

There might be very few people who know that the Gotham typeface is one of the most popular within the fonts industry. In 2000 GQ commissioned the typographers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones to draw a sans-serif typeface. Gotham gained visibility when it appeared on the cornerstone of One World Trade Center, but most people came to know it in 2008 when the campaign of Barack Obama adopted it for its logo and printed matter.

Perfect for: the one who prints frequently
Price: From £150
Buy here ⇄

9. 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: £84
Buy here ⇄

10. A Brutalist Tour of London

This increasingly popular tour in London is hosted by Architectour and it’s indeed 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 concrete buildings, joining one of our Brutalist Tours and seeing these gems in a real-life scale will have quite an impression on you.

Perfect for: the explorers
Price: £210
Buy here ⇄

11. Hand-crafted paper leaf incense

Amongst the many relaxing things one can do before going to bed, burning a bit of incense is perhaps the oldest trick to set the mood. As by this small gesture, your brain received an effective cue to shut down. Reminding ourselves to breathe is necessary. We also dim the lights a little to make winding down even more pleasant.

Perfect for: the mindful architect
Price: £36
Buy here ⇄

12. An inspiring biography

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 inspiring in other creative disciplines can be quite uplifting. We’ll confess we adored the work and story of Georgia O’ Keefe even before we read the book, but having this physical piece of her story feels powerful. When we say we love books we really mean we are obsessed.

Perfect for: those who want to be inspired
Price: £21.79
Buy here ⇄

13. An iconic Flos lamp

They say that everything looks different under the right light, and we’ll add that this is especially true under an iconic Flos lamp. For over 50 years Flos have been innovators in lighting design. Connecting with masters of design, discovering new talents, commanding high technical and technological status, and staying tuned into mass culture. If your dear architect is finishing the year with some trouble, we hope this helps to shed some light on her problems.

Perfect for: the expensive furniture enthusiast
Price: £2,250
Buy here ⇄

14. A Flatiron Model

Modelling is a fun aspect of being an architect, unless you have long been traumatised during your training years. Anyways, a finished model is something different, not having to do the work can also be quite refreshing regardless of past trauma. We’ll confess we’ve used LEGO in the past as an alternative to visiting the psychologist but in this case the model is finished, so you’ll just have to admire one of New York City’s most iconic buildings: 175 Fifth Avenue, better known as the Flatiron building.

Perfect for: the model experts
Price: £155
Buy here ⇄

15. Afternoon tea experience

Afternoon Tea is the most quintessential of English traditions. It evolved as a mini meal to stem the hunger and anticipation of an evening meal at 8pm and it has become the way of never making it to dinner. London’s hotels, restaurants and cafés have been perfecting the spread and nowadays you’ll find plenty of great options to treat yourself — none of them cheap we must say. So if you’re splashing the cash on this experience, you might as well enjoy the crème de la crème.

Perfect for: the tea enthusiast
Price: from £29.75 per person
Get inspired here ⇄

16. A Bauhaus-inspired teapot

And on the subject of tea, why not elevate the experience at home too? We love anything Bauhaus, especially anything involving precise geometrical components, that’s why this teapot works both as a tool and as a piece of decoration. The depiction of forms is inspired by Oskar Schlemmer’s ‘Triadisches Ballett’ and it’s possible to buy matching cups as well. 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 tea enthusiast
Price: £68
Buy here ⇄

17. Ergometer Rowing Machine

If your dear architect talks a lot about Delirious New York by Koolhaas and is fascinated by all the unbuilt architecture in general, he definitely needs less philosophising and more exercising. This rowing machine is the ideal fitness tool to get in shape (you’ll be using up to 84% of your total muscle mass in every stroke) while letting your frustrations go. In summary, the happiest of combinations. So even if Koolhaas makes him happy, this machine will make him even happier.

Perfect for: those who spend too much time in front of a computer
Price: £1,299
Buy here ⇄

18. A white Moleskine (the best there is)

Why Moleskine? A question all architects get asked at some point in their lives. We wish we had a compelling answer but the truth is we are big fans of it because it feels right. Moleskine is amongst the few stationary products that have a BLANK option. Nada on the page amigo. And that feels good. Thinking, sketching and planning on a blank Moleskine page can’t go wrong. Have you ever seen a bad drawing on a Moleskine? Exactly, us neither!

Perfect for: the urban sketcher
Price: £17.99
Buy here ⇄

19. Caran D’Ache mechanical pencil — Paul Smith Limited Edition

Why buy a regular pencil when you can spend a fortune on a Caran D’Ache mechanical one? We’ve always thought of stationary as aspirational items: Tools that shape dreams, successes and progress overall. If you’re going to spend a great deal of time creating a life compilation, it better be a good one.

Perfect for: the sketcher
Price: £79.90
Buy here ⇄

20. Little House Erasers

The most brilliant minds have one thing in common: They’ve made some wrong turns and big mistakes along the way. This set of erasers, which will forever remind us of Herzog & de Meuron’s Vitra House, will be a powerful reminder that admitting your mistakes is a sign of strength, openness and vulnerability. And one will wonder, did Pierre and Jacques have a set like this? 🤔

Perfect for: the thinkers
Price: £8
Buy here ⇄

21. INSTAX mini 12 by Fujifilm

The fact that most photos are taken with an iPhone doesn’t surprise us anymore. When you see a photographer carrying a big lense, trypod, GoPro, its dome and a drone you can’t help but look at her back to check if she’s ok. Hint: she’s not. That’s why we highly recommend this little camera. It’s fun and easy to carry, and photos won’t sit in their SD card forever waiting to be printed. Sometimes instantaneous is all you need.

Perfect for: the photography lover with back pain
Price: £79.99
Buy here ⇄

22. Leg Corbusier

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: £9
Buy here ⇄

23. Concrete Eau de Parfum

And we couldn’t resist this one. Concrete is beautiful and sober regardless of scale. But let’s be honest, the chances of you living in an exposed concrete building are limited so having a little concrete piece of art with Comme Des Garçons spice sigature is really something.

Perfect for: the well-groomed architect
Price: £120
Buy here ⇄

24. Jenga

We’ll admit having this jenga game at the office and rarely using it. But it looks so good, let’s be honest. If you glance at your games with pride, you’ll love this colourful edition. This set is not only beautiful, it teaches balance and strategy, all in the form of a skyscraper — no skills required. It’s a classic among architects for a reason.

Perfect for: the playful architect
Price: This coloured edition is £30, you can find cheaper versions from £10
Buy here ⇄

25. 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 ⇄

 

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! 🎅🏼🎄