I can see where setting you off on restaurant settings/styles/architecture makes sense. It is a concrete example (like Mav stated) of form and function, art and utility. To elaborate a bit. When you are asked to design an eatery it is important to find out what they will serve, who they anticipate their clients will be and where they will be located. You will rarely find an eatery that serves pizza, fries, hot dogs and hamburgers dressed up in rich mahogany tables, upholstered furniture and chairs and chandelier lighting. Instead they generally have inexpensive plastic or arborite tables & chairs, bright neon or spotlights and a kitchen most often in plain view. When the building is 'stand alone' it will generally be painted in bright colours, have large windows - often around three sides - and some outdoor plastic furniture.

A restaurant that serves fine cuisine will *never* be in that type of building. You might have French doors with brass handles, discreetly tinted windows that you can't see through from the outside, a foyer before entering restaurant proper, high ceilings and columns, discreet nooks and a kitchen hidden from view.

So this is just to start you off on that type of thinking...when someone asks you to design an office building you will know to ask "what do you do, who are your clients, what look do you want to project?"


AS TO READING: First, there is the accurate point that reading stimulates the mind. A mind that is stimulated is more likely to come up with ideas. Secondly, the mark of a good writer is that he can make you feel as if you are 'there' because his descriptions are that good. How often have you read a book in which the author describes the setting, building, house etc. It is a good gauge on what is considered attractive or not. If several authors are saying "gaudy pillars framed the front door" you know pillars framing doors are out of favor.