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{{Short description|Art and technique of designing buildings}}
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[[File:View of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=View of Florence showing the dome, which dominates everything around it. It is octagonal in plan and ovoid in section. It has wide ribs rising to the apex with red tiles in between and a marble lantern on top.|In adding the dome to the [[Florence Cathedral]] ([[Italy]]) in the early 15th century, the architect [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] not only transformed the building and the city, but also the role and status of the [[architect]].<ref>{{cite web | publisher=Museo Galileo, Museum and Institute of History and Science | url=http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itineraries/place/TheDomeOfSantaMariaFiore.html | title=The Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401072804/http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/itineraries/place/TheDomeOfSantaMariaFiore.html | access-date=30 January 2013 | archive-date=2013-04-01 | date=1 April 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | first=Giovanni | last=Fanelli | title=Brunelleschi | publisher=Becocci | location=Florence | year=1980 | chapter=The Dome | pages=10–41 }}</ref>]]
[[File:6265 Dessau.JPG|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Bauhaus]] building ([[Germany]]). The [[Bauhaus]] style co-started [[Modern architecture|modernist architecture]].<ref name="archdic">{{cite book |editor-last=Pevsner | editor-first=Nikolaus |others=Fleming, John; Honour, Hugh |title=A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture |year=1999 |type=Paperback |edition=5th |publisher=Penguin Books |location=London |isbn=978-0-14-051323-3 |pages=880}}</ref>]]

'''Architecture''' is the study and practice of [[Graphic design|designing]] structures, especially habitable ones. It utilizes [[civil engineering]] techniques, but is considered a [[visual art]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=architecture – Expression of technique |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/architecture/Expression-of-technique |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=Britannica |language=en}}</ref> It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pierre |first1=Leclercq |first2=Stéphane |last2=Safin |first3=Vincent |last3=Delfosse |doi=10.1007/978-1-84882-733-2_21 |journal=Mixed-Reality Prototypes to Support Early Creative Design |date= October 2010 |title=Phases of an architectural project |hdl=2268/32048 |via=ResearchGate |url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Phases-of-an-architectural-project_fig2_225940863 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418153621/https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Phases-of-an-architectural-project_fig2_225940863 |archive-date= Apr 18, 2023 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> [[planning]], [[design]]ing, and [[construction|constructing]] [[building]]s or other [[Structure#Load-bearing|structure]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/architecture|title=architecture|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-10-27|archive-date=16 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116140643/https://www.britannica.com/topic/architecture|url-status=live}}</ref> The term comes {{etymology|la|{{wikt-lang|la|architectura}}|}}; {{etymology|grc|''{{wikt-lang|grc|ἀρχιτέκτων}}'' ({{grc-transl|ἀρχιτέκτων}})|architect}}; {{etymology||''{{wikt-lang|grc|ἀρχι-}}'' ({{grc-transl|ἀρχι-}})|chief||''{{wikt-lang|grc|τέκτων}}'' ({{grc-transl|τέκτων}})|creator}}. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as [[work of art|works of art]]. Historical [[civilization]]s are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Daniel Cilia|date=2004|first=Anthony|last=Pace|chapter=Tarxien|title=Malta before History – The World's Oldest Free Standing Stone Architecture|publisher=Miranda Publishers|isbn=978-9990985085}}</ref>

The practice of architecture itself, which began in the [[Prehistory|prehistoric era]], has been used as a way of expressing [[culture]] by civilizations on all seven [[continent]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=7 Things I Learned About "Home" from Talking to Architects on Every Continent|url=https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/cultural-architecture-homes-36642082|access-date=2020-12-05|website=Apartment Therapy|language=en|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002048/https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/cultural-architecture-homes-36642082|url-status=live}}</ref> For this reason, architecture is considered to be a form of [[art]]. Texts on architecture have been written since ancient times. The earliest surviving text on [[architectural theory|architectural theories]] is the 1st century BC treatise {{lang|la|[[De architectura]]}} by the Roman architect [[Vitruvius]], according to whom a good building embodies {{lang|la|firmitas, utilitas}}, and {{lang|la|venustas}} (durability, utility, and beauty). Centuries later, [[Leon Battista Alberti]] developed his ideas further, seeing beauty as an objective quality of buildings to be found in their proportions. In the 19th century, [[Louis Sullivan]] declared that "[[form follows function]]". "Function" began to replace the classical "utility" and was understood to include not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological, and cultural dimensions. The idea of [[sustainable architecture]] was introduced in the late 20th century.

Architecture began as rural, oral [[vernacular architecture]] that developed from trial and error to successful replication. Ancient urban architecture was preoccupied with building religious structures and buildings symbolizing the political power of rulers until Greek and Roman architecture shifted focus to civic virtues. [[Indian architecture|Indian]] and [[Chinese architecture]] influenced [[Form (architecture)|forms]] all over Asia and [[Buddhist architecture]] in particular took diverse local flavors. During the [[Middle Ages]], [[Pan-European identity|pan-European]] styles of [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] and [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] cathedrals and abbeys emerged while the [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] favored Classical forms implemented by [[architects]] known by name. Later, the roles of architects and [[engineers]] became separated.

[[Modern architecture]] began after [[World War I]] as an [[avant-garde]] movement that sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. Emphasis was put on modern techniques, materials, and simplified geometric forms, paving the way for high-rise superstructures. Many architects became disillusioned with modernism which they perceived as ahistorical and anti-aesthetic, and [[postmodern architecture|postmodern]] and [[contemporary architecture]] developed. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating.

== Definitions ==

Architecture can mean:
* A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures.<ref name="OED">''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' (1993), Oxford, {{ISBN|0198605757}}.</ref>
* The art and science of [[design]]ing [[building]]s and (some) [[nonbuilding structure]]s;<ref name=OED/> sometimes called "architectonics."<ref>{{wiktionary-inline|architectonics}}</ref>
* The style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures.<ref name=OED/>
* A unifying or coherent form or structure.<ref>Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, {{ISBN|978-0-87779-132-4}}.</ref>
* The knowledge of art, science, technology, and humanity.<ref name=OED/>
* The design activity of the architect,<ref name=OED/> from the macro-level ([[urban design]], [[landscape architecture]]) to the micro-level (construction details and furniture).
* The practice of the architect where architecture means offering or rendering professional services in connection with the design and construction of buildings or built environments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/bills/60th_1st/3rd_read/b115.htm |title=Gov.ns.ca |publisher=Gov.ns.ca |access-date=2 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721200353/http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/bills/60th_1st/3rd_read/b115.htm |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

==Theory==
{{Main|Architectural theory|Philosophy of architecture}}
[[Image:Yingzao Fashi 1 desmear.JPG|thumb|Illustration of [[Bracket (architecture)|bracket]] arm clusters containing [[cantilever]]s from ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'', a text on architecture by [[Li Jie (Song dynasty)|Li Jue]] (1065–1110)]]
[[File:Plan d'exécution du second étage de l'hôtel de Brionne (dessin) De Cotte 2503c – Gallica 2011 (adjusted).jpg|thumb|alt=Plan d'exécution du second étage de l'hôtel de Brionne (dessin) De Cotte 2503c – Gallica 2011 (adjusted)| [[Floor plan|Plan]] of the second floor (attic storey) of the Hôtel de Brionne in Paris – 1734.]]
The philosophy of architecture is a branch of the [[philosophy of art]], dealing with aesthetic value of architecture, its [[semantics]] and its relation to the development of [[culture]]. Many philosophers and theoreticians from [[Plato]]<ref>{{cite book | title=The Missed Encounter of Radical Philosophy with Architecture | series=Bloomsbury Studies in Philosophy | editor-first=Nadir | editor-last=Lahiji | publisher=A&C Black | year=2014 | isbn=9781472506870 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wv8PAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 }}</ref> to [[Michel Foucault]],<ref>{{cite journal | title=Foucault and Architecture | first=Paul | last=Hirst | journal=AA Files | volume=26 | date=Autumn 1993 | pages=52–60 | publisher=Architectural Association School of Architecture | jstor=29543867 }}</ref> [[Gilles Deleuze]],<ref>{{cite book | last=Deleuze | first=Gilles | title=Pourparlers | location=Paris | publisher=Minuit | date=1990 | page=219 | quote=It is not the line that is between two points, but the point that is at the intersection of several lines.}}</ref> [[Robert Venturi]]<ref>{{cite journal | title=Robert Venturi: 1925–2018 | first=Denise R. | last=Costanzo | journal=Architectural Research Quarterly | volume=22 | number=4 | pages=284–289 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2019 | doi=10.1017/S1359135518000738 }}</ref> and [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] have concerned themselves with the nature of architecture and whether or not architecture is distinguished from building.

===Historic treatises===
The earliest surviving written work on the subject of architecture is {{Lang|la|[[De architectura]]}} by the Roman architect [[Vitruvius]] in the early 1st century BC.<ref name="Vitruvius">{{cite book | first=Vitruvius | last=Pollio | title=Ten Books on Architecture | publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge | year=1999 | isbn=0-521-00292-3 }}</ref> According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles of {{lang|la|firmitas, utilitas, venustas}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape/LIH/history/vitruvius.htm#ch1-3|title=Vitruvius Ten Books on Architecture, with regard to landscape and garden design|work=gardenvisit.com|access-date=14 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012035458/http://gardenvisit.com/landscape/LIH/history/vitruvius.htm#ch1-3|archive-date=12 October 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="elements">{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/home.html |title=Vitruvius |publisher=Penelope.uchicago.edu |access-date=2 July 2011 |archive-date=30 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730065630/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/home.html |url-status=live }}</ref> commonly known by the original translation – ''[[firmness, commodity and delight]]''. An equivalent in modern English would be:
* Durability – a building should stand up robustly and remain in good condition
* Utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used
* Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing
According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. [[Leon Battista Alberti]], who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, ''[[De re aedificatoria]]'', saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealized human figure, the [[Golden ratio|golden mean]]. The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially, and was based on universal, recognizable truths. The notion of style in the arts was not developed until the 16th century, with the writing of [[Giorgio Vasari]].<ref>[[Françoise Choay]], ''Alberti and Vitruvius'', editor, Joseph Rykwert, Profile 21, Architectural Design, Vol. 49, No. 5–6.</ref> By the 18th century, his ''[[Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects]]'' had been translated into Italian, French, Spanish, and English.

In the 16th century, Italian Mannerist architect, painter and theorist [[Sebastiano Serlio]] wrote ''Tutte L'Opere D'Architettura et Prospetiva'' (''Complete Works on Architecture and Perspective''). This treatise exerted immense influence throughout Europe, being the first handbook that emphasized the practical rather than the theoretical aspects of architecture, and it was the first to catalog the five orders.<ref>[https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/serlio Sebastiano Serlio – On domestic architecture]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416091747/https://dlc.library.columbia.edu/serlio|date=16 April 2021}}, Columbia University Libraries, accessed February 5, 2021.</ref>

In the early 19th century, [[Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin]] wrote ''Contrasts'' (1836) that, as the title suggested, contrasted the modern, industrial world, which he disparaged, with an idealized image of neo-medieval world. [[Gothic architecture]], Pugin believed, was the only "true Christian form of architecture."<ref>{{cite journal|last=D'Anjou|first=Philippe|title=An Ethics of Freedom for Architectural Design Practice|jstor=41318789|volume=64|date=2011|journal=Journal of Architectural Education|pages=141–147|number=2|doi=10.1111/j.1531-314X.2010.01137.x|s2cid=110313708}}</ref> The 19th-century English art critic, [[John Ruskin]], in his ''[[Seven Lamps of Architecture]]'', published 1849, was much narrower in his view of what constituted architecture. Architecture was the "art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men ... that the sight of them" contributes "to his mental health, power, and pleasure".<ref name="Ruskin">John Ruskin, ''[[iarchive:sevenlampsofarch0000rusk v7h2|The Seven Lamps of Architecture]]'', G. Allen (1880), reprinted Dover, (1989), {{ISBN|0-486-26145-X}}.</ref> For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance. His work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way "adorned". For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string [[Course (architecture)|courses]] or [[Rustication (architecture)|rustication]], at the very least.<ref name=Ruskin/>

On the difference between the ideals of ''architecture'' and mere ''[[construction]]'', the 20th-century architect [[Le Corbusier]] wrote: "You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build houses and palaces: that is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say: This is beautiful. That is Architecture".<ref>Le Corbusier, ''Towards a New Architecture'', Dover Publications(1985). {{ISBN|0-486-25023-7}}.</ref> Le Corbusier's contemporary [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]] is said to have stated in a 1959 interview that "architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. There it begins."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/best-brick-buildings-architecture/index.html|title=9 innovative contemporary buildings that test the limits of humble brick |last=Verney |first=Harriet |date=25 July 2017 |work=CNN|access-date=May 29, 2023 |url-status=live|archive-date=May 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529231129/https://www.cnn.com/style/article/best-brick-buildings-architecture/index.html}}</ref>

===Modern concepts===
[[File:Congresso do Brasil.jpg|thumb|alt= The view shows a 20th-century building with two identical towers very close to each other rising from a low building which has a dome at one end, and an inverted dome, like a saucer, at the other.|The [[National Congress Palace|National Congress of Brazil]], designed by [[Oscar Niemeyer]]]]

The notable 19th-century architect of [[skyscraper]]s, [[Louis Sullivan]], promoted an overriding precept to architectural design: "[[Form follows function]]".<ref>{{cite book | title=Universal Principles of Design | first1=William | last1=Lidwell | first2=Kritina | last2=Holden | first3=Jill | last3=Butler | publisher=Rockport Publishers | year=2023 | isbn=9780760375174 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PhiqEAAAQBAJ&pg=RA2-PA69 }}</ref> While the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely subject to functionality was met with both popularity and skepticism, it introduced the concept of "function" in place of Vitruvius' "utility". "Function" came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural.

Nunzia Rondanini stated, "Through its aesthetic dimension architecture goes beyond the functional aspects that it has in common with other human sciences. Through its own particular way of expressing [[Architectural design values|values]], architecture can stimulate and influence social life without presuming that, in and of itself, it will promote social development.... To restrict the meaning of (architectural) formalism to art for art's sake is not only reactionary; it can also be a purposeless quest for perfection or originality which degrades form into a mere instrumentality".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Rondanini | first=Nunzia | title=Architecture and Social Change | journal=Heresies II | volume=3 | issue=3 | pages=3–5 | location=New York | publisher=Neresies Collective Incorporated | year=1981 | url=https://archive.org/details/heresies_11/page/n3/mode/2up | access-date=2026-03-10 }}</ref>

The aesthetics of architecture remain a contested topic, with critics highlighting the disconnect between professionals and the public. Studies generally find that there is a strong public preference for traditional and classical architectural styles over modernist designs.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Who Do We Design For? | title=Lost in Limbo | pages=11–13 | date=December 2018 | first=Jan | last=Pruszynski | chapter-url=https://www.bnieuws.nl/read/who-do-we-design-for-2 | access-date=29 December 2024 | publisher=Delft University of Technology | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525183748/https://www.bnieuws.nl/read/who-do-we-design-for-2 | archive-date=2022-05-25 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | first=Andrea | last=Klettner | date=16 October 2009  |title=Public Favours Traditional Architecture |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/archive/public-favours-traditional-architecture |access-date=29 December 2024 |website=Architects' Journal }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Abby |title=Classical Buildings Beat Modern Ones in U.S. Poll |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-14/classical-buildings-beat-modern-ones-in-u-s-poll |access-date=29 December 2024 |work=Bloomberg |date=14 October 2020}}</ref> [[James Stevens Curl]] argues that modernist architects often favour designs that are alienating and environmentally damaging.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Curl |first1=James Stevens |title=Making Dystopia: The Strange Rise and Survival of Architectural Barbarism |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=xxv - xxxi }}</ref> [[Léon Krier]] frames the dominance of traditional styles in private architecture as an "overwhelming democratic reality," contrasting with the prevalence of modernist designs in public commissions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krier |first1=Léon |author-link=Léon Krier |title=[[The Architecture of Community]] |date=2009 |publisher=Island Press |isbn=9781597265782 |pages=7–9}}</ref>

Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their approach to building design are [[Rationalism]], [[Empiricism]],<ref>{{cite journal | title=Empiricist and Rationalist Approaches to the Design of Concrete Structures | first1=Thomas E. | last1=Boothby | first2=Sharyn | last2=Clough | journal=APT Bulletin: The Journal of Preservation Technology | volume=48 | issue=1, special issue on concrete | year=2017 | pages=6–14 | publisher=Association for Preservation Technology International (APT) | jstor=26291030 }}</ref> [[Structuralism]],<ref>{{cite journal | title=The influence of structuralism in the field of architecture | first=Yuan | last=Qin | journal=Academic Journal of Architecture and Geotechnical Engineering | volume=5 | issue=5 | pages=23–27 | doi=10.25236/AJAGE.2023.050504 }}</ref> [[Poststructuralism]], [[deconstructivism|Deconstruction]]<ref>{{cite journal | title=Deconstructivism: Translation From Philosophy to Architecture | first=Aida | last=Hoteit | journal=Canadian Social Science | volume=11 | issue=7 | year=2015 | pages=1–13 | doi=10.3968/7240 }}</ref> and [[Phenomenology (architecture)|Phenomenology]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=Phenomenology and Space in Architecture | first1=Saeid | last1=Soltani | first2=Nazan | last2=Kirci | journal=International Journal of Architectural Engineering Technology | volume=6 | year=2019 | publisher=Avanti Publishing | doi=10.15377/2409-9821.2019.06.1 }}</ref>

In the late 20th century a new concept was added to those included in the compass of both structure and function, the consideration of [[sustainability]], hence [[sustainable architecture]].<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Sustainable architecture, A short history | first=Vandana | last=Baweja | title=Routledge Handbook of the History of Sustainability | edition=1st | year=2017 | isbn=978-1-315-54301-7 | doi=10.1002/sd.1530 }}</ref> To satisfy the contemporary ethos, a building should be constructed in a manner which is environmentally friendly in terms of the production of its materials, its impact upon the natural and built environment of its surrounding area and the demands that it makes upon the natural environment for [[Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning|heating, ventilation and cooling]], [[Water efficiency|water use]], [[Waste management|waste products]] and [[Architectural lighting design|lighting]].<ref>{{cite journal | title=Sustainable Architecture, Design and Housing | first=Martina | last=Keitsch | journal=Sustainable development | volume=20 | issue=3, Sustainable architecture, design and housing | date=May–June 2012 | pages=141–145 | doi=10.1002/sd.1530 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | title=Green Architecture: A Concept of Sustainability | first1=Amany | last1=Ragheb | first2=Hisham | last2=El-Shimy | first3=Ghada | last3=Ragheb | journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences | volume=216 | date=6 January 2016 | pages=778–787 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.12.075 }}</ref>
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==History==
{{Main|History of architecture}}
===Origins and vernacular architecture===
{{multiple image
 | perrow = 2
 | total_width = 300
 | footer = Clockwise from upper left: wooden house in [[Norway]]; rondavel stones in [[Lesotho]]; peasant houses in a [[Romania]]n museum; Yola hut in [[Ireland]]
 | image1 = Stærnes Søndre Loft, Rollag.jpg
 | image2 = Lesotho Slide Show (294).JPG
 | image3 = Yola hut -Tagoat Co. Wexford.JPG
 | image4 = Muzeul Satului Bucuresti 02.jpg
}}
{{main|Vernacular architecture}}

Building first evolved out of the dynamics between needs (e.g. shelter, security, and worship) and means (available [[building material]]s and attendant skills).<ref>{{cite journal | title=Primitive Architecture and Climate | first1=James Marston | last1=Fitch | first2=Daniel P. | last2=Branch | journal=Scientific American | volume=203 | issue=6 | date=December 1960 | pages=134–145 | jstor=24940726 | url=https://wwq.tboake.com/2018/Fitch%20James%20primitive%20architecture%20Scientific%20American%201960.pdf | access-date=2026-03-12 }}</ref> As human cultures developed and knowledge began to be formalized through oral traditions and practices, building became a [[craft]], and ''architecture'' became the term used to describe the highly formalized and respected aspects of the craft. It is widely assumed{{cn|date=March 2026}} that architectural success was achieved through trial and error, with progressively less trial and more replication as results became satisfactory over time. However, [[vernacular architecture]], in essence a rudimentary, non-academic form of building construction based on cultural traditions, continues to be produced in many parts of the world.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Ancient vernacular architecture: characteristics categorization and energy performance evaluation | first1=Zhiqiang (John) | last1=Zhai | first2=Jonathan M. | last2=Previtali | journal=Energy and Buildings | volume=42 | issue=3 | date=March 2010 | pages=357–365 | publisher=Elsevier | doi=10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.10.002 }}</ref>
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===Prehistoric architecture===
{{multiple image
 | perrow = 2
 | total_width = 300
 | footer = Clockwise from upper left: [[Göbekli Tepe]] from [[Turkey]], occupied 10th to 8th millennium BC; [[goseck circle]], [[Germany]] 4900 BC; excavated dwellings at [[Skara Brae]] ([[Orkney]], Scotland); miniature of a regular Cucuteni-Trypillian house
 | image1 = Göbekli Tepe, Urfa.jpg
 | image2 = Goseck Circle 1.jpg
 | image3 = Cucuteni MNIR IMG 7622.JPG
 | image4 = Orkney Skara Brae.jpg
}}

Early human settlements were mostly [[rural]]. Expanding economies resulted in the creation of [[Proto-city|proto-cities]] or [[urban area]]s, which in some cases grew and evolved very rapidly, such as [[Çatalhöyük]] in modern-day [[Turkey]] and [[Mohenjo-daro]] in modern-day [[Pakistan]].

Neolithic archaeological sites include [[Göbekli Tepe]]<ref>{{cite journal | title=Geometry and Architectural Planning at Göbekli Tepe, Turkey | journal=Cambridge Archaeological Journal | volume=30 | issue=2 | date=May 2020 | pages=343–357 | doi=10.1017/S0959774319000660 }}</ref> and [[Çatalhöyük]] in Turkey,<ref>{{cite book | chapter=The Architecture of Neolithic Çatalhöyük as a Process | first1=Marek Z. | last1=Barański | first2=Aroa | last2=García-Suárez | first3=Arkadiusz | last3=Klimowicz | first4=Serena | last4=Love | first5=Kamilla | last5=Pawłowska | title=Assembling Çatalhöyük | edition=1st | publisher=Routledge | year=2015 | isbn=978-1-351-19099-2 | doi=10.4324/9781351190992 }}</ref> [[Jericho]] in the Levant,<ref>{{cite journal | title=Excavations at Jericho | first=Kathleen M. | last=Kenyon | journal=The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | volume=84 | issue=1/2 | date=January–December 1954 | pages=103–110 | publisher=Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland | doi=10.2307/2844004 | jstor=2844004 }}</ref> [[Mehrgarh]] in Pakistan,<ref>{{cite conference | title=The Early Architectural Traditions of Greater Indus as Seen from Mehrgarh, Baluchistan | first=Jean–François | last=Jarrige | series=Studies in the History of Art | volume=31 | conference=Symposium Papers XV: Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times | year=1993 | pages=25–33 | publisher=National Gallery of Art | jstor=42620470 }}</ref> [[Skara Brae]] in [[Orkney]], and [[Cucuteni–Trypillia culture|Cucuteni-Trypillian culture]] settlements in [[Romania]], [[Moldova]] and [[Ukraine]].

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===Classical era===
{{multiple image
 | perrow = 2
 | total_width = 300
 | footer = Clockwise from upper left: [[Reconstruction (architecture)|reconstruction]] of the Mesopotamian [[Ishtar Gate]], {{Circa| 575 BC}}; Egyptian [[Great Pyramid of Giza]], {{Circa|2589–2566 BC}}; Roman [[Maison Carrée]] from [[Nîmes]] (France), {{Circa| 2 AD}}; [[Ed-Deir, Petra|Ed-Deir]] "The Monastery" at [[Petra]], [[Jordan]], {{Circa|mid-first century AD}}; ancient Greek [[Parthenon]] on the [[Acropolis of Athens]], {{Circa|460–406 BC}}
 | image1 = Ishtar gate in Pergamon museum in Berlin..jpg
 | image2 = Kheops-Pyramid.jpg
 | image3 = Parthenon (30276156187).jpg
 | image4 = France-002364 - Square House (15867600545).jpg
 | image5 = The Monastery, Petra, Jordan8.jpg
}}

In many ancient civilizations, such as those of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Mesopotamia]], architecture and [[urbanism]] reflected the constant engagement with the [[divine]] and the [[supernatural]], and many ancient cultures resorted to monumentality in their architecture to symbolically represent the political power of the ruler or the state itself. In Eygpt, the education of state architects was closely linked to the priestly class, and trade secrets were passed from father to son. Plans were drawn and then implemented using the ruler, square, and triangle.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Architect: Chapters in the History of the Profession | chapter=The Practice of Architecture in the Ancient World: Eygpt and Greece | pages=3–26 | editor-first=Spiro | editor-last=Kostof | first=William L. | last=MacDonald | publisher=University of California Press | year=2000 | isbn=9780520226043 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NaYwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 }}</ref>

The architecture and urbanism of [[Classical antiquity|classical civilizations]] such as the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] civilizations evolved from civic ideals rather than religious or empirical ones. New building types emerged and architectural style developed in the form of the [[classical order]]s. [[Ancient Roman architecture|Roman architecture]] was influenced by [[Ancient Greek architecture|Greek architecture]] as they incorporated many Greek elements into their building practices.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/beginners-guide-greece/a/introduction-to-greek-architecture | title=Introduction to Greek architecture | website=Khan Academy | language=en | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014123040/http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/beginners-guide-greece/a/introduction-to-greek-architecture | archive-date=2014-10-14 | url-status=dead | access-date=2017-06-23}}</ref>

Texts on architecture have been written since ancient times—these texts provided both general advice and specific formal prescriptions or canons. Some examples of canons are found in the writings of [[Vitruvius]] in the 1st century BC.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Vitruvius's Image of the Universe: Architecture and Mechanics | first=Giovanni | last=Di Pasquale | title=Vitruvianism: Origins and Transformations | editor-first=Paolo | editor-last=Sanvito | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kw8_CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49 | publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG | year=2015 | pages=49–64 | isbn=978-3-11-042228-3 }}</ref> Some of the most important early examples of canonic architecture are religious.
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===Asian architecture===
{{multiple image
 | perrow = 2
 | total_width = 300
 | footer = Clockwise from upper left: [[Kandariya Mahadeva Temple]], India, {{Circa|1030}}; Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, [[Temple of Heaven]], China, 1703–1790; [[Bakong]], [[Cambodia]], completed in 881; [[Himeji Castle]], [[Japan]], 1609; 
 | image1 = Beauty of khajuraho temple.jpg
 | image2 = Temple of Heaven 20160323 01.jpg
 | image3 = Himeji Castle The Keep Towers.jpg
 | image4 = Roulos Group - 005 Bakong (8587796725).jpg
 | image5 = 
 | image6 = 
}}
Asian architecture developed differently from European architecture, and the [[Buddhist architecture|Buddhist]], [[Hindu architecture|Hindu]] and [[Sikh architecture|Sikh]] architectural styles have different characteristics. Unlike [[Architecture of India|Indian]] and [[Chinese architecture]], which had great influence on the surrounding regions, [[Japanese architecture]] did not. Some Asian architecture showed great regional diversity, in particular [[Buddhist architecture]]. Moreover, another architectural achievement in Asia is the [[Hindu temple architecture]], which developed from around the 5th century CE. It is, in theory, governed by concepts laid down in the [[Shastra]]s, and is concerned with expressing both the macrocosm and the microcosm.

In many Asian countries, pantheistic religion led to architectural forms that were designed specifically to enhance the [[natural landscape]]. Also, the grandest houses were relatively lightweight structures mainly using wood until recent times, and there are few survivals of great age. Buddhism was associated with a move to stone and brick religious structures, probably beginning as [[rock-cut architecture]], which has often survived very well.

Early Asian writings on architecture include the ''Kao Gong Ji'' of China from the 7th–5th centuries BC, the [[Shilpa Shastras]] of ancient India, [[Manjusri Vasthu Vidya Sastra]] of [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Araniko]] of [[Nepal]].

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=== African Architecture ===
{{Main|Architecture of Africa}}
[[File:Alyssa K. Barry Koutammakou,Togo.jpg|thumb|Alyssa K. Barry Koutammakou,Tojo]]
The Architecture of Africa is very diverse, reflecting the continent’s many climates, cultures, and histories. Traditional African architecture mixes building traditions, using a wide arrange of materials like mud, stone, and wood. Fractal scaling is commonly used in designs, making smaller parts of a structure mirror the overall design. This concept can be seen in village layouts and decorative elements.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fractals in African Design – The Center for Generative Justice |url=https://generativejustice.org/africanfractals/ |access-date=2026-03-16 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Historical stone structures like the great Zimbabwe walls show the long lasting and durable construction. Wattle and Daub is a technique used in many areas that take wooden frames covered in mud to create rounded structures that help to regulate the temperature inside. Architecture in West Africa is dominated by the Sudano-Sahelian style. Thick earthen walls, wooden support beams and intricate thatch work. These buildings are suited for dry, hot climates. Along the Swahili Coast of East Africa many homes are made out of coral stone with mangrove pole roofs. The architecture is a mix of local, Arabic and Islamic styles due to trade across the Indian Ocean. Ethiopia also has stunning architectural traditions like the rock-hewn churches like the 13th century churches of Lalibela which were carved directly into the ground. Together, these styles highlight the creativity, adaptability, and cultural depth of African architectural traditions. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Mukalay |first=Joel |date=2025-12-29 |title=Tracing the History of African Architecture |url=https://www.terrafriq.org/post/tracing-the-history-of-african-architecture |access-date=2026-03-16 |website=Terrafriq |language=en}}</ref>

===Islamic architecture===
{{Main|Islamic architecture}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 3
| total_width       = 450
| footer            = Left to right, row one: grand arches of the [[Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba]], [[Spain]]; minaret of the [[Great Mosque of Samarra]], [[Iraq]]; [[Jameh Mosque of Isfahan|Jameh Mosque]] in [[Isfahan]], [[Iran]]. Row two: [[Taj Mahal]], [[India]]; interior side view of the main dome of the [[Selimiye Mosque (Edirne)|Selimiye Mosque]], [[Turkey]]; [[Old City of Sanaa|old city of Sanaa]], [[Yemen]]. Row three: [[Demak Great Mosque]],[[Indonesia]]; [[Nasseef House]], [[Saudi Arabia]]; [[Great Mosque of Djenné]], [[Mali]].
| image1            = Córdoba (5157827355).jpg
| image2            = 001124-MalwiyaMosque-Samerra-IMG 7824-2.jpg
| image3            = 20180301124354 IMG 4179And6more Interior 3.jpg
| image4            = Taj Mahal, Agra, India edit2.jpg
| image5            = Selimiye Mosque, Dome.jpg
| image6            = Bab ul Yemen, Sana'a (2286039117).jpg
| image7            = Sisi Utara Masjid Agung Demak Kab.Demak Jateng Indonesia.jpg
| image8            = Bayt Nasif, 1872, old Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (5) (50703484406).jpg
| image9            = Old Towns of Djenné-107952.jpg
}}

Islamic architecture began in the 7th century, incorporating architectural forms from the ancient [[Middle East]] and [[Byzantium]], but also developing features to suit the religious and social needs of the society. Examples can be found throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Iberian Peninsula, the Mediterranean islands, the Indian Sub-continent and later in Eastern parts of Europe, such as the Balkan States, as the result of the expansion of the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name="metmuseum.org-ottoman-europe">{{cite web |author1=Sardar |first=Marika |date=October 2004 |title=Essay: The Later Ottomans and the Impact of Europe |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/otto3/hd_otto3.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213145924/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/otto3/hd_otto3.htm |archive-date=13 February 2019 |access-date=12 February 2019 |website=www.metmuseum.org |publisher=The Met |language=en}}</ref><ref name="brill.com-book-Lory">{{cite book |last1=Lory |first1=Bernard |title=Entangled Histories of the Balkans – Volume Three |chapter=The Ottoman Legacy in the Balkans |chapter-url=https://brill.com/configurable/contentpage/book$002fedcoll$002f9789004290365$002fB9789004290365_006.xml |access-date=12 February 2019 |pages=355–405 |language=en |chapter-format=html / pdf |doi=10.1163/9789004290365_006 |date=2015 |isbn=978-9004290365 |archive-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213064155/https://brill.com/configurable/contentpage/book$002fedcoll$002f9789004290365$002fB9789004290365_006.xml |url-status=live }}</ref>
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===European medieval architecture===
{{main|Medieval architecture}}

{{multiple image
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| total_width       = 300
| footer            = Clockwise from upper left: Interior of [[Etchmiadzin Cathedral]], founded 303 year AD; [[apse]] of [[Santa Maria Maggiore]], [[Rome]], 5th century; interior of [[Durham Cathedral]], UK, 1093–1133; stained glass windows, [[Sainte-Chapelle]], Paris, completed in 1248; interior of [[Aachen Cathedral]], Germany, 796–805
| image1            = +Mayr Ator Vagharshapat 01.jpg
| image2            = Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore abside a Roma.jpg
| image3            = Aix dom int vue cote.jpg
| image4            = Durham Cathedral Nave.jpg
| image5            = Sainte Chapelle Interior Stained Glass.jpg
| image6            = 
}}

In [[Europe]] during the [[Medieval]] period, [[guild]]s were formed by craftsmen to organize their trades and written contracts have survived, particularly in relation to ecclesiastical buildings. The role of architect was usually one with that of master mason, or ''Magister lathomorum'' as they are sometimes described in contemporary documents.

The major architectural undertakings were the building of abbeys and [[cathedral]]s. From about 900 onward, the movements of both clerics and tradesmen carried architectural knowledge across Europe, resulting in the pan-European styles Romanesque and Gothic.

A significant part of the Middle Ages architectural heritage is numerous [[fortifications]] across the continent. From the Balkans to Spain, and from Malta to Estonia, these buildings represent an important part of European heritage.
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===Renaissance architecture===
{{Main|Renaissance architecture}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| footer            = Clockwise from upper left: [[San Pietro in Montorio#The Tempietto|The Tempietto]], Rome, 1444–1514; Hall of Perspective, Rome, 1505–1510; [[Château de Chenonceau]], France, 1576; [[Villa Capra "La Rotonda"|Villa La Rotonda]], Italy, 1567 – {{c.|1592}}.
| image1            = Tempietto del Bramante Vorderseite.jpg
| image2            = Le salon des Perspectives (Villa Farnesina, Rome) (34242676046).jpg
| image3            = 07-Villa-Rotonda-Palladio.jpg
| image4            = Schloss Chenonceau.JPG
}}

In [[Renaissance]] Europe, from about 1400 onwards, there was a revival of Classical learning accompanied by the development of [[Renaissance humanism]], which placed greater emphasis on the role of the individual in society than had been the case during the Medieval period. Buildings were ascribed to specific architects – Brunelleschi, [[Leone Battista Alberti|Alberti]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Palladio]] – and the cult of the individual had begun. There was still no dividing line between [[artist]], architect, [[engineer]], or any of the related vocations, and the appellation was often one of regional preference.

A revival of the [[Classical architecture|Classical style]] in architecture was accompanied by a burgeoning of science and engineering, which affected the proportions and structure of buildings. At this stage, it was still possible for an artist to design a bridge as the level of structural calculations involved was within the scope of the generalist.
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===Early modern and the industrial age===
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 3
| total_width       = 450
| footer            = Left to right, ''top row'': [[Château de Maisons]], France, 1630–1651; pièce de la vaisselle d'or, [[Palace of Versailles]], France; west facade, [[Petit Trianon]], Versailles, 1764; ''second row'': Interior, [[All Saints, Margaret Street|All Saints]], London, 1850–1859; Museum of Ages, [[Bucharest]], Romania, late 19th century; [[Zollern II/IV Colliery]], Dortmund; ''third row'': [[Éden-Théâtre]], Paris, early 1880s – demolished in 1895; C.N. Câmpeanu House, Bucharest, {{c.|1923}};<ref>{{cite book|last1=Woinaroski|first1=Cristina|title=Istorie urbană, Lotizarea și Parcul Ioanid din București în context european|date=2013|publisher=SIMETRIA|isbn=978-973-1872-30-8|page=|url=|language=ro}}</ref> [[CEC Palace]], Bucharest, 8 June 1897 – 1900<ref>{{cite book|last1=Marinache|first1=Oana|title=Paul Gottereau – Un Regal în Arhitectură|date=2017|publisher=Editura Istoria Artei|isbn=978-606-8839-09-7|page=184|url=|language=ro}}</ref>
''bottom'': Ernst Ludwig House, [[Darmstadt]], [[Jugendstil|Germany]], 1900
| image1            = Château de Maisons-Laffitte 001.jpg
| image2            = Petit appartement du roi - Pièce de la vaisselle d'or (3).jpg
| image3            = West facade of Petit Trianon 002.JPG
| image4            = All Saints Margaret Street Interior 2, London, UK - Diliff.jpg
| image5            = The Museum of Ages.jpg
| image6            = Zeche-zollern-2004.jpg
| image7            = Éden-Théâtre 1876 Paris - Chauveau 1999 after p96.jpg
| image8            = 56, Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest (Romania).jpg
| image9            = Palacio CEC, Bucarest, Rumanía, 2016-05-29, DD 91-93 HDR.jpg
| image10           = La colonie dartistes jugendstil (Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt) (7882268852).jpg
}}

With the emerging knowledge in scientific fields and the rise of new materials and technology, architecture and [[engineering]] began to separate, and the architect began to concentrate on [[aesthetics]] and the humanist aspects, often at the expense of technical aspects of building design. There was also the rise of the "gentleman architect" who usually dealt with wealthy clients and concentrated predominantly on visual qualities derived usually from historical prototypes, typified by the many country houses of Great Britain that were created in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Neo Gothic]] or [[Scottish baronial]] styles.
Formal architectural training in the 19th century, for example, at [[École des Beaux-Arts]] in France, gave much emphasis to the production of beautiful drawings and little to context and feasibility.

Meanwhile, the [[Industrial Revolution]] laid open the door for mass production and consumption. Aesthetics became a criterion for the middle class as ornamented products, once within the province of expensive craftsmanship, became cheaper under machine production.

Vernacular architecture became increasingly ornamental. Housebuilders could use current architectural design in their work by combining features found in pattern books and architectural journals.
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===Modernism===
{{Main|Modern architecture}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| footer            = Clockwise from upper left: [[Fagus Factory]], [[Alfeld]], Germany, 1911; [[Einstein Tower]], [[Potsdam]] Germany, 1919–22; [[Derzhprom]], [[Kharkiv]], Ukraine, 1925–28; [[Théâtre des Champs-Élysées]], Paris, 1910–13; [[Glaspaleis]], [[Heerlen]], the Netherlands, 1934–35
| image1            = Alfeld Fagus 08JUL15.JPG
| image2            = Einsteinturm 7443a.jpg
| image3            = Overzicht voorgevel - Heerlen - 20349660 - RCE.jpg
| image4            = Derzhprom building.jpg
| image5            = Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 21 April 2013.jpg
}}

Around the beginning of the 20th century, general dissatisfaction with the emphasis on [[Revivalism (architecture)|revivalist architecture]] and elaborate decoration gave rise to many new lines of thought that served as precursors to Modern architecture. Notable among these is the [[Deutscher Werkbund]], formed in 1907 to produce better quality machine-made objects. The rise of the profession of industrial design is usually placed here. Following this lead, the [[Bauhaus]] school, founded in [[Weimar]], Germany in 1919, redefined the architectural bounds prior set throughout history, viewing the creation of a building as the ultimate synthesis{{snd}}the apex{{snd}}of art, craft, and technology.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Winton |first1=Alexandra Griffith |title=The Bauhaus, 1919–1933 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/the-bauhaus-1919-1933 |website=metmuseum.org |date=August 2007 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=6 October 2025}}</ref>

When [[modern architecture]] was first practiced, it was an [[avant-garde]] movement with moral, philosophical, and aesthetic underpinnings. Immediately after [[World War I]], pioneering modernist architects sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. They rejected the architectural practice of the academic refinement of historical styles which served the rapidly declining aristocratic order. The approach of the Modernist architects was to reduce buildings to pure forms, removing historical references and ornament in favor of functional details. Buildings displayed their functional and structural elements, exposing steel beams and concrete surfaces instead of hiding them behind decorative forms. Architects such as [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] developed [[organic architecture]], in which the form was defined by its environment and purpose, with an aim to promote harmony between human habitation and the natural world with prime examples being [[Robie House]] and [[Fallingwater]].<ref name="Netto 2011">{{cite news |last=Netto |first=David |date=7 May 2011 |title=What's So Great About Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater? |work=The Wall Street Journal |page=D7 |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|2729856894}}}}</ref><ref name="Decker a056">{{cite web |last=Decker |first=Cindy |date=4 May 2017 |title=Falling for Frank Lloyd Wright in Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/05/04/falling-for-frank-lloyd-wright-in-pennsylvanias-laurel-highlands/ |access-date=December 9, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |issn=1085-6706}}</ref>

Architects such as [[Mies van der Rohe]], [[Philip Johnson]], and [[Marcel Breuer]] worked to create beauty based on the inherent qualities of building materials and modern construction techniques, trading traditional historic forms for simplified geometric forms, celebrating the new means and methods made possible by the [[Industrial Revolution]], including steel-frame construction, which gave birth to high-rise superstructures. [[Fazlur Rahman Khan]]'s development of the [[Tube (structure)|tube structure]] was a technological breakthrough in building ever higher. By mid-century, Modernism had morphed into the [[International style (architecture)|International Style]], an aesthetic epitomized in many ways by the Twin Towers of New York's [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] designed by [[Minoru Yamasaki]].<ref name="nymag">{{cite magazine |url=http://nymag.com/news/9-11/10th-anniversary/minoru-yamasaki/ |title=The Encyclopedia of 9/11: Yamasaki, Minoru: An architect whose legacy didn't work out as he'd planned |date=27 August 2011 |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |first=Justin |last=Davidson}}</ref>

===Postmodernism===
{{main|Postmodern architecture}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| footer            = Clockwise from upper left: [[Piazza d'Italia (New Orleans)|Piazza d'Italia]], [[New Orleans]], US, 1978; [[Team Disney]] Building, [[Los Angeles]], US, 1990; interior, [[Cambridge Judge Business School]], [[Cambridge]], UK, 1995; [[Dancing House]], [[Prague]], [[Czech Republic]], 1996
| image1            = PiazzaDItalia1990.jpg
| image2            = The Walt Disney Company office.jpg
| image3            = Case danzanti.jpg
| image4            = Cambridge University Judge Business School interior.jpg
}}

Many architects resisted [[modernism]], finding it devoid of the decorative richness of historical styles. As the first generation of modernists began to die after [[World War II]], the second generation of architects including [[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]], [[Marcel Breuer]], and [[Eero Saarinen]] tried to expand the aesthetics of modernism with [[Brutalism]], buildings with expressive sculpture façades made of unfinished concrete. But an even younger postwar generation critiqued modernism and Brutalism for being too austere, standardized, monotone, and not taking into account the richness of human experience offered in historical buildings across time and in different places and cultures.

One such reaction to the cold aesthetic of modernism and Brutalism is the school of [[metaphoric architecture]], which includes such things as [[biomorphism|bio morphism]] and [[zoomorphic architecture]], both using nature as the primary source of inspiration and design. While it is considered by some to be merely an aspect of [[postmodernism]], others consider it to be a school in its own right and a later development of [[expressionist architecture]].<ref name=metaphor>
{{Cite book
| last      = Fez-Barringten
| first     = Barie
| title     = Architecture: The Making of Metaphors
| publisher = Cambridge Scholars Publishing
| year      = 2012
| location  = Newcastle upon Tyne
| isbn      = 978-1-4438-3517-6}}</ref>

Beginning in the late 1950s and 1960s, [[architectural phenomenology]] emerged as an important movement in the early reaction against modernism, with architects like [[Charles Moore (architect)|Charles Moore]] in the United States, [[Christian Norberg-Schulz]] in Norway, and [[Ernesto Nathan Rogers]], [[Vittorio Gregotti]], [[Michele Valori]], and [[Bruno Zevi]] in Italy, who collectively popularized an interest in a new contemporary architecture aimed at expanding human experience using historical buildings as models and precedents.<ref>{{cite book |last=Otero-Pailos |first=Jorge |title=Architecture's Historical Turn: Phenomenology and the Rise of the Postmodern |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=2010 |location=Minneapolis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3WDOQgAACAAJ&q=architecture's%20historical%20turn |isbn=978-0816666041 |access-date=30 July 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319184501/https://books.google.com/books?id=3WDOQgAACAAJ&q=architecture%27s%20historical%20turn |url-status=live }}</ref> Postmodernism produced a style that combined contemporary building technology and cheap materials with the aesthetics of older pre-modern and non-modern styles, from high classical architecture to popular or vernacular regional building styles. [[Robert Venturi]] famously defined postmodern architecture as a "decorated shed" (an ordinary building which is functionally designed inside and embellished on the outside) and upheld it against modernist and brutalist "ducks" (buildings with unnecessarily expressive [[Tectonics (architecture)|tectonic]] forms).<ref>{{cite book |last=Venturi |first=Robert |title=Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture |publisher=Museum of Modern Art |year=1966 |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/complexitycontra00vent |url-access=registration |quote=complexity and contradiction in architecture. }}</ref>

===Architecture today===
{{Main|Contemporary architecture}}

{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| footer            = Clockwise from upper left: [[Meadows Museum]] [[Dallas]], US; [[Beijing National Stadium]], China, 2003–2007; [[Isbjerget]] housing project, Denmark, 2013; Library and Learning Center, [[University of Vienna]], Austria, 2008
| image1            = Dallas Meadows Museum 1.jpg
| image2            = Beijing national stadium.jpg
| image3            = Campus WU LC D1 TC DSC 1440w.jpg
| image4            = Isbjerget.jpg
}}

Since the 1980s, as the complexity of buildings began to increase (in terms of structural systems, services, energy and technologies), the field of architecture became multi-disciplinary with specializations for each project type, technological expertise or project delivery methods. Moreover, there has been an increased separation of the 'design' architect<ref group="Notes">A design architect is one who is responsible for the design.</ref> from the 'project' architect who ensures that the project meets the required standards and deals with matters of liability.<ref group="Notes">A project architect is one who is responsible for ensuring the design is built correctly and who administers building contracts – in non-specialist architectural practices the project architect is also the design architect and the term refers to the differing roles the architect plays at differing stages of the process.</ref> The preparatory processes for the design of any large building have become increasingly complicated,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Imaginaries on Matter: Tools, Materials, Origins |url=https://aadr.info/product/imaginaries-on-matter-tools-materials-origins/ |access-date=2024-06-23 |website=aadr.info |language=en-US}}</ref> and require preliminary studies of such matters as durability, sustainability, quality, money, and compliance with local laws. A large structure can no longer be the design of one person but must be the work of many.
[[Modern architecture|Modernism]] and [[Postmodern architecture|Postmodernism]] have been criticized by some members of the architectural profession who feel that successful architecture is not a personal, philosophical, or aesthetic pursuit by individualists; rather it has to consider everyday needs of people and use technology to create livable environments, with the design process being informed by studies of behavioral, environmental, and social sciences.

Environmental [[sustainability]] has become a mainstream issue, with a profound effect on the architectural profession. Many developers, those who support the financing of buildings, have become educated to encourage the facilitation of environmentally sustainable design, rather than solutions based primarily on immediate cost. Major examples of this can be found in [[passive solar building design]], [[Green roof|greener roof designs]], [[Biodegradation|biodegradable]] materials, and more attention to a structure's energy usage. This major shift in architecture has also changed architecture schools to focus more on the environment. There has been an acceleration in the number of buildings that seek to meet [[green building]] [[sustainable design]] principles. Sustainable practices that were at the core of vernacular architecture increasingly provide inspiration for environmentally and socially sustainable contemporary techniques.<ref>{{cite web |author=OneWorld.net |url=http://el.doccentre.info/eldoc/0411/dwvernacular_architecture.html |title=Vernacular Architecture in India |publisher=El.doccentre.info |date=31 March 2004 |access-date=2 July 2011 |archive-date=3 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303000426/https://el.doccentre.info/eldoc/0411/dwvernacular_architecture.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The U.S. Green Building Council's [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design|LEED]] (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system has been influential in this.<ref>Other [[Efficient energy use|energy efficiency]] and green building rating systems include Energy Star, Green Globes, and CHPS ([[Collaborative for High Performance Schools]]).</ref>

Concurrently, the recent movements of [[New Urbanism]], [[Metaphoric architecture]], contemporary [[Traditional architecture]] and [[New Classical architecture]] promote a sustainable approach towards construction that appreciates and develops [[smart growth]], architectural tradition, and [[Classical architecture|classical design]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnu.org/charter|title=The Charter of the New Urbanism|work=cnu.org|date=20 April 2015 |access-date=23 March 2014|archive-date=29 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629164755/http://www.cnu.org/charter|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Beauty, Humanism, Continuity between Past and Future|url=http://www.traditionalarchitecture.co.uk/aims.html|publisher=Traditional Architecture Group|access-date=23 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305215635/http://www.traditionalarchitecture.co.uk/aims.html|archive-date=5 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> This in contrast to modernist and [[International Style (architecture)|globally uniform]] architecture, as well as leaning against solitary [[housing estate]]s and [[Urban sprawl|suburban sprawl]].<ref>[http://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/smartgrowth05.pdf Issue Brief: Smart-Growth: Building Livable Communities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119170943/https://www.aia.org/SiteObjects/files/smartgrowth05.pdf |date=19 November 2018 }}. American Institute of Architects. Retrieved on 23 March 2014.</ref> Glass curtain walls, which were the hallmark of the ultra modern urban life in many countries, surfaced even in developing countries like Nigeria where international styles had been represented since the mid-20th Century, mostly because of the leanings of foreign-trained architects.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://litcaf.com/architecture/|title=Architecture|date=10 February 2016 |work=Litcaf|access-date=2017-06-04|language=en-US|archive-date=19 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119170946/https://litcaf.com/architecture/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Types==
[[File:Stourhead Pantheon.jpg|thumb|[[Stourhead]] in [[Wiltshire]], England, designed by [[Henry Hoare]] (1705–1785)]]

===Residential architecture===
Residential architecture is the design which functionally fits the user's lifestyle while adhering to the [[building code]]s and [[zoning]] laws.

===Commercial architecture===
Commercial architecture is the design of commercial buildings that serves the needs of businesses, the government, and religious institutions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zurn |first1=Scott |title=Commercial Architecture: Types and Benefits |url=https://levelengineering.com/b/architecture/commercial-architecture/ |website=levelengineering.com |publisher=Level |access-date=6 October 2025}}</ref>

===Industrial architecture===
{{main|Industrial architecture}}

Industrial architecture is the design of specialized industrial buildings, whose primary focus is designing buildings that can fulfil their function while ensuring the safe movement of labor and goods in the facility.

===Landscape architecture===
{{main|Landscape architecture}}

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor public areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes.<ref>[[Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe]], [[Susan Jellicoe]], ''The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day.'' {{ISBN|978-0500274316}}.</ref> It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and soil conditions and processes in the landscape and the design of interventions that will produce the desired outcome. The scope of the profession includes [[landscape design]], [[site planning]], [[Stormwater#Stormwater management|stormwater management]], [[natural environment|environmental]] [[ecological restoration|restoration]], [[park]]s and recreation planning, visual resource management, [[green infrastructure]] planning and provision, and private [[estate (land)|estate]] and [[house|residence]] landscape master planning and design all at varying scales of design, planning, and management. A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture is called a [[landscape architect]].

===Interior architecture===
{{main|Interior architecture}}

[[File:Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Music Room 1901.jpg|thumb|Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Music Room 1901]]
Interior architecture is the design of a space which has been created by structural boundaries and the human interaction within these boundaries. It can also be the initial design and plan for use, then later redesigned to accommodate a changed purpose or a significantly revised design for [[adaptive reuse]] of the building shell.<ref name="intar.risd">{{cite web|url=http://intar.risd.edu/|title=Interior Architecture|work=RISD Interior Architecture Graduate Department|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-date=30 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730065634/https://interiorarchitecture.risd.edu/|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter is often part of sustainable architecture practices, conserving resources through "recycling" a structure by adaptive redesign. Generally referred to as the spatial art of environmental design, form and practice, interior architecture is the process through which the interiors of buildings are designed, concerned with all aspects of the human uses of structural spaces.

===Urban design===
{{main|Urban design}}

Urban design is the process of designing and shaping the physical features of cities, towns, and villages. In contrast to architecture, which focuses on the design of individual buildings, urban design deals with the larger scale of groups of buildings, streets and public spaces, whole neighborhoods and districts, and entire cities, with the goal of making urban areas functional, attractive, and sustainable.<ref name="berkeley">{{cite journal|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/49f234rd|author=Boeing|title=LEED-ND and Livability Revisited|journal=Berkeley Planning Journal|date=2014|volume=27|pages=31–55|doi=10.5070/BP327120808|access-date=2015-04-15|display-authors=etal|doi-access=free|archive-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704184041/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/49f234rd|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Urban design is an interdisciplinary field that uses elements of many built environment professions, including [[landscape architecture]], [[urban planning]], architecture, [[civil engineering]] and [[municipal engineering]].<ref>Van Assche, K., Beunen, R., Duineveld, M., & de Jong, H. (2013). [http://plt.sagepub.com/content/12/2/177.short "Co-evolutions of planning and design: Risks and benefits of design perspectives in planning systems"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628061608/http://plt.sagepub.com/content/12/2/177.short |date=28 June 2013 }}. ''Planning Theory'', 12(2), 177–198.</ref> It is common for professionals in all these disciplines to practice urban design. In more recent times different sub-subfields of urban design have emerged such as strategic urban design, [[landscape urbanism]], [[water-sensitive urban design]], and [[sustainable urbanism]].

=== Green Design ===
{{Category main article|Green design
}}
[[File:Awesome Green Roof.jpg|thumb|Awesome Green Roof]]
Green Building is about the structure and application process of minimizing the environmental impact of buildings. Interest in sustainable design grew after the 1973 oil embargo which highlighted the need for policies like the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. This motivated a small group of architects that were passionate and environmentally conscious to start designing more sustainably. Green Design uses renewable energy strategies like, green roofs, passive heating/cooling, and reduced materials help to create sustainable and high-performance structures that blend with the nature around them. Sustainable materials like reclaimed wood, bamboo, and recycled materials are used to limit resource waste. Water conservation is another key strategy, utilizing systems that make sure to harvest rainwater and recycle greywater. Architects also orientate buildings to take advantage of the climate utilizing the sun for natural lighting and the wind for ventilation. Together, these strategies create high performance buildings that work with nature rather than against.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Four decades of green design {{!}} The American Institute of Architects |url=https://www.aia.org/aia-architect/article/four-decades-green-design |access-date=2026-03-16 |website=www.aia.org |language=en}}</ref>  

===Other types of architecture===
====Naval architecture====
{{main|Naval architecture}}

[[File:Lines plan en.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|Body plan of a ship showing the hull form]]
Naval architecture, also known as naval engineering, is an [[engineering]] discipline dealing with the [[engineering design process]], [[shipbuilding]], maintenance, and operation of [[watercraft|marine vessels]] and structures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rina.org.uk/careers_in_naval_architecture.html|title=Careers in Naval Architecture|last=RINA|website=www.rina.org.uk|access-date=26 February 2017|archive-date=20 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020170147/https://www.rina.org.uk/careers_in_naval_architecture.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Biran, Adrian; (2003). ''Ship hydrostatics and stability'', [[Butterworth-Heinemann]]. {{ISBN|0-7506-4988-7}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=Edward V. |title=Principles of Naval Architecture |publisher=[[The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers]] |year=1938 |isbn=((0939773007)) |edition=3rd |location=Virginia}}</ref> Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation, and calculations during all stages of the life of a marine vehicle. Preliminary design of the vessel, its detailed design, [[Shipbuilding|construction]], [[Sea trial|trials]], operation and maintenance, launching, and [[dry-docking]] are the main activities involved. Ship design calculations are also required for ships being [[Ship#Repair and conversion|modified]] (by means of conversion, rebuilding, modernization, or repair). Naval architecture also involves the formulation of safety regulations and damage control rules and the approval and certification of ship designs to meet [[statutory]] and non-statutory requirements.

====Metaphorical "architectures"====
"Architecture" is used as a metaphor for many modern techniques or fields for structuring abstractions. These include:
* [[Computer architecture]], a set of rules and methods that describe the functionality, organization, and implementation of [[computer systems]] with [[software architecture]], [[hardware architecture]] and [[network architecture]] covering more specific aspects.
* [[Business architecture]], defined as "a blueprint of the enterprise that provides a common understanding of the organization and is used to align strategic objectives and tactical demands.”<ref name="OMG BAWG, Definition">[[OMG Business Architecture Special Interest Group]] "[http://www.omg.org/bawg/ What Is Business Architecture?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713063349/http://www.omg.org/bawg/ |date=13 July 2017 }}" at ''bawg.omg.org,'' 2008 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20080429224109/http://bawg.omg.org/ archive.org]). Accessed 2015-04-03; Cited in: [[William M. Ulrich]], [[Philip Newcomb]] ''Information Systems Transformation: Architecture-Driven Modernization Case Studies.'' (2010), p. 4.</ref> [[Enterprise architecture]] is another term.
* [[Cognitive architecture]] theories about the structure of the [[human mind]].
* [[System architecture]], a [[conceptual model]] that defines the [[structure]], [[behavior]], and more [[view model|views]] of any type of [[system]].<ref>Hannu Jaakkola and Bernhard Thalheim. (2011) "Architecture-driven modelling methodologies." In: ''Proceedings of the 2011 conference on Information Modelling and Knowledge Bases XXII''. Anneli Heimbürger et al. (eds). IOS Press. p. 98.</ref>

====Seismic architecture====
{{main|Earthquake engineering}}

The term '[[seismic architecture]]' or 'earthquake architecture' was first introduced in 1985 by Robert Reitherman.<ref>{{citation|last=Reitherman|first=Robert|title=Earthquake Engineering and Earthquake Architecture. Part of the AIA Workshop for Architects and Related Building Professionals on Designing for Earthquakes in the Western Mountain States|year=1985}}</ref> The phrase "earthquake architecture" is used to describe a degree of architectural expression of earthquake resistance or implication of architectural configuration, form, or style in earthquake resistance. It is also used to describe buildings in which seismic design considerations impacted its architecture. It may be considered a new aesthetic approach in designing structures in seismic prone areas.<ref>{{cite book|last=Llunji|first=Mentor|title=Seismic Architecture – The architecture of earthquake resistant structures|year=2016|publisher=Msproject|isbn=978-9940979409}}</ref> The wide breadth of expressive possibilities ranges from metaphorical uses of seismic issues to the more straightforward exposure of seismic technology. While outcomes of an earthquake architecture can be very diverse in their physical manifestations, architectural expression of seismic principles can also take many forms and levels of sophistication.<ref>{{cite conference|last=Charleson|first=Andrew|title=Towards An Earthquake Architecture |conference= 12th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering|year=2000}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Architecture}}
* [[Architectural design competition]]
* [[Architectural engineering]]
* [[Architectural technology]]
* [[Ephemeral architecture]]
* [[Index of architecture articles]]
* [[List of BIM software]]
* [[Outline of architecture]]
* [[Reverse architecture]]
* [[Timeline of architecture]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Notes}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links}}
{{Wikivoyage|Architecture}}
* [https://worldarchitecture.org World Architecture Community]
* [http://www.architecture.com Architecture.com], published by [[Royal Institute of British Architects]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091009095018/http://www.uia-architectes.org/texte/england/Menu-7/1-musees.html Architectural centers and museums in the world], list of links from the [[International Union of Architects|UIA]]
* [https://www.aia.org/ American Institute of Architects]
* [https://architecturaltrust.org/outreach/education/glossary-of-architectural-terms/ Glossary of Architectural Terms] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828183015/https://architecturaltrust.org/outreach/education/glossary-of-architectural-terms/ |date=28 August 2021 }}
* [http://content.lib.washington.edu/buildingsweb/index.html Cities and Buildings Database] – Collection of digitized images of buildings and cities drawn from across time and throughout the world from the University of Washington Library
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00548k0 "Architecture and Power"], BBC Radio 4 discussion with Adrian Tinniswood, Gillian Darley and Gavin Stamp (''In Our Time'', Oct. 31, 2002)

{{Design}}
{{Aesthetics}}
{{Branches of the visual arts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Architecture| ]]
[[Category:Architectural design]]