Portal:Architecture
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Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. The term comes from Latin architectura; from Ancient Greek ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn) 'architect'; from ἀρχι- (arkhi-) 'chief', and τέκτων (téktōn) 'creator'. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilisations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
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 and Chinese architecture influenced forms all over Asia and Buddhist architecture in particular took diverse local flavors. During the Middle Ages, pan-European styles of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and abbeys emerged while the 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 and contemporary architecture developed. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating. (Full article...)
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Contemporary architecture is the architecture of the 21st century. No single style is dominant. Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new references and interpretations of traditional architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. Some of these styles and approaches make use of very advanced technology and modern building materials, such as tube structures which allow construction of buildings that are taller, lighter and stronger than those in the 20th century, while others prioritize the use of natural and ecological materials like stone, wood and lime. One technology that is common to all forms of contemporary architecture is the use of new techniques of computer-aided design, which allow buildings to be designed and modeled on computers in three dimensions, and constructed with more precision and speed.
Contemporary buildings and styles vary greatly. Some feature concrete structures wrapped in glass or aluminium screens, very asymmetric facades, and cantilevered sections which hang over the street. Skyscrapers twist, or break into crystal-like facets. Facades are designed to shimmer or change color at different times of day. (Full article...)Featured lists -
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Owen Jones's elaborately ornamented Book of Common Prayer "pointed to the direction that books in general were to follow in the Victorian Age"?
- ... that Lynda Simmons co-founded Architecture + Women NZ with Sarah Treadwell, Julie Wilson and Megan Rule to push for equity in New Zealand architecture?
- ... that Charles Thaddeus Russell's architectural designs helped to create the "Black Wall Street of America"?
- ... that Lanfranco Cirillo is the architect of Putin's Palace, a palace complex on the Black Sea coast allegedly built for Vladimir Putin which is estimated to have cost over one billion US dollars?
- ... that in addition to his work as a scientist, Robert Hooke was an architect who designed the Monument to the Great Fire of London so that it could also have a practical value as a scientific instrument?
- ... that the Twin Parks housing project in New York City, the site of a January 2022 fire that killed seventeen people, won architectural awards after it was constructed in the early 1970s?
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Architects: Matthew Brettingham, William Bruce, William Burges, John Douglas, Charles Holden, El Lissitzky, Benjamin Mountfort, I. M. Pei, Albert Speer, Rudolf Wolters.
Buildings: 7 World Trade Center, Angkor Wat, Baden-Powell House, Belton House, Borobudur, BP Pedestrian Bridge, Bramall Hall, Buckingham Palace, Buildings and architecture of Bristol, Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford, Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford, Building of the World Trade Center, Castell Coch, Catherine de' Medici's building projects, Chartwell, Chicago Board of Trade Building, Cragside, Heian Palace, Holkham Hall, IG Farben Building, House with Chimaeras, Hoysala architecture, City of Manchester Stadium, Monnow Bridge, Mosque, Michigan State Capitol, New Orleans Mint, Oregon State Capitol, Oriel College, Oxford, Palazzo Pitti, Palladian architecture, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Round Church, Preslav, Sandringham House, Sanssouci, Santa Maria de Ovila, Scottish Parliament building, Sicilian Baroque, St Donat's Castle, St. Michael's Cathedral, Qingdao, St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, St Nicholas, Blakeney, Vkhutemas, The Tower House, West Wycombe Park |
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Architects: William Adam, Eustace Balfour, Antoni Gaudí, Thomas Harrison, Zvi Hecker, Bjarke Ingels, E. G. Paley, Timothy L. Pflueger, Antonin Raymond, Kenzo Tange. Buildings: 108 North State Street, 5th Avenue Theatre, Algonquin Hotel, Andriyivskyy Descent, AT&T Corporate Center, Ballard Carnegie Library, Baths of Zeuxippus, Beaumont House, Benjaminville Friends Meeting House and Burial Ground, Blackstone Library, Boughton Monchelsea Place, The Casbah Coffee Club, Central Troy Historic District, Chana School, Chester Rows, Chicago Spire, Chicago Theatre, Chrysler Building, Churche's Mansion, Clinton Presidential Center, Crown Fountain, Dolphinarium, Eaton Hall, Cheshire, Édifice Price, Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, Ellwood House, The Exchange, Bristol, Forbidden City, Harold Washington Cultural Center, Heller House, Historic Michigan Boulevard District, Hull House, Imbrex and tegula, Imperial War Museum North, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Joffrey Tower, Joseph F. Glidden House, Linton Park, Liverpool Town Hall, Louvre, Manila Hotel, Marquette Building (Chicago), Millennium Stadium, National Gallery, London, National Police Memorial, New Bedford Historic District, Old Louisville, One Bayfront Plaza, One Times Square, Onion dome, Oregon Public Library, Pavillon de Flore, Presidio of Santa Barbara, Queen's Pier, Rancho Camulos, Robot Building, Rock N Roll McDonald's, Roman Baths (Bath), Rookery Building, Senate House (University of London), Shamrock Hotel, Sycamore Historic District, Taipei 101, TCF Bank Stadium, United States Institute of Peace Headquarters, University Mall (Little Rock, Arkansas), University of Illinois Observatory, University of Virginia, Upper Brook Street Chapel, Manchester, Valley of the Kings, Via della Conciliazione, Victoria Rooms (Bristol), Waller Hall, Wales Millennium Centre, World Trade Center. Castles and fortifications: Beaumaris Castle, Berkhamsted Castle, Bowes Castle, Buckton Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Caludon Castle, Château Gaillard, Château de Chinon, Conwy Castle, Dolbadarn Castle, Dunstaffnage Castle, Fort Greble, Fort Pasir Panjang, Fortress of Klis, Golubac fortress, Goodrich Castle, Haapsalu Castle, Hadleigh Castle, Halton Castle, Himeji Castle, Hylton Castle, Kaunas Fortress, Kenilworth Castle, Loch Leven Castle, Longtown Castle, Okehampton Castle, Oxford Castle, Peckforton Castle, Castle Rising, Roslin Castle, Smederevo Fortress, St Briavels Castle, Vilnius Castle Complex, Walls of Constantinople, Walls of Dubrovnik, York Castle. Religious buildings: Akhtala monastery, Akshardham Temple, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Bath Abbey, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Hong Kong), Chester Cathedral, College of All Saints, Maidstone, Elgin Cathedral, Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Ganting Grand Mosque, Hurva Synagogue, Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, Mezhyhirskyi Monastery, Old St Paul's Cathedral, St Mary's Church, Acton, St Mary's Church, Nantwich, St Mary's Church, Nether Alderley, St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford, Sunol Water Temple, Uppsala Cathedral, Wells Cathedral, Zagreb Synagogue, Zhenguo Temple. Cities, countries and regions: Architecture of Denmark, Architecture of Leeds, Architecture of Madagascar, Architecture of Norway, Architecture of Scotland, Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England, Buildings and architecture of Bath, Castles in Great Britain and Ireland, Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, Architecture of the Song Dynasty, Fatimid architecture. |
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