Architecture

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Architecture (disambiguation).

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.[1][2]
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as
distinguished from the skills associated with construction.[3] It is both the
process and the product of sketching, conceiving,[4] planning, designing,
and constructing buildings or other structures.[5] 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.[6]
The practice, which began in the prehistoric era, has been used as a way
of expressing culture by civilizations on all seven continents.[7] 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 theories is the 1st century AD treatise De architectura by
the Roman architect Vitruvius, according to whom a good building
embodies firmitas, utilitas, and 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 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.

Definitions
Architecture can mean:
 A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures.[8]
 The art and science of designing buildings and (some) nonbuilding
structures.[8]
 The style of design and method of construction of buildings and other
physical structures.[8]
 A unifying or coherent form or structure.[9]
 Knowledge of art, science, technology, and humanity.[8]
 The design activity of the architect,[8] 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.[10]
Theory
Main articles: Architectural theory and Philosophy of architecture

Illustration of bracket arm clusters

containing cantilevers from Yingzao Fashi, a text on architecture by Li
Jue (1065–1110)Plan of the second floor (attic storey) of the Hôtel de
Brionne in Paris – 1734.
The philosophy of architecture is a branch of philosophy of art, dealing with
aesthetic value of architecture, its semantics and in relation with
development of culture. Many philosophers and theoreticians
from Plato to Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze,[11] Robert Venturi 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 De
architectura by the Roman architect Vitruvius in the early 1st century AD.
[12]
According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles
of firmitas, utilitas, venustas,[13][14] 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 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.[15] 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.[16]

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."[17] 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".[18] 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 courses or rustication, at the very least.[18]

On the difference between the ideals of architecture and mere construction,

the renowned 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".[19] 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."[20]

The National Congress of Brazil, designed

by Oscar Niemeyer
Modern concepts
The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted
an overriding precept to architectural design: "Form follows function". While
the notion that structural and aesthetic considerations should be entirely
subject to functionality was met with both popularity and skepticism, it had
the effect of introducing 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 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".[21]

Among the philosophies that have influenced modern architects and their
approach to building design
are Rationalism, Empiricism, Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Deconstructi
on and Phenomenology.

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. 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
cooling, water use, waste products and lighting.

History
Main article: History of architecture
Origins and vernacular architecture
Main article: Vernacular architecture


In Norway: wood and elevated-level

 

In Lesotho: rondavel stones

In Ireland: Yola hut

In Romania: peasant houses in the Dimitrie Gusti National Village

Museum (Bucharest)
Building first evolved out of the dynamics between needs (e.g. shelter,
security, and worship) and means (available building materials and
attendant skills). 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 that architectural
success was achieved through trial and error, with progressively less trial
and more replication as results became satisfactory over time. Vernacular
architecture continues to be produced in many parts of the world.
Prehistoric architecture


Göbekli Tepe from Turkey, founded in 10th millennium BC and abandoned in

8th millennium BC

Goseck circle, Germany 4900 BC

Miniature of a regular Cucuteni-Trypillian house, full of ceramic vessels

 

Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae (Orkney, Scotland)

Early human settlements were mostly rural. Expanding economies resulted
in the creation of proto-cities or urban areas, 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 and Çatalhöyük in

Turkey, Jericho in the Levant, Mehrgarh in Pakistan, Skara Brae in Orkney,
and Cucuteni-Trypillian culture settlements
in Romania, Moldova and Ukraine.
Classical era


Mesopotamian architecture: Reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate in

the Pergamon Museum (Berlin, Germany), c. 575 BC


 Ancient Egyptian architecture: The Great Pyramid of Giza (Giza, Egypt), c.
2589–2566 BC, by Hemiunu

Ancient Greek architecture: The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, made

of marble and limestone, c. 460–406 BC

Ancient Roman architecture: The Maison Carrée from Nîmes (France), one of
the best-preserved Roman temples, c. 2 AD

Armenian architecture: The Garni Temple from Garni (Armenia), c. 1st

century AD
In many ancient civilizations such as those of 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.
The architecture and urbanism of classical civilizations such as
the Greek and 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 orders. Roman architecture was
influenced by Greek architecture as they incorporated many Greek
elements into their building practices.[22]

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. Some of the most important early examples of canonic
architecture are religious.
Asian architecture


Indian architecture: The Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (Khajuraho, Madhya

Pradesh, India), c. 1030

Chinese architecture: The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the main building
of the Temple of Heaven (Beijing, China), 1703–1790
 

Japanese architecture: The Himeji Castle (Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan),

1609

Khmer architecture: The Bakong (near Siem Reap, Cambodia), completed in

881
Asian architecture developed differently compared to Europe, and
the Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh architectural styles have different
characteristics. Unlike 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, other architectural achievements in Asia is
the Hindu temple architecture, which developed from around the 5th
century CE, is in theory governed by concepts laid down in the Shastras,
and is concerned with expressing 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 .
Islamic architecture
Main article: Islamic architecture


Moorish architecture: Grand arches of the Mosque–Cathedral of

Córdoba (Córdoba, Spain)

Persian architecture: The Jameh Mosque in Isfahan (Iran)

Mughal architecture: The Taj Mahal in Agra (India)

 

Ottoman architecture: The interior side view of the main dome of the Selimiye
Mosque in Edirne (Turkey)
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, Turkey, North Africa, the Indian Sub-
continent and in parts of Europe, such as Spain, Albania, and the Balkan
States, as the result of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. [23][24]
European medieval architecture
Main article: Medieval architecture


Armenian Architecture: Interior of Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the first cathedral in

the world, founded 303 year AD.


Byzantine architecture: Apse of Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome), decorated in
the 5th century with this glamorous mosaic

Carolingian architecture: Interior of the Aachen Cathedral (Aachen,

Germany), 796–805

Romanesque architecture: Interior of the Durham Cathedral (Durham, UK),

1093–1133

Gothic architecture: Stained glass windows of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris,

completed in 1248, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220
In Europe during the Medieval period, guilds 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 buildings of abbeys

and cathedrals. 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.

Also, 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.
Renaissance architecture
Main article: Renaissance architecture


The Florence Cathedral (Florence, Italy), 1294–1436, by Arnolfo di

Cambio, Filippo Brunelleschi and Emilio De Fabris

The Tempietto (Rome), by Donato Bramante, 1444–1514

 

The Hall of Perspective from Villa Farnesina (Rome), by Baldassare Peruzzi,

1505–1510

The Villa La Rotonda (Vicenza, Italy), 1567 – c. 1592, by Andrea Palladio

The Château de Chenonceau (France), by Philibert de l'Orme, 1576

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, Alberti, Michelangelo, Palladio – and the cult of the individual
had begun. There was still no dividing line between artist, architect
and engineer, or any of the related vocations, and the appellation was often
one of regional preference.
A revival of the 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.
Early modern and the industrial age


Baroque architecture: The Château de Maisons (France), by François

Mansart, 1630–1651

Rococo architecture: The pièce de la vaisselle d'or (Palace of

Versailles, Versailles, France)

Neoclassical architecture: The west facade of the Petit Trianon (Versailles),

1764, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel
 

Historicist architecture (in this case Gothic Revival): Interior of the All
Saints (London), 1850–1859, by William Butterfield

19th century Eclectic Classicist architecture: The Museum of Ages on Victory

Avenue (Bucharest, Romania), late 19th century, unknown architect

19th century industrial architecture: Les Halles (Paris), 1850s-destroyed in

1971, by Victor Baltard
 

Orientalist architecture: The Éden-Théâtre (Paris), early 1880s – demolished

in 1895, by William Klein and Albert Duclos

Revivalist architecture of a national style (in this case Romanian Revival):

The C.N. Câmpeanu House on Bulevardul Dacia (Bucharest), c. 1923, by
[25]
Constantin Nănescu

Beaux-Arts architecture: The CEC Palace on Victory Avenue (Bucharest), 8

[26]
June 1897 – 1900, by Paul Gottereau
 

Art Nouveau architecture: The Entrance of the Castel Béranger (Paris),

1895–1898, by Hector Guimard
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 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.
Modernism
Main article: Modern architecture
 

Early Modern architecture: The Fagus Factory (Alfeld, Germany), 1911,

by Walter Gropius

Expressionist architecture: The Einstein Tower (Potsdam, near Berlin,

Germany), 1919–1922, by Erich Mendelsohn

Art Deco architecture: The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris), 1910–1913,

by Auguste Perret
 

International Style: The Glaspaleis (Heerlen, the Netherlands), 1934–1935,

by Frits Peutz and Philip Johnson
Around the beginning of the 20th century, general dissatisfaction with the
emphasis on 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 – the apex – of art, craft, and technology.

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.

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 was a technological break-
through in building ever higher. By mid-century, Modernism had morphed
into the International Style, an aesthetic epitomized in many ways by the
Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center designed by Minoru
Yamasaki.
Postmodernism
Main article: Postmodern architecture


Piazza d'Italia (New Orleans, US), 1978, by Charles Moore

Team Disney Building (Los Angeles, US), 1990, by Michael Graves

 

Multicolour interior of the Cambridge Judge Business School (Cambridge, the

UK), 1995, by John Outram

The Dancing House (Prague, Czech Republic), 1996, by Vlado

Milunić and Frank Gehry
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, 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 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.[27]

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 in the United
States, Christian Norberg-Schulz in Norway, and Ernesto Nathan
Rogers and Vittorio Gregotti, Michele Valori, 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.[28] 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 tectonic forms).[29]
Architecture today
Main article: Contemporary architecture


The Meadows Museum (Dallas, Texas, US), 2001, by HBRA architects


 The Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China), 2003–2007, by Herzog & de
Meuron

The Library and Learning Center of the University of Vienna (Vienna,

Austria), 2008, by Zaha Hadid

The Isbjerget housing project (Aarhus, Denmark), inspired by form and color
of icebergs, 2013, by CEBRA, JDS Architects, Louis Paillard, and SeARCH
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[Notes 1] from the
'project' architect who ensures that the project meets the required
standards and deals with matters of liability.[Notes 2] The preparatory
processes for the design of any large building have become increasingly
complicated,[30] 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. Modernism and 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, greener roof
designs, 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.[31] The
U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) rating system has been instrumental in this.[32][quantify]

Concurrently, the recent movements of New Urbanism, Metaphoric

architecture, Complementary architecture and New Classical
architecture promote a sustainable approach towards construction that
appreciates and develops smart growth, architectural tradition and classical
design.[33][34] This in contrast to modernist and globally uniform architecture,
as well as leaning against solitary housing estates and suburban sprawl.
[35]
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.[36]

Types

Stourhead in Wiltshire, England, designed

by Henry Hoare (1705–1785)
Residential architecture
Residential architecture is the design of functional fits the user's lifestyle
while adhering to the building codes and zoning laws.
Commercial architecture
Commercial architecture is the design of commercial buildings that serves
the needs of businesses, the government and religious institutions.[37]
Industrial architecture
Main article: 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 article: Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor public areas, landmarks,
and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioral, or aesthetic
outcomes.[38] 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
management; environmental restoration; parks and recreation planning;
visual resource management; green infrastructure planning and provision;
and private estate and 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 article: Interior architecture

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.[39] 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 article: 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.[40]

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.[41] 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.
Other types of architecture
Naval architecture
Main article: Naval architecture

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 marine vessels and
structures.[42][43] 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, construction, trials, operation and maintenance, launching and dry-
docking are the main activities involved. Ship design calculations are also
required for ships being 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",[44] 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 views of any type of system.[45]
Seismic architecture
Main article: Earthquake engineering
The term 'seismic architecture' or 'earthquake architecture' was first
introduced in 1985 by Robert Reitherman.[46] 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.[47] 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.[48]

See also