The Architecture Portal
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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The history of architecture traces the changes in architecture through various traditions, regions, overarching stylistic trends, and dates. The beginnings of all these traditions is thought to be humans satisfying the very basic need of shelter and protection. The term "architecture" generally refers to buildings, but in its essence is much broader, including fields we now consider specialized forms of practice, such as urbanism, civil engineering, naval, military, and landscape architecture.
Trends in architecture were influenced, among other factors, by technological innovations, particularly in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The improvement and/or use of steel, cast iron, tile, reinforced concrete, and glass helped for example Art Nouveau appear and made Beaux Arts more grandiose. (Full article...)General images –
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Grove Road Cemetery once had two chapels by architect Thomas Charles Sorby, and contains self-made men George Dawson, Richard Ellis and David Simpson, banker John Smith, bandleader Daniel Schwarz, newspaperman Robert Ackrill, kayaker Fridel Meyer, and miser John Turner?
- ... that former New Jersey first lady Lucinda Florio restored the Italianate gardens at Drumthwacket?
- ... that Indian philanthropist and business executive T. Mohandas Pai has been called the "architect of modern Manipal"?
- ... that distinctly Nubian pyramids were built early in the history of the architecture of Sudan?
- ... that the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in New York City was designed by "the only architects in the city who had not begged for the job"?
- ... that the Konzerthalle in Bad Salzuflen, an example of spa architecture in the 1960s, is one of the regular venues of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie?
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