Architecture is a term with several meanings. It may refer to the art and science of building, which is practiced by artists called architects. Or, architecture may mean the buildings themselves. The term may also have a historical meaning referring either to the building style of a particular culture or to an artistic movement. For example, we speak of Greek architecture, Gothic architecture, or Islamic architecture.
Architects create many kinds of structures. For instance, they design houses, schools, hotels, hospitals, stadiums, factories, office buildings, theaters, and houses of worship. Architects also design monuments dedicated to the memory of important events and people. The beauty of a city or town is largely influenced by the quality of its architecture. 
Although architecture has artistic qualities, it must also satisfy a number of important practical requirements. For example, an architect may design an office building that looks beautiful. However, if people cannot work comfortably and efficiently in it, the building fails architecturally.
There are unique features of architecture that set it apart from other arts. In most cases, painters, writers, composers, and other artists create their works and then try to sell them. But a building may cost millions or billions of dollars to construct. In nearly all instances, architects must have a buyer for their work before they create it. Rarely can an architect design an office building, afford to have it constructed, and then try to find someone who will buy it.
Unlike some other artists, architects must work with other people to produce their designs. Novelists, for example, can create their stories alone from their own inspiration. But almost all architects design a building for a client and must observe the client’s wishes and needs. Within the limits of those wishes and needs, architects can make their personal artistic contributions.
Architecture is one of the oldest art forms. It dates from prehistoric times and is found in almost all societies. A society’s architecture reflects the values and ideals of its people. For example, the ancient Greeks stressed discipline and harmony in life, and so they created an architectural style that was balanced and orderly. The beautifully proportioned Greek temple reflects this emphasis on harmony. The Middle Ages was a period of deep religious faith in Europe. Architects designed majestic cathedrals with vaults (arched ceilings) and towers that seemed to soar toward heaven. Like the Greek temple, the medieval cathedral was intended to inspire a mood of reverence among worshipers.
Architects rank among the greatest figures in the history of art. Many architectural masterpieces, however, were created by skilled builders who probably did not consider themselves artists and did not intend to build important works of architecture. During the 1600’s, for example, colonists in New England built houses that were not primarily designed to be beautiful. Some of these houses have been preserved and are admired today for their skilled carpentry and handsome outlines.
This article describes the basic elements of architecture and discusses the history of architecture throughout the world from its beginnings to the present. The article also surveys the education and training needed to become an architect as well as the various careers available in architecture.
Elements of architecture
In designing a building, architects think in terms of space, planes, and openings. They consider a building as space enclosed by planes—that is, by the surface of walls, floors, and ceilings. Openings include doorways, windows, and archways. An architect’s basic task is to “shape” space into appropriate and practical forms through the arrangement of openings and planes. At various times in history, architects have considered certain shapes more beautiful than others and have emphasized them in their designs. The most popular shapes have included the square, rectangle, and sphere. Architects often combine two or more shapes in one design.
A building should be pleasing to look at, but it should also enable people to live or work in it comfortably and efficiently. In addition, the structure should be well built so that it can stand a long time without expensive maintenance. To create an attractive and efficient building, an architect must balance three major elements: (1) function, (2) appearance, and (3) durability.
Function.
Every building is designed for certain purposes. A functional building—whether a small house or a gigantic office building—fulfills those purposes by serving the needs of its users in a pleasant and convenient way. The building is also designed to provide lighting, electricity, and climate control.
Today, energy conservation has become an important consideration in architectural planning. For example, architects may use large windows or even entire walls made of glass to help heat a building with solar energy.
Many activities may take place within a building. In a house, common activities include eating, sleeping, bathing, and entertaining. Each activity has different requirements in regard to the location, size, lighting, and accessibility of the rooms in which the activity occurs. For example, a bedroom is a private room and should be set off from the rest of the living spaces. But everyone in a house uses the dining room, and so it should be more centrally located.
An office building involves a much more complex arrangement of space than a house. The architect must make sure that hundreds or perhaps thousands of workers can move quickly through the various parts of the building. In addition, visitors should be able to enter and leave the building easily. Parts of the structure may house special equipment, and a large amount of storage space may be required. The architect must also consider the activities that take place outside the building. For example, the building may require parking facilities. In addition, the architect may have to plan traffic patterns so that automobiles and other vehicles can approach and leave the building without crossing many lanes of traffic. Driveways must be wide enough for fire trucks to enter, and loading docks must be the proper height for delivery trucks.
Appearance.
An architect determines the exterior appearance of the building not only by its shape but also by the choice of materials. The natural colors of stone, brick, and wood have always been popular, alone or in combinations. During the 1900’s, tinted glass played an important role in exterior building design. Many architects give special attention to texture in their designs. Some architects choose rough-textured wood or stone. Others prefer the sleek, elegant quality of highly polished glass and metal.
Many architects have created dramatic or pleasing patterns through the skillful arrangement of materials. For example, architects have used glass and concrete, various combinations of brickwork, or contrasting kinds of stone.
Durability.
Most architecture is intended to stand a long time. To last many years without costly maintenance, a building must have a strong foundation. In addition, the exterior must be able to resist wear from the weather, and high-quality materials must be used in the interior.
Early architecture
The first significant architecture appeared in two regions of the Middle East more than 5,000 years ago. One region, Mesopotamia, lay in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now eastern Iraq, northeastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey. The other region lay in the Nile River Valley in what is present-day Egypt.
Mesopotamian architecture.
Four major culture groups dominated Mesopotamian history. They were the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. The history of the region was marked by numerous wars and invasions. Thus, the various cultures constructed many fortified buildings.
Most Mesopotamian buildings were made of brick and clay, which are not highly durable materials. As a result, no complete example of Mesopotamian architecture has survived. However, archaeologists have been able to reconstruct the plans of some buildings.
A Sumerian civilization developed in Mesopotamia in the 3000’s B.C. The first important Sumerian structures were temples. An early example was the White Temple (late 3000’s B.C.) in the city of Uruk. The temple was made of whitewashed brick. Architects built the temple on a platform known as a plinth. Later Mesopotamians developed this form into large pyramidlike towers called ziggurats. 
After the Assyrians fell in the 600’s B.C., the Babylonians rose to power. They built a large ziggurat in their capital city of Babylon (early 500’s B.C.). Babylon also included the famous Hanging Gardens and the Ishtar Gate, which was decorated with colored glazed brick. The gate is now preserved in the State Museums in Berlin, Germany.
In 539 B.C., the Persians conquered Mesopotamia. The Persian religion, Zoroastrianism, did not require temples. But the Persians built many palaces, most notably a palace complex in the religious capital of Persepolis. This group of adjoining buildings, which was completed in the mid-400’s B.C., consisted of several palaces, halls, chambers, and courtyards. The Persian king received visitors in a huge room known as the Hall of One Hundred Columns. This room was 250 feet (76 meters) square with a vast beamed ceiling supported by columns perhaps 60 feet (18 meters) high. See Persia, Ancient.
Egyptian architecture
centered on the king, who was the religious and political ruler of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians considered their kings to be gods, and they built stone tombs, temples, and palaces as monuments to them.
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Pyramids at Giza
The best-known Egyptian tombs are huge pyramids in which the kings were buried. The ruins of 35 major pyramids still stand along the Nile River. Each pyramid was part of a group of structures that commonly included a large temple on the eastern side of the pyramid and a smaller temple near the Nile. A long passageway linked the two temples. The Egyptians probably considered the king’s burial chamber, which was sealed off and hidden after the burial, the most sacred part of a pyramid.
The first known Egyptian pyramid was built for King Zoser about 2650 B.C. at Saqqarah. It rises in a series of six giant steps. Three large and well-preserved pyramids were built from about 2600 to 2500 B.C. at Giza for Kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. These massive works originally had smooth sides.
A great period of Egyptian architecture began in the 1500’s B.C. and lasted for about 500 years. Architects during this time mainly designed temples rather than pyramids. The temples were huge structures supported by columns. Ramps and halls connected the various rooms. People entered most temples through gateways formed by two huge towers called pylons. One unusual masterpiece of the period is the temple built for Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri about 1480 B.C. Her subjects erected it along the foot of a huge cliff, vividly uniting architecture with nature.
Asian and pre-Columbian architecture
Asian architecture has four main branches—Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Islamic. Indian and Islamic architecture have had especially widespread influence. Indian architecture includes the architecture of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar (also called Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Tibet as well as that of India. Islamic architecture refers to buildings designed by Muslims. Muslims are followers of Islam, the religion based on the life and teaching of the Prophet Muhammad. Islamic architecture can be found primarily in the Middle East, northern Africa, Spain, and Asia.
Thousands of years ago, the ancestors of Native Americans migrated from Asia to the Americas. By 100 B.C., several Native American groups, particularly in what is now Latin America, had developed advanced cultures and produced magnificent architecture. Native American art and architecture created before A.D. 1492 is called pre-Columbian because it was produced before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas.
Chinese architecture.
Chinese architecture began to develop in ancient times. The Chinese constructed a variety of buildings, but the chief structures were Buddhist temples and many-storied towers called pagodas.
Chinese temples consisted of rectangular wooden halls that featured an elaborate and beautiful arrangement of timber beams in the ceiling. Walls did not support the roof but served simply as screens for privacy and for protection against the weather. The roof support came from posts connected to the ceiling beams by wooden brackets called dougong, many of which were carved, painted red, and coated with gold. The dougong allowed the roof to curve gracefully upward. The Chinese covered many of their roofs with blue, green, or yellow glazed tiles. For illustrations of Chinese architecture, see Beijing; Pagoda.
Japanese architecture
has been strongly influenced by Chinese architecture. Thus, traditional Japanese architecture is based mainly on the use of wooden beams and posts. Shinto shrines, which are found throughout Japan, provide an excellent example. Shinto is the native religion of Japan. Shinto shrines are wooden frame structures built on posts that raise the shrine above the ground. Ceiling beams project beyond the walls and give the roofs a deep overhang.
Traditional Japanese houses, whether large or small, have the same design. Upright posts support the roof. Sliding doors are built into the lightweight walls. The interior walls provide privacy rather than support. Many of the houses are set within walled gardens. For a picture of a traditional house, see Japan (Way of life).
Indian architecture
had developed by the 200’s B.C. The first great influence on Indian architecture was Buddhism, a major religion in India. Buddhism inspired the building of temples called chaityas, monasteries, and stupas. A stupa is a dome-shaped monument that houses relics of Buddha, who founded the religion in the 500’s B.C. Many of the temples were carved from solid rock.
Hinduism and Islam also influenced Indian architecture. Hindu temples have rows of sculptured columns and richly carved exteriors, open porches, and spires. The Muslims conquered India during the 1500’s and introduced their style of architecture. The most outstanding Islamic building in India is the beautiful Taj Mahal (about 1630-1650) in Agra. Angkor (1100’s), a group of temples in Cambodia, shows the Hindu influence on architecture outside India. For illustrations of Indian architecture, see India (The arts); Sculpture (As part of architecture.).
Islamic architecture.
The most important Islamic building is the house of worship called a mosque. The styles of mosques vary among Islamic countries, but most mosques have a large courtyard surrounded by colonnades or arcades. A colonnade is a row of columns, and an arcade is a row of arches built on columns. Mosque walls are faced (covered) with colored brick, tiles, and stucco, often in elaborate patterns. All mosques have one or more towers known as minarets, and many mosques are topped by domes.
In addition to mosques, Muslim architects have designed palaces, tombs, and religious schools called madrasahs. The typical madrasah is a four-sided building surrounding a courtyard. In most cases, a large arched hall called an iwan is in the middle of each side of the building. Students hear lectures held in the iwans. For illustrations of Islamic art, see Islamic art; Spain (The arts).
Pre-Columbian architecture.
The Aztec, Toltec, Maya, and Inca developed the most influential ancient cultures in what is now Latin America. The Aztec and Toltec flourished in central Mexico. The Maya lived in Mexico and Central America, and the Inca built a huge empire in western South America.
Nearly all the surviving Aztec, Toltec, and Maya structures had a religious purpose. The most impressive of these structures were stone pyramids topped by small temples. The pyramids were part of ceremonial centers that also included altars, palaces, and plazas. The Inca built large temples, fortresses, and public buildings on mountainsides. Some of the best-known Inca ruins are at Machu Picchu, a site that lies in the Andes Mountains about 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) above sea level. 
A number of Native American cultures developed in North America. The Ancestral Pueblo people of what is now the Southwestern United States created the most significant architecture. Their architecture consisted primarily of housing that rose next to cliffs like apartment houses. They built their cliff dwellings of stone, adobe, or timber. Religious ceremonies were held in circular chambers called kivas, which were constructed underground. 
For illustrations of pre-Columbian architecture, see Aztec; Colorado (Visitor’s guide); Indigenous peoples of the Americas (Peoples of Middle America); Maya; Mexico (Arts); Pyramids.
Classical architecture
The term classical architecture refers to the building styles developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans. However, the roots of classical architecture can be traced to buildings created by two early Greek peoples, the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. Classical Greek architecture, in turn, greatly influenced Roman architecture.
Minoan architecture.
The Minoans developed the first important European civilization. They lived on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. The great age of Minoan architecture lasted from about 2000 to 1450 B.C.
The finest Minoan architectural achievement was the Palace of Minos (about 1500 B.C.) in the town of Knossos. This complex and sprawling structure had dozens of rooms built around a courtyard. Wooden columns supported the beams of the ceiling. Architects divided these beams into three horizontal bands. They were the architrave on the bottom, the frieze in the middle, and the cornice on top. The three sections together are called the entablature. The entablature became a vital part of later Greek architecture. 
The Minoans also built palaces in the towns of Kato Zakro, Mallia, and Phaistos. All Minoan palaces served as administrative and commercial centers as well as royal residences.
Mycenaean architecture.
The main center of the Mycenaeans was the city of Mycenae in southern Greece. After about 1600 B.C., they built beautifully cut stone tombs that resemble the shape of beehives. The finest example of a beehive tomb is called the Treasury of Atreus (about 1300-1250 B.C.).
The Mycenaeans constructed fortresslike palaces of huge stone blocks. The heart of the palace was a rectangular royal audience hall known as the megaron. A porch, which was supported by two columns, and a vestibule led to the megaron. The megaron had a hearth in the middle for an open fire. A hole in the ceiling allowed the smoke to escape. Four columns around the hearth supported the roof.
Classical Greek architecture
has been imitated down to the present day. The best-known Greek contribution to architecture was a set of styles, called orders, of columns and their accompanying entablature. The Greeks used three basic orders—Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Each of the three orders had its own distinctive decoration.
The principal type of classical Greek building was the temple. Its design followed the plan of the Mycenaean megaron. A Greek temple generally included arrangements of columns that surrounded a long chamber for a statue of the god or goddess to whom the temple was dedicated. Many Greek temples were built on a hill that overlooked a city. Such a hill was known as an acropolis.
The Greeks developed formulas for the various styles of temples. The formulas set forth the order; the number, height, width, and spacing of the columns; and even the details of the smallest carvings. A typical formula was Doric peripteral hexastyle. Doric meant that the building would be erected in the Doric order with standard Doric ornamentation. Peripteral indicated that the building would be surrounded by a single row of columns. Hexastyle meant that the front entrance, or portico, would be six columns wide. Greek architects used the diameter of the column at its base as the unit of measurement for determining the proportions of the entire building. This unit is called the module.
In spite of the use of formulas, Greek temple designs had great flexibility and variety. A temple could be low and long or high and short. It might be simple or highly decorative. The number of columns could vary from 2 to more than 100. For illustrations of Greek architecture, see Athens; Column; Greece; Greece, Ancient.
Roman architecture.
The Romans ruled the largest empire of ancient times. At its peak, the Roman Empire included all the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. It also extended as far north as Scotland and as far east as the Persian Gulf. Numerous architectural styles were used throughout the empire because many regions had developed their own building traditions. Nevertheless, Roman architecture had a great deal of stylistic unity. The Romans built more kinds of structures than did the people of any earlier civilization. In addition to houses, temples, and palaces, the Romans constructed such projects as aqueducts, public baths, shops, theaters, and gigantic outdoor arenas. Most of these structures were built during the period from about 100 B.C. to the A.D. 300’s. 
A splendid example of Roman vault design is the Baths of Caracalla (A.D. 217) in Rome. The ruins of the building still stand. The baths had a system of vaults that covered vast areas of interior space. This space was so high and so deep that the Romans admired it as an extraordinary new form of architectural beauty.
For illustrations of Roman architecture, see Rome; Rome, Ancient; Forum, Roman; Spain (History); Colosseum.
Medieval architecture
Medieval architecture refers to structures built in Europe during the Middle Ages. This historical period lasted from about the A.D. 400’s through the 1400’s. The intellectual and spiritual life of medieval Europe centered on the Christian church, and so nearly all architects designed churches, monasteries, and other religious buildings. However, castles, fortresses, and other nonreligious structures were also built.
Medieval architects developed a number of styles. The Byzantine style became dominant in eastern Europe. In western Europe, the leading styles were the Carolingian, the Romanesque, and the Gothic. All four styles were preceded by early Christian architecture, which flourished from the 300’s to the 500’s.
Early Christian architecture.
During the early centuries of Christianity, a number of regional cultures—and regional architectural styles—developed in Europe and the Middle East. But most early Christian architects borrowed heavily from the Romans. They based their primary church design, the basilica, on large Roman halls that were used for public meetings.
In many basilicas, colonnades and arcades separated the interior into a nave and side aisles. The exteriors of most basilicas were plain brick or stone, but the interiors glowed with brilliant mosaics and frescoes. Mosaics consist of small pieces of glass, marble, or stone arranged to form an image. Frescoes are paintings created by applying paint to fresh plaster.
Byzantine architecture.
In 330, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great established a new capital of the Roman Empire at the city of Byzantium in what is now Turkey. Byzantium was renamed Constantinople. In 395, the Roman Empire split into two parts—the East Roman Empire, which had its capital in Constantinople, and the West Roman Empire, which had its capital in Rome. The West Roman Empire fell to Germanic tribes in the 400’s. But the East Roman Empire thrived. It later became known as the Byzantine Empire.
By the 500’s, a distinct Byzantine style of art had developed. The finest achievement of Byzantine architecture was the great domed cathedral Hagia Sophia (532-537) in Constantinople. It was designed by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 and later renamed the city Istanbul. They converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque. But the only change they made to the exterior of the building was to add four minarets.
Hagia Sophia has a huge central dome that tops a square space. This arrangement became a common feature of Byzantine architecture. Four curved and inverted triangles called pendentives, made of brick, support the dome. By using pendentives, the architects could build a round dome over a square space. Inside Hagia Sophia, two-story arcades border the nave. Beautiful mosaics decorate the interior of the building. Mosaics were an important decoration in most Byzantine churches.
Other examples of Byzantine architecture include the Church of San Vitale (mid-500’s) in Ravenna, Italy; the Basilica of St. Mark (begun in the mid-1000’s) in Venice, Italy; and St. Basil’s Cathedral (1555-1560) in Moscow, Russia. See also Byzantine art.
Carolingian architecture
takes its name from Charlemagne, who was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814. From his capital at what is now Aachen, in western Germany, Charlemagne ruled a vast territory that included most of western Europe.
Charlemagne and his family wanted to revive the culture of early Christian Rome. Carolingian architects claimed that they copied early Christian architecture, but they changed the models to suit their needs. In particular, they made outstanding contributions to church and monastery design. The architects followed the plan of the basilica but added chapels, elaborate tombs, and high towers. They also invented an entrance known as a westwork, which included a porch, chapels, and small towers called turrets. Carolingian monks developed a monastery plan in which cloisters (covered walks) joined the church, library, kitchen, and other facilities. 
Romanesque architecture
began in the late 800’s and achieved its greatest importance during the 1000’s and 1100’s. The most significant Romanesque buildings were churches designed in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and England.
Scholars of the 1800’s originated the term Romanesque, which means like the Roman. These scholars believed that Romanesque architecture chiefly reflected Roman designs. However, Romanesque architecture actually combined Roman with Byzantine styles and many new features.
Romanesque churches differed from country to country, but many of the churches shared certain features. The typical Romanesque church had thick walls, columns built close together, and heavy curved arches. A tower rose from the roof over the point where the transept crossed the nave. Four large supports called piers held up the tower. An arcade separated the nave from the side aisles. A gallery was built above the arcade. The clerestory, made up of a row of windows set in arches, topped the gallery.
During the Romanesque period, many people made pilgrimages—that is, journeys to sacred places. Groups of pilgrims traveled throughout Europe and Palestine to visit pilgrimage churches, which housed the bones or possessions of certain saints. Important pilgrimage churches were extremely large to accommodate the many visitors. An example is the enormous Church of St. Sernin (about 1080-1120) in Toulouse, France. The church has two aisles on each side of the nave. Small chapels open into the ambulatory, a semicircular aisle enclosing the apse. This plan permitted pilgrims to move along the aisles without disturbing services at the main altar. See Romanesque architecture.
Gothic architecture
flourished from the mid-1100’s to as late as the 1600’s in some parts of Europe. The word Gothic originated as a term of disapproval. It was used by artists and writers of the 1500’s who wanted to revive the classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome in Europe. They associated the Gothic style with the Goths, a Germanic people who had invaded Rome during the 400’s. The artists and writers objected to the complicated Gothic designs, which differed so greatly from the harmonious classical style.
A new system of construction enabled Gothic architects to design churches with thinner walls and lighter piers than was possible in Romanesque churches. Many piers consisted of clusters of columns several stories high. Gothic architects extended the piers into the roof area and then curved out the individual columns like the ribs of an open umbrella. The space between the ribs was filled in with masonry. These ribbed vaults were among the most distinctive characteristics of Gothic architecture. Other common features of the style included pointed arches and the substitution of stained-glass windows for large portions of the walls. Many churches also had flying buttresses, which were brick or stone arched supports built against the exterior walls.
Sculptors carved the figures of saints and heroes of Christianity on church doorways. Medieval Christians believed that, in a symbolic sense, these saints and heroes inhabited and strengthened the church building.
For illustrations of Gothic churches, see Cathedral; Chartres Cathedral; Gothic art; Notre Dame, Cathedral of; Reims.
Renaissance architecture
The word renaissance means rebirth. In European history, it refers to the great rebirth of interest in classical culture, especially that of ancient Rome.
Early Renaissance architecture
began during the 1400’s. The originator of the new Renaissance style was Filippo Brunelleschi of Florence. Brunelleschi’s first great project was the dome (1420-1436) for the Cathedral of Florence. The cathedral was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style of the late Middle Ages. Brunelleschi followed this style in designing the octagonal dome, but he also used a vault technique inspired by the Romans. Italians considered the Brunelleschi dome to be the greatest engineering accomplishment of their time.
Brunelleschi also designed other notable structures in Florence, including the Foundling Hospital (begun in 1421), the Church of San Lorenzo (begun in 1421), and the Church of Santo Spirito (begun in 1436). The two churches were not completed until the second half of the 1400’s, after Brunelleschi’s death. In all of these buildings, the architect revived the classical forms that became basic elements of the Italian Renaissance style. For example, he used Corinthian columns in the Church of San Lorenzo. The church has geometric balance, and harmony typical of Renaissance architecture.
Leon Battista Alberti was another leading Italian Renaissance architect. Alberti wrote an influential book about classical architecture titled On Architecture (begun in the 1440’s). The book stimulated scholars to discuss architectural theory for its own sake apart from its application in actual buildings. 
Alberti completed only a few designs, but they had great impact on later architects. He designed the facade (front) of the Church of Santa Maria Novella (about 1456-1470) in Florence. He decorated the facade with black and white marble, arranging a pattern of circles, squares, and rectangles in the upper stories. These patterns were taken from classical decorations and gave the impression of mathematical proportion and harmony. Alberti also designed the Church of Sant’ Andrea (begun in 1470) in Mantua. The church’s exterior has none of the sculptured Christian figures and other features typical of Gothic architecture. Instead, Alberti designed the facade to resemble a classical temple with a large arch in the center.
Later Renaissance architecture.
Bramante was the original architect of St. Peter’s. He designed the structure as a combination of square, circular, and Greek cross forms. A Greek cross has four arms of equal length. Michelangelo designed the great ribbed dome (completed in 1591, after his death) as a Renaissance version of Brunelleschi’s Gothic-style dome on the Cathedral of Florence.
Another great Italian Renaissance architect was Andrea Palladio. During the middle and late 1500’s, Palladio designed Roman-inspired villas and palaces, which he published in a book that made him one of the most influential architects in history. His Villa Rotonda (begun about 1567) near Vicenza particularly influenced English and American architects of the 1700’s.
From Italy, Renaissance architecture spread to France in the early 1500’s and then to other European countries. At first, architects in these countries followed Italian models. However, they rapidly developed distinct national styles.
The finest French Renaissance buildings are magnificent châteaux (castles), such as those built at Fontainebleau, Chambord, and Azay-le-Rideau mainly during the early 1500’s. In Spain, Juan de Herrera designed much of the Escorial (1563-1584) near Madrid. This enormous building consists of a church, a monastery, a palace, and a college. Inigo Jones produced the most notable early examples of Renaissance architecture in England during the early 1600’s. He based his superb Banqueting House (1622) in London on Palladio’s designs.
For illustrations of Renaissance architecture, see Bramante, Donato; Brunelleschi, Filippo; Florence; Vatican City.
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture began in Rome during the early 1600’s. It soon spread throughout Italy and to other parts of Europe. Baroque architects sought to produce highly dramatic effects in their works. The typical Baroque building featured curved forms, an extravagant use of columns, and ornate decoration.
The most spectacular examples of the Baroque style appeared in Italy, Austria, Spain, and southern Germany. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, and Guarino Guarini rank as the most outstanding Baroque architects in Italy. The Baroque fascination with columns is reflected in the keyhole-shaped colonnade (begun 1657) that Bernini designed to enclose the courtyard of St. Peter’s Basilica. Borromini’s curves and twisted shapes characterize the famous Church of Sant’ Agnese in Piazza Navona (1666) in Rome. One of Guarini’s finest designs is the Church of San Lorenzo (1668-1687) in Turin.
Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach of Austria and Balthasar Neumann of Germany designed many outstanding Baroque churches and palaces in their countries. The extremely elaborate Spanish Baroque style is often called Churrigueresque. The name comes from three brothers—Alberto, Joaquin, and Jose Churriguera—who were early leaders of the style. 
In France and England, the Baroque style was far less extravagant than it was in other European countries. French and English architects retained the Renaissance square, rectangle, and circle as basic forms of decoration. They designed enormous buildings with simple lines and row after row of columns or windows.
Perhaps the greatest French Baroque building is the magnificent Palace of Versailles (begun about 1661). Its major architects were Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart. The palace is more than 1/4 mile (0.4 kilometer) long and has about 1,300 rooms.
Sir John Vanbrugh designed the most extravagant English Baroque palace, Blenheim Palace (1705-1724) in Oxfordshire. The leading English architect of the Baroque style, however, was Sir Christopher Wren. His design for St. Paul’s Cathedral (1675-1710) in London is a masterpiece of the style.
For pictures of Baroque architecture, see London; Versailles, Palace of; Wren, Sir Christopher.
The 1700’s
During the 1700’s, three major architectural styles appeared in Europe: (1) Rococo architecture, (2) the Palladian Revival, and (3) Neoclassical architecture. In addition, colonial architecture in America began to flourish in the 1700’s. Colonial architecture was heavily influenced by European styles.
Rococo architecture
was the final phase of the Baroque style. It developed in France around 1720 and spread to other countries during the next 60 years. Compared with the monumental Baroque style, Rococo architecture was light and delicate. However, Rococo buildings had even more elaborate decorations than did Baroque structures. In France, the most outstanding Rococo buildings were elegant houses built in Paris for the nobility. But the highlights of the Rococo style were palaces, churches, and monasteries erected in southern Germany and Austria. Dominikus Zimmermann created a Rococo masterpiece in his design for Die Wies pilgrimage church (1754) in southern Germany. 
The Palladian Revival
mainly reflected the classical designs of the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. The style began in the early 1700’s and was most prominent in England, though it also appeared in northern Italy and North America. Most Palladian Revival buildings were country houses. 
Colen Campbell, a Scottish architect, introduced the Palladian Revival style. However, the leader of the movement was Lord Burlington, an English amateur architect. Burlington and his friend William Kent designed the first great Palladian Revival building, Chiswick House (1726) in London. It was modeled on Palladio’s Villa Rotonda and set in a large garden based on Roman garden design. Such gardens became a common feature of Palladian Revival architecture.
Neoclassical architecture
reflected a renewed interest in the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. The prefix neo means new. Neoclassical architecture was inspired by buildings discovered in the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The cities had been buried by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. Archaeologists began excavating the cities in the mid-1700’s.
Neoclassical architects followed Greek and Roman styles more closely than Renaissance architects had done. Like Baroque architects, the Neoclassicists designed colonnades and large structures, especially public buildings. In their designs, however, they used simpler geometric forms, such as the square and sphere, rather than the Baroque swirls and curves.
The most important Neoclassical architects in England were Sir William Chambers and Robert Adam. Chambers designed many public buildings, notably Somerset House (1780) in London. Adam became an influential interior designer and furniture designer as well as a leading architect. He made Roman designs fashionable in such country houses as Osterley Park House (1763-1780) in London.
Pietro Bianchi, an Italian architect, designed one of the major Neoclassical buildings of the early 1800’s, the Church of San Francesco di Paola (begun about 1816) in Naples. The design of the church is based on that of the Pantheon, an ancient Roman temple. However, the curved exterior colonnade shows the influence of Bernini’s colonnade for St. Peter’s Basilica.
French architects designed many Neoclassical buildings. One of the most famous is the Panthéon (about 1757-1790) in Paris, designed by Jacques Soufflot. The Panthéon was originally a church named after Sainte Genevieve, but the building is now a public monument. 
In the United States, Neoclassical architecture became known as the Federal style. The leading Federal style architects were Benjamin Latrobe and Charles Bulfinch. Latrobe is best known for his designs for the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Bulfinch’s most important projects included the statehouses of Maine and Massachusetts.
Colonial architecture in America
In the Northern Colonies, the colonists built wooden houses designed to withstand the cold winters. Most of the houses were small, with one or two rooms that could be heated easily. The houses had sloping roofs to shed snow. Architecture in the Middle Colonies showed the influence of a number of European styles. In New York, for example, many Dutch colonists followed architectural styles in the Netherlands and built houses of brick with wooden shutters. In the two Chesapeake Colonies of Virginia and Maryland and in the Southern Colonies, wealthy planters constructed the largest colonial residences, modeling some of these buildings on English country houses. Thomas Jefferson designed several buildings in Virginia that reflected Neoclassicism and the Palladian Revival.
For pictures of colonial architecture, see the articles Arizona (Visitor’s guide); New Mexico (Visitor’s guide); Virginia (Visitor’s guide). See also Colonial life in America; Jefferson, Thomas; Williamsburg.
The 1800’s
By the early 1800’s, the development of architecture was greatly affected by the rapid growth of industrialization in western Europe and eastern North America. This Industrial Revolution created a demand for architects to plan new types of buildings and to devise new construction techniques. At the same time, many architects revived various styles of the past. The most important revivals were the Greek Revival and the Gothic Revival. A number of architects combined two or more earlier styles into one design.
The Industrial Revolution
began in the United Kingdom during the 1700’s and spread to other European countries and to North America by the early 1800’s. For centuries, architects had concentrated on designing religious buildings, castles, palaces, and country houses. The Industrial Revolution required such structures as factories, railroad stations, warehouses, and office buildings. Architects used new materials and new methods to design the new structures.
The Crystal Palace did not resemble any earlier style of architecture. However, many structures built with the new technology preserved associations with historical styles. For example, the English architects John Dobson and Philip Hardwick designed a number of railroad stations with Neoclassical facades. Hardwick also used cast-iron Doric columns to support his St. Katherine’s Dock warehouses (1828) in London. The French architect Henri Labrouste combined new building techniques with the Renaissance style in the library of Sainte Geneviève (1850) in Paris. The library has walls of traditional masonry, but the vaults and columns are made of iron. Labrouste allowed the iron to show, making the library the first major public building to use iron as part of the architectural style.
The Greek Revival
began in the late 1700’s. It ended as a distinct movement in the mid-1800’s, though buildings in the Greek style are still being built. The Greek Revival style was considered especially appropriate for such buildings as museums, stock exchanges, banks, and government offices. Advances in classical scholarship enabled architects to re-create Greek designs with great accuracy.
A leading Greek Revival architect in England was Sir Robert Smirke. He designed the British Museum (1823-1847) in London to resemble a huge Greek temple of the Ionic order. William Strickland designed the first important Greek Revival building in the United States, the Second Bank of the United States (1824) in Philadelphia. The front of the structure resembles a Greek temple of the Doric order.
The Gothic Revival.
The Gothic style never went completely out of fashion. In the centuries after the Middle Ages, various architects used elements of the Gothic style. However, the revival of Gothic as a deliberate architectural movement began in the 1700’s and reached its peak during the mid-1800’s. By the 1880’s, the movement was in decline.
During the early and mid-1800’s, the English architect A. W. N. Pugin wrote several influential books supporting the Gothic style. Pugin urged architects to design churches in the Gothic style because it best expressed the Christian faith. The most ambitious project of the Gothic Revival was the Houses of Parliament (1840-1860) in London, designed by Pugin and Sir Charles Barry. William Butterfield, another English architect, created a number of highly individual designs in the Gothic style. One of his best-known Gothic buildings is All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street (1849-1859) in London. Among Butterfield’s most important projects was his design for Keble College (1860’s) at Oxford University in Oxford, England. Butterfield designed the entire college, including the library, chapel, and residence halls, in the Gothic Revival style.
Combined styles.
Some architects of the 1800’s combined what they considered to be the best features of two or more historical styles. The Paris opera house known as the Palais Garnier (1861-1875) is a masterpiece of this approach, called the eclectic approach. The building’s designer, Charles Garnier, planned the huge structure chiefly in the elaborate Baroque style. For example, the spectacular Grand Staircase features a lavish use of colored marble. However, Garnier also included classical orders and elements from the designs of French and Italian Renaissance palaces.
Modern architecture
The period from the late 1800’s to the present has been one of the most creative and productive times in the history of architecture. Architects have used new materials and new building methods to develop the first completely new styles in centuries.
During the Modern era, American architects made an international impact on architecture for the first time. For example, the skyscraper, perhaps the best-known symbol of Modern architecture, was first developed in the United States.
The remarkable changes in architecture since the late 1800’s have emerged from the theories and works of a few individuals and small groups. Many masterpieces of Modern architecture were designed or influenced by four men—Frank Lloyd Wright of the United States; Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe of Germany; and Charles Jeanneret-Gris, generally known as Le Corbusier, of France.
Early Modern architecture in Europe.
Modern architecture in Europe originated as a reaction against the historical revivals and combined styles of the 1800’s. Young architects tried to find fresh approaches that would reflect their time.
One of the first important influences on Modern architecture was the Arts and Crafts Movement, founded in the mid-1800’s by William Morris in England. Morris had studied to be an architect, but he gave up the profession to concentrate on interior design. Morris criticized the poor artistic quality that he saw in the machine-made products of the Industrial Revolution. With other artists in the Arts and Crafts Movement, Morris created original and high-quality designs for furniture, stained glass, textiles, and wallpaper. Although Morris did not design buildings, his influence encouraged a new artistic freedom and spirit of experimentation that played an important part in Modern European architecture.
Most of the first Modern architects worked in the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany. In the Netherlands, Hendrik Petrus Berlage used an unusual red brick design for his masterpiece, the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (1903), now called the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The building’s simple, spare design marked a departure from the highly decorative revival structures and pointed toward more modern styles.
Otto Wagner founded Modern architecture in Austria during the 1890’s. Wagner was a teacher and theorist as well as an architect. His most important designs were houses with horizontal lines and little ornamentation. The structures had flat, slablike roofs that projected beyond the walls. These features characterized much architecture of the early 1900’s.
Josef Olbrich and Josef Hoffmann, two of Wagner’s students, joined with other Austrian artists and architects to found a group known as the Vienna Secession. The group was united by its rebellion against the revival styles. Olbrich designed the Secession Building (1898), an exhibition gallery in Vienna, for the group. He took the Renaissance and Neoclassical style of the domed villa and redesigned it in modern terms. Wagner’s influence appears in the building’s projecting slab roof and undecorated walls. Hoffmann designed a house called the Palais Stoclet (1911) in Brussels, Belgium. The plain white walls and cubelike geometric outlines of the house made it one of the most advanced architectural works of the early 1900’s.
Adolf Loos, another Austrian, fiercely opposed ornamentation in architecture. He believed that the decorative qualities of a building would emerge naturally from the structure’s materials and form. Loos designed Steiner House (1910) in Vienna and other buildings with cubelike forms and no no decorative details.
In Germany, Peter Behrens designed some of the first factories to reflect Modern architectural ideas. His most significant design was the AEG Turbine Factory (1909), a glass, steel, and concrete building in Berlin. Behrens also influenced the theories of Mies van der Rohe, Gropius, and Le Corbusier, all of whom worked in his office during the early 1900’s.
Early Modern architecture in America.
Henry Hobson Richardson became the first important architect in the United States to include Modern elements in his designs. Richardson was a leading American architect from about 1870 to his death in 1886. He worked in a variety of medieval styles, especially Romanesque. However, he often used features of Modern design, from simplified geometric forms to the absence of exterior ornamentation, in his later works. Richardson designed a number of buildings with both Romanesque and Modern elements, including the Glessner House (1887) and the Marshall Field Wholesale Store (1887), both in Chicago.
Chicago became the center of Modern architecture in the United States during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed much of the city in 1871, giving architects an opportunity to test new ideas as the city was rebuilt.
William Le Baron Jenney designed the 10-story Home Insurance Building (1885) in downtown Chicago. The building is often considered the world’s first metal-framed skyscraper. Instead of thick walls, a steel frame supported the building. The walls provided no support but hung like curtains on the frame. The steel frame and curtain wall became fundamental to Modern design.
Jenney trained a number of architects in his Chicago office, including Louis Sullivan and Daniel Burnham. Sullivan became the leader of a style of architecture called the Chicago School. Other Chicago School architects included Dankmar Adler and John Wellborn Root. These architects gained fame for their steel-frame stores and office buildings. Sullivan designed the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building (1906), now called the Sullivan Center, which is famous for its horizontal bands of windows and skillful use of light-colored brick. Sullivan also designed skyscraper office buildings, such as the Wainwright Building (1891) in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Guaranty Building (1895) in Buffalo, New York.
Burnham became better known as a city planner than as an architect. However, he designed several significant commercial buildings. His Railway Exchange Building (1904) in Chicago is noted especially for its many windows.
For pictures of early Modern architecture in America, see the articles Burnham, Daniel Hudson; Richardson, Henry Hobson; Sullivan, Louis Henri.
Frank Lloyd Wright
was the greatest figure in Modern American architecture. Wright worked in Chicago for the firm of Adler and Sullivan from 1887 to 1893, when he began his own practice. Wright gained international attention for a series of houses he designed from about 1900 to 1910 in the prairie style. The houses had low, horizontal shapes because Wright believed that such a design blended with the open Midwestern prairies. He said that a building should “grow” from its site. Wright selected materials in earth colors and emphasized the natural appearance of those materials.
Wright revolutionized the arrangement of interior space in his prairie style houses. In traditional American houses of the late 1800’s, walls divided the interior into boxlike rooms. In his houses, however, Wright reduced the number of walls so that one room flowed into another. This flexible use of interior space and the horizontal outlines of the houses greatly influenced European architects. Wright’s best-known prairie house is Robie House (1910) in Chicago. Wright also designed large projects, such as the Larkin Building (1906) in Buffalo, New York, and Unity Temple (1908) in Oak Park, Illinois. His bold and imaginative use of concrete in these buildings helped popularize the use of the material in Modern architecture.
Wright’s most impressive later project was perhaps the buildings he designed for the Johnson Wax Company in Racine, Wisconsin. The main administration building (1939) has a smooth exterior of brick and glass. Inside the building, the chief office area is a large windowless room lined with balconies. Soft light enters the area through strips of glass tubing located at the edges of the ceiling. Thin concrete columns rise from the floor of the building and support large concrete disks at the ceiling level.
For other pictures of Wright’s work, see the articles Wright, Frank Lloyd; United States (The arts).
Walter Gropius
influenced Modern architecture both as an architect and as a teacher. In 1919, he founded the Bauhaus, a school of design in Weimar, Germany. The school was dedicated to uniting the arts and architecture with modern industrial technology. In 1925, the Bauhaus moved to Dessau. Gropius designed the buildings for the Dessau campus. The geometric concrete and glass structures rank among the finest designs of the period.
Gropius came to the United States in 1937. The next year, he became chairman of the Department of Architecture at Harvard University. Gropius’s architectural theories spread throughout the United States as a result of his work as an architect and teacher. In 1946, Gropius and some of his former students, along with other young architects, formed the Architects Collaborative. The group designed many projects in the United States and other countries, beginning with the Graduate Center (1950) at Harvard.
The International Style
dominated architecture until about 1950. The name came from the title of a book, The International Style (1932), written by two Americans—the architect Philip Johnson and the architectural historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock. In the book, the authors reviewed architecture of the previous 10 years and stated that a new and distinct “international” style had developed in many countries.
The International Style actually summarized many of the ideas of such pioneer modern architects as Hoffmann, Loos, Wright, and Gropius. Typical buildings in the style have geometric shapes, white walls, and a flat roof with a garden. Most are constructed of reinforced concrete, which has embedded metal rods for added strength. Typical International Style buildings also have large windows to create a light, airy feeling. The exteriors of buildings in this style have little or no ornamentation.
Le Corbusier
was probably the greatest architect to work in the International Style. Most of his early works were houses that resembled white boxes. The houses were built of white reinforced concrete and stood above the ground on pillars called pilotis. One of Le Corbusier’s most important houses in this style was the Villa Savoye (1931) in Poissy, France.
Le Corbusier’s later works showed more variety than his cubelike houses. One of his most famous later projects is the Unité d’Habitation (1952), a 337-unit apartment building in Marseille, France. As in his earlier works, Le Corbusier had this building constructed of reinforced concrete and raised on pilotis. But he honeycombed the exterior with balconies to shield the apartments from the strong sun. The balconies created a lively pattern of dark and light rectangles in the sunlight. Le Corbusier had the walls at the sides of the balconies painted in bright colors to provide vivid contrasts with the white concrete.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
was the master of glass and steel architecture. He designed skyscrapers that had a steel frame and thin metal and glass walls. The style became popular for commercial buildings after World War II (1939-1945).
Mies designed several apartment and office building skyscrapers in the United States. His Lake Shore Drive apartment complex (1951) in Chicago resembles two gigantic glass rectangles. Perhaps his most praised project is the Seagram Building (1958), an office skyscraper in New York City designed with Philip Johnson. The building has walls of bronze and bronze-tinted glass.
Architecture today
Brutalism and Metabolism
The attack against the International Style was first led by a group of architects often called the Brutalists. The Brutalists based their designs on the later work of Le Corbusier. They created plain, massive buildings with rough reinforced concrete exteriors. Leading members of this movement included the British husband-and-wife team of Alison and Peter Smithson, and the American architects Walter Netsch and Paul Rudolph. Like the Brutalists, the American architect Louis I. Kahn made imaginative use of concrete. Kahn’s major designs include the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (1965) in La Jolla, California, and the Kimbell Art Museum (1972) in Fort Worth, Texas.
After the catastrophic destruction of World War II (1939-1945), a group of prominent architects in Japan responded to the need to rebuild by forming a group known as the Metabolists. The leader of this group, Kenzo Tange, was interested in the ability of cities to develop in new ways and at speeds that reflected the modern era. The Metabolists believed that buildings and cities should be constructed and grow the way a living organism does, through a process based on replaceable, cell-like structures. Tange’s St. Mary’s Cathedral (1964) in Tokyo, Japan, reflects those principles. Other prominent Metabolists include Kiyonori Kikutake, who designed the Expo Tower (1970) for the 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka, and Fumihiko Maki, who designed Steinberg Hall (1960) for Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Postmodernism.
Perhaps the best-known architectural movement of the late 1900’s was Postmodernism. It began during the 1960’s in the United States. The Postmodernists had no style or theories in common, but they were united by their rejection of the International Style. One of the leading American Postmodern theorists and designers was Robert Venturi. Other American architects generally grouped as Postmodernists include Michael Graves, Charles Moore, and Stanley Tigerman.
Many Postmodernists revived historical styles that had been ignored by earlier Modern architects. For example, Venturi often used traditional styles, borrowing from the Italian Renaissance and other periods. Venturi became one of the first Postmodern architects to add ornamentation to building exteriors, such as in his Sainsbury Wing (1991) for the National Gallery in London, England. A number of Postmodernists incorporated arches, columns, domes, and other classical elements into their designs.
In 1978, Philip Johnson, the coauthor of The International Style, unveiled the design he created with John Burgee for the first Postmodern skyscraper. This building, originally the headquarters of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company and now called the 550 Madison building in New York City, has a base resembling the Pazzi Chapel of the Renaissance.
The interest of Postmodernists in historical styles was accompanied by concern for preserving old buildings and adapting them to new uses. Many government agencies were created to preserve buildings of architectural value. These agencies continue today to have the power to grant landmark status to such buildings. Buildings with landmark status may not be destroyed or significantly altered. Historic preservation has become a significant part of architecture as many prominent buildings age and require restoration.
Deconstructivism
was a style that developed in response to Modernism. Deconstructivists sought to change traditional ways of looking at form and space and to disrupt customary expectations of harmony and unity. A building reflecting Deconstructivist ideas might feature sharp clashing angles and shapes, along with incomplete forms. Startling contrasts could exist between a building’s interior and exterior. A famous example is the American architect Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum (1997) in Bilbao, Spain. Other prominent Deconstructivist architects include Peter Eisenman and Thom Mayne of the United States and Bernard Tschumi of Switzerland. 
Computers revolutionize design.
During the late 1900’s, the widespread availability of personal computers led to a revolution in architectural design. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software replaced manual drafting with an automated process. The advance allowed architects to design with more geometric freedom and precision. Forms previously unavailable to architecture became constructible options. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional software programs have greatly enlarged the architect’s toolbox. Today, most architecture firms design structures by creating digital models and computer graphic graphics of their projects rather than by hand drawing. Some firms produce videos and animations of their work.
Starchitects.
So many new architectural styles have developed since the 1960’s that architects today are generally classified into small groups of similarly minded designers, rather than into large movements. Many of these groups focus around the work of a particularly prominent architect who has built many projects throughout the world. Such international architects have come to be called star architects, or starchitects. Many of them have received the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the world’s most distinguished architectural award. The most famous of these star architects include Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas of the Netherlands, and Iraqi-born Zaha Hadid of the United Kingdom.
Since the late 1980’s, Gehry has been a pioneer of CAD software use in architecture design. His designs are often characterized by free-form shapes, extreme curves, and metallic surfaces. Gehry’s most famous buildings include the Guggenheim Museum and the Walt Disney Concert Hall (2003) in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his architectural practice, he founded Gehry Technologies, a company that pioneered the development of Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM software allows architects, engineers, and contractors to work together on drawings, three-dimensional models, and construction plans online.
Koolhaas first became known in the late 1970’s for his conceptual (idea-based) design projects in London and New York City. These projects, which were often massive structures, were never built. However, they remain an important part of architecture history. Since that time, Koolhaas has designed dozens of buildings that have been constructed throughout the world, including the Seattle Public Library (2004) in Washington and the China Central Television Headquarters (2012) in Beijing. 
Hadid was one of Koolhaas’s students at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London. In 2004, she became the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Hadid was influenced by a Russian style of the early 1900’s called Suprematicsm. She later became a leader of the movement called Parametricism. Suprematism involves fragmented geometric forms. Parametricism relies on the ability of CAD software to digitally create structures with more fluid lines and less rigid forms than those of previous styles. It is considered particularly suited for large-scale urban environments. Hadid’s most prominent projects include the Heydar Aliyev cultural center (2012) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (2014) in Seoul, South Korea.
Although the field of architecture is constantly changing, history continues to play a major role in its development. Within the designs of Gehry, Koolhaas, Hadid, and many other prominent modern architects, there is a deep understanding and passion for history. Their work reveals glimpses of traditions that date back to the first architects.
Careers
Young people who want to become architects face a difficult, yet engaging, training period. Training begins with instruction in design and ultimately leads to expert knowledge of building codes, regulations, and construction management. The following discussion deals with the training and licensing of architects in the United States.
Education and training.
High school students interested in becoming architects should take courses in art, history, foreign languages, mechanical drafting in CAD, mathematics, and computer programming. Because contemporary architecture work is based so heavily on digital representations of physical structures, spatial reasoning is one of the most valuable skills a student can develop. In addition, students should seek an internship in a local architecture office or consider a summer design program for high school students. A list of such programs can be found at the American Institute of Architecture Students website (www.aias.org).
After graduating from high school, future architects must attend college. The current standard for becoming licensed as an architect in the United States is to earn either a five-year professional bachelor of architecture degree, or a three-year professional master of architecture program after graduating from college. A list of accredited schools can be found on the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB) website (www.naab.org). In additional, several hundred colleges and trade schools offer some technical courses in architectural drawing and engineering. Such courses can lead to a license after an extended time as an apprentice. However, a person can become a licensed architect faster by attending an accredited school.
In addition to professional degrees in architecture, students can earn a variety of post-professional degrees. Such degrees include advanced design; computational methods; data analysis of populations; urban design; and the history, theory, and criticism of architecture. Most architecture schools stress practical design and the precedent method, in which the class solves problems related to an actual building. Many college students work as an intern in the office of a licensed architect or in the office of an engineer or contractor. Upon graduation, an apprenticeship can take the form of a full-time job devoted to acquiring the Architecture Experience Program hours required by the licensing organization, the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB). During this time, apprentice architects are also required to complete the Architecture Records Examinations (ARE).
Information about architecture schools can also be obtained from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in Washington, D.C. The institute also publishes literature on architecture, holds meetings, and awards prizes for excellence in architectural design.
Employment opportunities
Licensed architects may open their own office or join an architectural firm. City, state, and federal agencies also employ architects. Most architects work for an architecture or engineering firm. Most young architects specialize in a certain phase of the profession, such as designing houses, schools, or office buildings.
People with training in architecture can also work in related fields. These fields include city planning, furniture design, industrial design, and interior design. There also is an increasing demand for architects who can recondition existing buildings of artistic or historical value, and for specialists in laws governing architectural preservation. In addition, architects with the necessary computer skills are in high demand to work for motion picture studios and social media companies.
