Portal:Architecture

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View of Florence showing the dome, which dominates everything around it. It is octagonal in plan and ovoid in section. It has wide ribs rising to the apex with red tiles in between and a marble lantern on top.
In adding the dome to the Florence Cathedral (Italy) in the early 15th century, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi not only transformed the building and the city, but also the role and status of the architect.

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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Isbjerget from the seaside

Isbjerget (Lit.: The Iceberg) is a residential building in the Aarhus Docklands neighborhood in Aarhus, Denmark. It is situated on the waterfront on Mariane Thomsens Gade and was finished in 2013 after three years of development. The building was designed by four architectural firms, the Danish CEBRA and JDS Architects, French Louis Paillard and Dutch SeARCH, and was funded by the Danish pension fund PensionDanmark.

Isbjerget was the first project to be completed on the former industrial port area, which is being developed into a new residential and commercial neighborhood after the Port of Aarhus was moved to new facilities to the south of the city center. The building complex consists of four buildings with 208 apartments between 55 m2 (590 sq ft) and 200 m2 (2,200 sq ft) both rented and owned. The apartments are either in two stories, double in height or with shifted floor plans, catering to different needs. (Full article...)
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Architects: Matthew Brettingham, William Bruce, William Burges, John Douglas, Charles Holden, El Lissitzky, Benjamin Mountfort, I. M. Pei, Albert Speer, Rudolf Wolters. Buildings: 7 World Trade Center, Angkor Wat, Baden-Powell House, Belton House, Borobudur, BP Pedestrian Bridge, Bramall Hall, Buckingham Palace, Buildings and architecture of Bristol, Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford, Buildings of Nuffield College, Oxford, Building of the World Trade Center, Castell Coch, Catherine de' Medici's building projects, Chartwell, Chicago Board of Trade Building, Cragside, Heian Palace, Holkham Hall, IG Farben Building, House with Chimaeras, Hoysala architecture, City of Manchester Stadium, Monnow Bridge, Mosque, Michigan State Capitol, New Orleans Mint, Oregon State Capitol, Oriel College, Oxford, Palazzo Pitti, Palladian architecture, Pennsylvania State Capitol, Round Church, Preslav, Sandringham House, Sanssouci, Santa Maria de Ovila, Scottish Parliament building, Sicilian Baroque, St Donat's Castle, St. Michael's Cathedral, Qingdao, St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, St Nicholas, Blakeney, Vkhutemas, The Tower House, West Wycombe Park

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Architects: William Adam, Eustace Balfour, Antoni Gaudí, Thomas Harrison, Zvi Hecker, Bjarke Ingels, E. G. Paley, Timothy L. Pflueger, Antonin Raymond, Kenzo Tange. Buildings: 108 North State Street, 5th Avenue Theatre, Algonquin Hotel, Andriyivskyy Descent, AT&T Corporate Center, Ballard Carnegie Library, Baths of Zeuxippus, Beaumont House, Benjaminville Friends Meeting House and Burial Ground, Blackstone Library, Boughton Monchelsea Place, The Casbah Coffee Club, Central Troy Historic District, Chana School, Chester Rows, Chicago Spire, Chicago Theatre, Chrysler Building, Churche's Mansion, Clinton Presidential Center, Crown Fountain, Dolphinarium, Eaton Hall, Cheshire, Édifice Price, Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, Ellwood House, The Exchange, Bristol, Forbidden City, Harold Washington Cultural Center, Heller House, Historic Michigan Boulevard District, Hull House, Imbrex and tegula, Imperial War Museum North, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Joffrey Tower, Joseph F. Glidden House, Linton Park, Liverpool Town Hall, Louvre, Manila Hotel, Marquette Building (Chicago), Millennium Stadium, National Gallery, London, National Police Memorial, New Bedford Historic District, Old Louisville, One Bayfront Plaza, One Times Square, Onion dome, Oregon Public Library, Pavillon de Flore, Presidio of Santa Barbara, Queen's Pier, Rancho Camulos, Robot Building, Rock N Roll McDonald's, Roman Baths (Bath), Rookery Building, Senate House (University of London), Shamrock Hotel, Sycamore Historic District, Taipei 101, TCF Bank Stadium, United States Institute of Peace Headquarters, University Mall (Little Rock, Arkansas), University of Illinois Observatory, University of Virginia, Upper Brook Street Chapel, Manchester, Valley of the Kings, Via della Conciliazione, Victoria Rooms (Bristol), Waller Hall, Wales Millennium Centre, World Trade Center. Castles and fortifications: Beaumaris Castle, Berkhamsted Castle, Bowes Castle, Buckton Castle, Caernarfon Castle, Caludon Castle, Château Gaillard, Château de Chinon, Conwy Castle, Dolbadarn Castle, Dunstaffnage Castle, Fort Greble, Fort Pasir Panjang, Fortress of Klis, Golubac fortress, Goodrich Castle, Haapsalu Castle, Hadleigh Castle, Halton Castle, Himeji Castle, Hylton Castle, Kaunas Fortress, Kenilworth Castle, Loch Leven Castle, Longtown Castle, Okehampton Castle, Oxford Castle, Peckforton Castle, Castle Rising, Roslin Castle, Smederevo Fortress, St Briavels Castle, Vilnius Castle Complex, Walls of Constantinople, Walls of Dubrovnik, York Castle. Religious buildings: Akhtala monastery, Akshardham Temple, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Bath Abbey, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Hong Kong), Chester Cathedral, College of All Saints, Maidstone, Elgin Cathedral, Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Ganting Grand Mosque, Hurva Synagogue, Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, Mezhyhirskyi Monastery, Old St Paul's Cathedral, St Mary's Church, Acton, St Mary's Church, Nantwich, St Mary's Church, Nether Alderley, St Thomas the Martyr's Church, Oxford, Sunol Water Temple, Uppsala Cathedral, Wells Cathedral, Zagreb Synagogue, Zhenguo Temple. Cities, countries and regions: Architecture of Denmark, Architecture of Leeds, Architecture of Madagascar, Architecture of Norway, Architecture of Scotland, Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England, Buildings and architecture of Bath, Castles in Great Britain and Ireland, Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, Architecture of the Song Dynasty, Fatimid architecture.

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