Architecture

Large-scale urban planning has existed since ancient times; the Roman Empire and Imperial China practised it extensively and Ancient Egypt had pre-planned settlements built to strict specs. Priene in Ancient Greece has been called the first orthogonal-grid planned city, about 350 BCE, though Mohenjo-daro in what is now Pakistan had a grid, and the world's first municipal sewer system, about 2600 BCE. However, most settlements grew organically with little or no planning apparent to the modern observer (see old towns); cities in Medieval Europe were usually dominated by fortifications or religious buildings. This in turn led to road networks that had to follow (usually round) city walls and further considerations for the river that flowed to most cities. Still, there were some "zoning" regulations, as smelly and flammable industries such as tanners and metal smelters had to stay outside the city walls and downwind from the city, and the executioner and other "unclean" jobs likewise having to live outside the city walls.

Many colonial settlements have a rectangular grid emerging from a central plaza and a main street. There are examples all over the Americas, and in other colonies such as Macau or almost any Philippine town. Often the central plaza will have a historic church or in the more important cities, a cathedral. In many places, planned colonial development took place next to an existing older city; New Delhi outside the ancient city of Delhi, the International Settlement in Shanghai next to the old Chinese city, and so on.

Many capital cities were built specifically to play that role and were carefully planned, often by famous architects:

• Washington, D.C., designed by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in the 1790s. L'Enfant was a French military engineer who had worked with George Washington during the American Revolution.
• Canberra was built starting in 1913 to serve as Australia's capital. The husband-wife team of American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahoney Griffin won an international design contest to become the planners. They moved to Australia to help supervise construction.
• Chandigarh was built after India achieved independence in 1947, and serves as the capital of two states, Punjab and Haryana. Le Corbusier is generally credited for the design, though several other architects played important roles.
• Brasília was built from scratch, starting in 1956, to serve as the capital of Brazil; Lúcio Costa was the master planner.
• Islamabad was built from scratch to be the capital of Pakistan, succeeding Rawalpindi in that role in 1967.
• Abuja was purpose-built to be the capital of Nigeria, taking over that role from its largest city Lagos in 1991.
• Naypyidaw was built from scratch to be the capital of Myanmar, succeeding the former capital Yangon in that role in 2005.
• Yerevan as it exists today was purpose-built by the Soviet Union to be the capital of Armenia in the 1920s, though human settlements have existed on the site since at least the 7th century. Its status as capital was retained following Armenian independence, and it is regarded as one of the best surviving examples of an early Soviet planned city.
• Nusantara in East Kalimantan is being built from scratch to succeed Jakarta as the capital of Indonesia.

In the 19th century, steam power brought industrialization and railroads, which required large-scale city plans. In the 20th century, public transportation and the automobile allowed for suburban planning. Many suburbs or satellite towns are entirely or partly planned communities. Examples include:

• Milton Keynes, north of London
• Kanata. Ottawa is surrounded by a Green Belt where almost no development is allowed. This was the first and most successful new town just outside that belt.

Some planned areas are enclaves within larger and perhaps more chaotic cities. For example, in Metro Manila a rather large swath of land in a good location became available when an American air base was shut down. It became Bonifacio Global City which has a lot of upmarket residential, office and commercial development. Today it is the country's main hub for hi-tech; there are many call centers and several large international tech companies have their main Philippine office there.

Then there are things like the transformation of Pudong in Shanghai. Undeveloped, suburban, mostly residential and industrial but partly agricultural in 1990, within a decade it became a major business and finance hub with many new buildings. Today it has more skyscrapers than New York City including four over 400 m (1320 ft, a quarter mile). This site has stunning photos showing the contrast, and an interesting critique of the urban design.

Other Chinese special economic zones have also undergone rapid development, much of it planned. In 1978, Shenzhen (next to Hong Kong) and Zhuhai (next to Macau) were groups of fishing villages, with a population of a few hundred thousand each; in a few years, both were bustling modern cities. In the 2020 census Shenzhen's population was about 17.5 million and Zhuhai's 2.4 million; both are still growing. Other countries also have rapid development in areas where their governments promote it.

The fate of virtually all cities laid out according to some "master plan" is that they eventually deviate from that plan. Either because the city grows beyond the "end of the map" of that original plan (in the case of medieval European cities - growing beyond the erstwhile city walls) or, more controversially, because the plan and the needs of residents clash. Especially in the case of 19th and 20th century ideologically driven planned cities, it soon became apparent that they might look nice on a map or serve the ideas of the planners (or their bosses) but were terrible at being cities for everyday people to live in. So the master plan and the needs of the people (or sometimes geographical factors) are in conflict and often give rise to more or less workable "compromises" between the two.

Cathedrals, capitals, and other large projects are often cited as an architect's best works, but most buildings in the world are dwellings where people live. Sometimes a residence is intended for occupancy by a single person, more often families, often many families in a single building. Many of the world's most famous architects designed homes and some, such as the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, are famous for their residential designs.

Residential buildings includes homes, apartments, mansions, condominiums, cabins, farmhouses, and a host of other buildings designed and built as dwelling places for people. It might also include projects to repurpose a structure, such as converting an industrial warehouse to lofts.

Most residences are off limits for visitors, and trespassing is not seen kindly. Hospitality exchange gives a chance to live in a dwelling which is historic, unusual, or typical of its location. Celebrity homes converted to museums provide a view of housing in the depicted period.

See also: Religion and spirituality, Cemeteries

Cathedrals, temples and other places of worship have, until modern times, been among the most notable and longest lasting forms of architecture, usually dominating their city or village.

Some buildings have been centers of worship for two or more religions.

• Hagia Sophia was built as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Constantinople in 537 CE, during the late stages of the Roman Empire, and it served as an Orthodox church for centuries. Crusaders turned it into a Roman Catholic church, but that lasted only 1204-1261. When the Ottoman Empire took over in the 1450s, the city became Istanbul, and the church was converted to a mosque. It was a museum for nearly a century from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's takeover until Erdoğan's 2020 decision to make it a mosque again. Some frescoes that date back to its time as a church were uncovered during restoration works during its time as a museum, and can be seen today; these are usually covered up with curtains during prayer times.
• The Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, the first monumental mosque in history, started out as a local deity's shrine rebuilt as a Roman temple of Jupiter, which became a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist housing his relics (to this day, they're still there, inside a gilded marble shrine). Its overhaul into the Umayyad monument, from 706 to 715 AD, is reported to have employed 200 skilled Byzantine decoration craftsmen, architects, stonemasons and mosaicists, sent by emperor Justinian II at the personal request of Umayyad caliph al-Walid.
• The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba was built as a mosque under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate in A.D. 786. Following the Reconquista by the Kingdom of Castille, the mosque was converted into a Roman Catholic cathedral by the victorious Catholic monarch in 1236, and its minaret was converted to a bell tower. Nevertheless, many architectural elements dating back to its time as a mosque survive, including the former mihrab, the niche in the wall that indicates the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.
• The Seville Cathedral is on the site of a mosque that was built during the 12th century when southern Spain was still under Arab rule. Following the Reconquista, the new Catholic rulers demolished the mosque and built the current cathedral in its place, though the minaret of the mosque was spared from demolition and survives as La Giralda, the bell tower of the cathedral.

See also: Christianity, Gothic architecture, Longobard sites, Wooden tserkvas of the Carpathian region

Perhaps the most well known architectural styles for churches are "Gothic" and the subsequent Renaissance style. Many Gothic cathedrals took generations or even centuries to build. The Cologne Cathedral for instance was started in the Middle Ages and not finished until the 19th century and today work to conserve and restore dilapidated parts is again ongoing.

• Basilique de Saint-Denis north of Paris
• Cathedrals of Reims and Chartres

Prior to the Gothic style the Romanesque style was prevalent in much of Europe. This style is distinguished by its thick walls and heavy round arches that sharply contrast with the more filigrane pointy arches of the Gothic style. While "Gothic" was invented as a slur by opponents of the style, a revival occurred in the nineteenth century and even many US cities now have Gothic houses of worship.

In areas where stone of an appropriate quality was hard or impossible to come by a unique "Brick Gothic" style developed that is especially prevalent in Northern Germany and other areas of the former Hanseatic League. One of the most notable ensembles of buildings of that style is found in Lübeck.

Many areas that were colonized by European powers, especially the Catholic powers, also have fine cathedrals. One of Macau's best-known sights is the ruins of a cathedral, the Philippines has several, and there are examples all over Latin America. Many parts of the former British Empire also have impressive Anglican cathedrals, while parts of the former Russian Empire also often have Eastern Orthodox cathedrals.

See also: Islam, Islamic Golden Age

• Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, the place all Muslims face toward during prayer and the main destination for the Hajj pilgrimage
• Dome of the Rock/Masjid Al Sakhrah in Jerusalem
• The ancient Silk Road ran through mainly Muslim territory and there are fine mosques all along it.
• The many mosques built in the Indian subcontinent under the Mughal Empire
• The Mughal masterpiece, the Taj Mahal, which is both a tomb and a mosque

See also: Judaism

• Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, the largest in Europe
• Jakab and Komor Square Synagogue in Subotica, second largest in Europe, and a notable example of an Art Nouveau synagogue
• Prague's Old New Synagogue (in the Josefov quarter) is Europe's and probably the world's oldest synagogue in continuous use

See also: Buddhism, Hinduism, Sacred sites of the Indian sub-continent

• Angkor Wat, originally a temple of the Hindu god Vishnu
• Borobudur, a Buddhist stupa and temple complex in Central Java, Indonesia dating from the 8th century, one of world's truly great ancient monuments, the single largest Buddhist structure anywhere on Earth.
• Bodh Gaya, the site where Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment. It has monasteries for several Buddhist sects, including some from as far as Korea and Japan.
• The Great Stupa of Bodhnath, Kathmandu - the heart of Vajrayana Buddhism in Nepal.

Ancient Greek and Roman religion left behind many spectacular temple ruins, to the point that they have been iconic for ancient history as a whole.

• Manichaeism started around 250 CE in Persia and at its peak around 500 was quite widespread, but it was gone by around 1400. The only surviving temple is in Jinjiang, a suburb of Quanzhou. Quanzhou was one of the great ports of the Maritime Silk Road and has many other religious structures.
• The Maya and other civilisations in Central America such as the Aztecs built many temples
• Machu Picchu and other sites in Peru have Incan temples

There are a large number of buildings for civic or governmental purposes. These include:

• Seats of government in the case of (former) "merchant Republics" like the members of the Hanseatic League even (former) seats of municipal government can be impressive as they were designed to show off wealth
• Legislative buildings
• Buildings for the legal system, including courthouses and prisons; see history of justice
• In general anything representing a country or city can be designed to make an architectural statement; sometimes a (building near a) border crossing will be more opulent and impressive than strictly necessary for its utilitarian purposes; court buildings will often be adorned with statues of Iustitia, the Roman goddess/representation of justice and may be intended as "palaces of justice"
• Fortifications and other military buildings
• Grand houses, castles and other leaders' residences; see also monarchies
• Museum buildings can be interesting artifacts in their own right
• Official residences of the heads of state and/or heads of government
• Local governments of states, counties, cities, etc

See also: Industrial tourism

While specialized manufacturing has been going on since the dawn of mankind, it was the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century that made industrial buildings dominate their surroundings.

While industrial buildings tend to be shaped by their function, some of them are marvels of architecture.

Railway stations of the 19th century have been likened to cathedrals and some historians argue that the rising bourgeoisie built them as architectural statements for the ages similar to how medieval cities built cathedrals. There is a dearth of architecturally remarkable stations during the 20th century, but the 21st century has seen a number of impressive representative buildings for new or improved transportation services.

• Transportation centers such as railway stations and airports; in some cases even something as seemingly commonplace as a public transport station has been designed as an architectural statement. See also travel for rail enthusiasts and urban rail adventures.
  • Many newer airport terminal buildings are designed by celebrity architects to be aesthetically pleasing, and are often worth making the trip to have a look even if you are not flying. Some notable examples include Terminal 4 of Madrid-Barajas Airport, Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital International Airport, and both terminal buildings of Incheon International Airport.

• Urban rail systems often have stations designed in various eras according to the style then en vogue. The Paris Metro is particularly noteworthy for its station design, but the Berlin U-Bahn, with "house architect" Alfred Grenander (who was actually Swedish and died in 1931), has a few impressive stations as well, and after a period of budget dictating design choices, is again taking aesthetic considerations into account for the new stations of U5. Washington DC Metro is widely considered the most beautiful example of Brutalism, and even people who otherwise despise that style acknowledge its aesthetic value there. Moscow, Saint Petersburg, London, Kaohsiung and the Stockholm metro also have stations with significant architectural merit both above and below ground.
• Bridges across bodies of water can also be architectural landmarks, or famous for being engineering feats during their time of construction, such as the Roman bridge in Mérida and the Ottoman bridge in Mostar. Some famous vehicular bridges include the Tower Bridge in London, Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Harbour Bridge in Sydney. Famous pedestrian-only bridges include Rialto Bridge in Venice, Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Charles Bridge in Prague, Khaju Bridge in Isfahan and Yongji Bridge in Chengyang.

Around the world, commemorative structures are amongst the most notable tourist attractions. They can be well-known feats of visual arts.

Monuments usually reflect the values of the patron and the artist no less than the commemorated person or event. Many were erected as propaganda pieces, to consolidate a ruler's cult of personality or a government's worldview, religion or ideology. Some of them become controversial over time, and a few have been relocated or dismantled when posterity sees them as too provocative.

For example:

• Tombs
  • The burial mounds of some prehistoric groups; see archaeology
  • Egyptian pyramids, and later Egyptian tombs in the Valley of the Kings
  • Chinese tombs, including the first Qin Emperor's tomb with the Terracotta Warriors
  • The Taj Mahal in Agra, tomb of an Emperor's wife
• Military monuments; see military tourism
  • Many capital cities around the world have a War Memorial or a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
  • Spomeniks of Yugoslavia

See also: Visiting company headquarters

While many office, retail and hospitality buildings are built more for function than shape, some of them are architectural icons. Many grand old hotels, legacy department stores and legacy food retailers are masterpieces of 19th and early 20th century architecture. Stadiums can be iconic for their city, either built for a major event such as the Olympic Games or home turf for a famous team, and can be visited for spectator sports, music, or other events.

Many tall commercial buildings have a viewpoint from a sky bar, or an observatory floor.

See also: Archaeological sites, Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• Stonehenge
• Pyramids in many places, most notably the great Egyptian pyramids at Giza
• The Egyptian temples of Karnak, Luxor (in the eponymous city) and Abu Simbel
• The Parthenon in Athens
• The Great Wall of China
• Remnants of the Roman Empire throughout Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. Architectural feats of the Roman Empire remain impressive for their longevity if nothing else. Many feats of civil engineering were only reached again in the industrial revolution surpassed in the 19th century or even later. The Romans used concrete and built bridges and dug tunnels that stood the test of time. Later generations even mistook those accomplishments for superhuman feats, as seen in names like "Devil's Wall" for the Limes Sarmatiae in Budapest. Some of the most notable sites are:

The Pantheon in Rome - best preserved Roman temple anywhere, oldest important building in the world with its original roof intact - a dome with a revolutionary design for its time (which remains the record holder for the biggest unreinforced concrete dome in the world), probably designed by emperor Hadrian; widely claimed as THE ultimate architectural masterpiece of all time.

The Pont Du Gard aqueduct near Nîmes

Theaters at Orange and Taormina

Amphitheaters at Verona, Pula and El Jem

Tyre Hippodrome

• Islamic architecture; see also Islamic Golden Age
• Gothic architecture of Medieval Europe
• Renaissance architecture
• Baroque architecture
• Rococo architecture
• Mughal architecture
• Neoclassical architecture

In Latin America, Spanish architecture (which itself was considerably influenced by Arab styles during the Muslim rule over parts of Iberia) was adapted to local conditions and combined with native ideas to create the "colonial" style still evident in cities like Granada and León, both in Nicaragua.

European architectural styles tend to have the same periodization as European art and interior design.

See also: Le Corbusier World Heritage, Modern and contemporary art

The phrase "modern architecture" could describe any buildings that are relatively new, but in the history of architecture it describes a specific style ("modernist architecture") marked by industrial construction methods as well as modernist philosophy featuring the functionalist, universalist and minimalist ideals that grew out of early 20th century thought. Many places defined by some of the modern and contemporary architectural styles attract tourists to visit.

• Art Deco architecture was a style of the early 20th century which preceded modernism. In contrast to modernism, it included rich ornamentation and referenced neo-classical architecture, with columns, reliefs, and other elements similar to Graeco-Roman classicism.
  • The city of Napier, New Zealand, is largely built in the Art Deco style after the town was rebuilt in the 1930s following an earthquake. The local historical society has capitalised on this and runs frequent walking tours around the buildings.
  • Shanghai also has many Art Deco buildings.
• Bauhaus, a form-follows-function architectural school developed in Weimar Germany; due to exiles emigrating to the U.S, it later came to heavily influence the "international style"
• De Stijl was a modernist movement in the Netherlands for visual art, interior design and architecture.
• Functionalism is the principle that manufactured products, including buildings and furniture, should be designed for function, avoiding ornamentation and historical references. It became a style in its own right, as well as a founding principle of other modernist movements.
  • Functionalist architecture in Finland
• International Style was a style that emerged in 1920s Western Europe and became ubiquitous around the world up to the 1970s.
• Brutalism is a mid-20th century style, that descended from the modernist movement, known for exposure of load-bearing beams and utilities such as plumbing. Steel and concrete are preferred materials, without paint, plaster or other coverings.

• Stalinist architecture was based on Neoclassical architecture, with some influences from Art Deco and Bauhaus, popular in the Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern Bloc up till the 1950s. The most famous examples are 7 skyscrapers in Moscow known as the "Seven Sisters".
• Post-modernism was the style that challenged modernism in the second half of the 20th century. Similar to post-modern philosophy and post-modern art, it challenged conventions and coherence. Typical traits are asymmetry, irregularity, and an eclectic mixture of ornaments and other details.

Other 20th century movements that challenged modernism were historicism with revival of older styles, and critical regionalism with revival of local materials and aesthetics to reclaim local identity.

With the rise of the automobile, novelty architecture has been used as a means of roadside promotion. Examples would include restaurants shaped like oversized oranges or motels in which each room is a railway caboose or a concrete wigwam.

Vernacular architecture or folk architecture includes homes, farms and workplaces for common people. They tend to use local designs and materials. While these buildings had lower status than institutional buildings, they are today valuable artifacts which give an idea about pre-modern society. Some of them are preserved or reconstructed in open-air museums.

The chancellor to the Egyptian Pharaoh Djoser (4th Dynasty, about 2600 BC) was probably the architect of Djoser's step pyramid at Saqqara, as well as a physician and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis.

Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figure, but in the 3,000 years following his death, he was gradually glorified and deified. Imhotep's historicity is confirmed by two contemporary inscriptions made during his lifetime on the base or pedestal of one of Djoser's statues (Cairo JE 49889) and also by a graffito on the enclosure wall surrounding Sekhemkhet's unfinished step pyramid, which suggests that Imhotep outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of Pharaoh Sekhemkhet's pyramid, which was abandoned due to this ruler's brief reign.

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman author, architect, civil and military engineer, known for his multi-volume work entitled De Architectura. By his own description, he served as an artilleryman, probably as a senior officer of artillery, specialized in the construction of artillery war machines for sieges. His discussion of perfect proportion in architecture and the human body led to the famous Renaissance drawing by Leonardo da Vinci "The Vitruvian Man". He invented the idea that all buildings should have three attributes: firmitas, utilitas et venustas, meaning: sheltering strength, utilitarian comfort, and aesthetic beauty. His principles were enshrined by the Romans, lovingly preserved by Charlemagne's own scriptorium, and "reborn" many centuries later, in the Renaissance.

A founding father of Renaissance architecture, he was an Italian architect and designer (1377 – 1446), now recognised to be the first modern engineer, planner, and sole construction supervisor, and most famous as the designer of the dome of the Florence Cathedral, a groundbreaking feat of engineering not accomplished since antiquity. He invented a new hoisting machine for raising the masonry needed for the dome, inspired by Roman machines used in the first century AD to build large structures such as the Pantheon and the Baths of Diocletian, described in Vitruvius' De Architectura.

Brunelleschi is also generally credited as the first person to describe a precise system of linear perspective. This revolutionised painting and opened the way for the naturalistic styles of Renaissance art.

"Sinan the Architect" (circa 1489 – 1588) was born near Kayseri, the son of a Christian Greek stonemason. In 1512 he was sent to the Ottoman court as a devşirme boy slave, somewhat older than average, received a technical education and became a military engineer. He rose rapidly through the ranks, became first an officer and after that a Janissary commander. In his military career, he refined his architectural and engineering skills, becoming expert at constructing fortifications of all kinds, as well as military infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges and aqueducts.

At about the age of fifty, he was appointed as chief royal architect for the Ottoman Empire, applying the technical skills he had acquired in the army to the "creation of fine religious buildings" and civic structures of all kinds, remaining in this post for almost fifty years. Sinan is said to have constructed or supervised 476 buildings (196 of which still survive), according to the official list of his works, the most famous and masterly built of which are, first and foremost the Selimiye mosque in Edirne, followed by the Imperial mosques and bathhouses in Istanbul, Damascus and Sofia. He lies in a tomb of his own design, in the cemetery just outside the walls of the Süleymaniye Mosque, across a street named Mimar Sinan Caddesi, in his honour.

Born Andrea di Pietro della Gondola (1508-1580) in Padua, the son of a miller, he was apprenticed in Vicenza as a stonemason. His first rich patron had Greek and Roman aesthetic tastes, nicknamed him Palladio, "the wise one", sent him to Rome to sightsee and measure ruins, commissioned him for rebuilding work on his villa, and encouraged him to study Vitruvius and become a master architect. His next patron prepared a new edition of De Architectura and commissioned him to illustrate. Palladio's first book of his own was published in 1554, a Rome travel guide focused on its antiquities.

By this time, it was fashionable among the wealthy citizens of the Republic of Venice to purchase mainland property and build villas of luxury and comfort. For Palladio this trend became a prolific source of business and undying fame; 24 villas of his design are one UNESCO World Heritage Site together with 23 buildings in Vicenza. He became chief architect of the Most Serene Republic in 1570. In this capacity he designed the Redentore Church on Giudecca Island, maybe his most prominent masterpiece - to merely describe his contribution to the Venetian public landscape merits a long, very detailed on-foot-and-gondola itinerary article.

In the same year his Four Books of Architecture were published; later reprinted in many languages and widely circulated, the heavily illustrated seminal work cemented his reputation and influence. The Palladian style, elements and methods became the embodiment of rationality in the art of building, made the old "barbarous/Gothic/supertitious" architectural styles obsolete, and remained the prevalent face of Western architecture throughout the Enlightenment Age, well into the 19th century. In 2010, for the 500th anniversary of Palladio's birth, the US Congress passed Resolution 259 acknowledging his influence on Thomas Jefferson and later American architects.

Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was a renaissance man, active in several fields of science and a Fellow of the Royal Society, but he is remembered mainly for his architecture.

After the great fire devastated London in 1666, he and associates in his office were the main architects for the rebuilding. Among other things, they designed 52 churches in the City of London alone. His best-known building is Saint Paul's cathedral in the center of that area; its crypt contains his grave.

There are many other Wren buildings, mainly in other parts of London but a few elsewhere in England and at least one in the US. The College of William and Mary in Virginia has a Wren Building; Thomas Jefferson was a student there.

Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905) designed the Natural History Museum in London and several Grade II listed buildings in Manchester and Liverpool.

One interesting aspect of his designs was his use of dual-purpose structures that both served required functions and acted as decorative visual elements. In the Natural History Museum, for example,the octagonal top storey of the towers contained the water tanks, and the four pinnacles surrounding the octagonal tower tops were the air intakes and exhaust vents for the museum's ventilation and heating system.

Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) was a Catalan architect who was the most famous exponent of the Modernisme architectural style that was in vogue in Catalonia during his lifetime. On 7 June 1926, while going to church, he was run down by a tramcar, and died three days later. Seven of his works in Barcelona have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most famous examples being Casa Milà aka "La Pedrera" residential building, La Sagrada Família church that had started on a neo-Gothic plan by someone else, has his tomb inside its crypt and is expected to be completed by the architect's death centenary in 2026, and Park Güell, which contains a house of his design with many clever personal design details, where he lived from 1906 until his death, when not inside his atelier at the Sagrada Família.

See also: Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), during his career spanning more than 70 years, designed more than 1,000 buildings, about half of which were built. In 2019, eight of these buildings were listed as a world heritage site named The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright by UNESCO.

Wright was one of the leading lights of the "prairie school" of American architects. Two others were the Griffins who designed the Australian capital, Canberra.

The Swiss-French architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris (1887-1965) was better known under his artist name, Le Corbusier. Regarded as one of the fathers of modern architecture and urban planning, his buildings can today be seen in Europe, the Americas and Asia. His architecture and his views regarding how people should use his buildings remain controversial to this day and if you see his creations, you might get an idea why.

Some works of this architect are the planned city of Chandigarh, the Villa Savoye in Poissy outside Paris where he expressed his "five points of new architecture", the Immeuble Clarté in Geneva, the Centrosoyuz Building in Moscow, the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts in Cambridge (Massachusetts), four "Unité d'habitation" apartment buildings around Europe which later served as inspiration for Brutalist architecture and many "villas" in France and Switzerland including his own cabin on the French Riviera where he spent the last years of his life.

In 2016, 17 of his creations were listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site named "The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement".

Paul Revere Williams (1894-1980) was an architect based in Los Angeles who designed over 2000 buildings in his career, including homes for Hollywood stars such as Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, and Lon Chaney. He was black and had to overcome considerable prejudice to succeed.

Mexico's most famous architect of the modern age is without question Luis Barragan (1902-1988). Barragan began his career in Guadalajara but spent most of his career in Mexico City, where he designed a number of public buildings as well as his own home and studio, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. His style is unmistakably modernist with clean lines and a reliance on concrete as his primary construction medium. Unlike other modernists, Barragan rejected the functionist philosophy, instead believing that human values like beauty, intimacy, and serenity (among others) must be reflected in architecture. He would often achieve this by integrating nature with the built environment and with his bold use of color. Some of Barragan's most famous projects include the Torres de Satelite in Mexico City, Cuadra San Cristobal, and the Gardens of Pedregal. In Monterrey, Barragan is famous for designing the MARCO Museum and the Faro de Comercio in the city's Macroplaza. Barragan was awarded the Pritzker prize in 1980.

Brazilian architect Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (1907 – 2012) is considered one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Strongly influenced by Le Corbusier, Niemeyer is best known for his design of civic buildings for Brasília, Brazil's planned capital city from 1960 on, and of Belo Horizonte's Pampulha Architectural Complex, now a world heritage site.

His collaboration with other architects on the United Nations Headquarters in New York City is widely praised as well. His exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was highly influential in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Both lauded and criticized for being a "sculptor of monuments", Niemeyer is held as a great artist, and one of the greatest architects of his generation, by his supporters, and accused of a highly criticizable architecture, functionally and budget-wise, by his detractors.

Prolific well-known Mexican architect who was a self-described "urbanist". He devoted his life to the design of cities and their large-scale structures. He was very much a modernist who adhered to Le Corbusier's "5 Principles", which he learned in Paris where he received his architecture degree from Ecole de Beaux Arts. In Mexico, he worked on urban plans and is credited for the city layout of Ciudad Satelite and for the campus layout of UNAM's main campus (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). His most famous project was a "city within a city", the 102-building mixed use housing project called Conjunto Urbano Nonoalco Tlatelolco that was home for 80,000 people. It was the site of an infamous mass murder of protesters by the Mexico City police in 1968, and found itself back in the news in 1985 when it was heavily damaged by an earthquake that completely collapsed one building and fatally damaged several others. Today 90 of the 102 structures remain. Pani was also the founding editor of Arquitectura magazine and an architecture professor at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM).

I.M. Pei (1917-2019) spent his early years in China, but moved to the USA for university and lived there most of his life. He designed buildings in many places and was very much a modern architect, heavily influenced by the European Bahaus school.

Pei designed a number of important public buildings including Dallas city hall, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, and the Kennedy Library and the John Hancock Tower in Boston. He has also done commercial buildings, notably the Bank of China tower in Hong Kong.

Museums were a specialty; perhaps his best-known work is the controversial glass pyramid outside the Louvre in Paris. Other projects included the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, an extension of the German Historical Museum in Berlin. the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and the Miho Museum near Kyoto. He came out of retirement in his 80s to design a museum for the Chinese city of Suzhou where his family were from.

The Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry (1929-) is known for his Deconstructivist creations which include:

• Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
• Dancing House in Prague
• Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto
• MIT Ray and Maria Stata Center in Cambridge (Massachusetts)
• Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles
• the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies on the University of Cincinnati campus
• New World Center in Miami Beach
• Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis
• the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Douglas Cardinal (1934-) is partly an Indigenous Canadian, having both Blackfoot and Mohawk ancestors. His best-known designs are museums:

• Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, Quebec, right across the river from Parliament Hill in Ottawa
• National Museum of the American Indian, on the National Mall in Washington DC
• Edmonton Space and Science Centre (1984) in Edmonton, Alberta, which has since been renovated and renamed the Telus World of Science

(Born 1935 in Riga) probably one of the best known contemporary German architects, his designs include the Berlin Tegel airport, the Tempodrom in Berlin, expansions to the Stuttgart and Hamburg airports, as well as the new Berlin Hauptbahnhof main rail station. However, von Gerkhan has sued Deutsche Bahn over differences between the way the main station looks now and his original design. Similarly, Tegel could probably have been a more impressive and efficient airport had Gerkan's original double hexagon design been built, instead of the single hexagon and numerous uninspired additions that characterized its final form. The architecture company von Gerkhan founded, gmp (short for "Gerkhan Marg & Partner"), is still active globally and is particularly renowned for their sports stadium designs.

Norman Foster (born 1935 in Stockport) is an English architect, one of the leading exponents of British modernist architecture. Prominent buildings designed by him include the dome of Berlin's Bundestag, the HSBC Building and Terminal 1 of Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, and 30 St Mary Axe, nicknamed "the Gherkin", in London.

Valencian architect, structural engineer, sculptor and painter Santiago Calatrava Valls (born 28 July 1951), early in his career, was largely dedicated to designing bridges and railway stations with a "neofuturistic" approach. He is most famous for the Olympic Communications Tower on the Montjuïc hill, built for the 1992 Olympiad, and several avant-garde bridges: the Chords Bridge in Jerusalem, the Alamillo Bridge in Seville, the Ponte della Costituzione (more popularly the Calatrava bridge) over Venice's Grand Canal, the Kronprinzenbrücke over the Spree river in Berlin, the Campo Volantin Footbridge over Nervion river in Bilbao and several others. In his home city, his most famous work is the Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències (City of Arts and Sciences), a complex consisting of numerous museums and performing arts venues. He is often criticized like other "starchitects" of his generation for the eye-watering cost of his creations with critics arguing that a less ambitious design made by a less famous architect would do the job just as well.

• Doha is the main rival to Dubai and has the skyline to match, and the Doha Tower with its phallic shape is perhaps the most iconic building in the skyline. Due to its rapid development, Doha's skyline is constantly changing with new skyscrapers being built in rapid succession, so expect a different experience the next time you visit.
• Dubai's famous skyline is known for the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world by far, towering above the other skyscrapers.
• Hong Kong has a famous modern skyline, and it's also geographically beautiful. Go to the top of Victoria Peak to see a great panorama of northern Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and beyond. Alternatively, you can see a great view looking up from Victoria Harbour, such as by taking the Star Ferry between Hong Kong and Kowloon. Most evenings there is "A Symphony of Lights" when about 40 buildings are illuminated for a light show, best viewed from Kowloon waterfront.
• Jerusalem has a famous skyline, holy to several religions. It is well-known as a hilly city, so go to the top of a hill in eastern Jerusalem for a view of the Old City and New Jerusalem beyond.
• Kuala Lumpur's skyline is best known for the distinctive Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building in the world from 1998-2004, and still the world's tallest twin towers.
• Mumbai is also known for its skyline across the Arabian Sea. It consists of a variety of tall buildings and structures, most of which have been built in the last two decades.
• Shanghai's most famous skyline is the modern one in Pudong, though it also still has remnants of an Art Deco waterfront in the Bund on the other side of the Huangpu River. You can see both sides by taking a river cruise, or walk on the Bund side and then go to a high floor of one of the skyscrapers in Pudong.
• Taipei may not have many skyscrapers, but the sight of the iconic Taipei 101 towering above the rest of the city is well-known. Xiangshan Park is one of the best-regarded places to view the skyline.
• Tokyo is so massive that there is no single skyline; instead, skyscrapers are clustered together in several different pockets throughout the city. However, the most famous view is from the Tokyo City View in Roppongi Hills, where you can see the iconic Tokyo Tower towering over the surrounding buildings. Another notable skyline is of that of the artificial island of Odaiba, with the distinctive Fuji TV Building.

• Cape Town's skyline is known for its idyllic setting against the backdrop of Cape Town Harbour. The top of Table Mountain is generally known for having the best views of the harbour.
• Johannesburg has a skyline that is best known for the Ponte Apartments and the Hillbrow Tower, the largest free-standing structure in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Florence has a famous, beautiful skyline that is best seen from the steps of San Miniato al Monte or the Piazzale Michelangelo slightly down the hill from that church, or from the top of the Boboli Gardens. Alternatively, you can see a more distant view from Fiesole, but it might be marred by smog.

• Frankfurt is known for its modern skyline, as most of the city was destroyed by Allied bombing in World War II, and it was rebuilt after the war in a modern style. This makes Frankfurt one of the few European cities with a high density of skyscrapers in its downtown area.

• From within London, you're unlikely to get a better view than from the top of the London Eye, so if you're an architecture enthusiast, it's worth paying for a ride. The eye is centrally located, so you'll have a good view of all the newer skyscrapers in the City of London, Canary Wharf and anywhere else along and some distance from the Thames.

• Moscow's most spectacular skyline is that of the modern skyscrapers of the Moscow International Business Center (MIBC), also known as Moscow-City, which are a symbol of Russia's transition to capitalism after the fall of the Soviet Union. Go to the Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment near the Novoarbatsky Bridge for a view of contrasts, with the Hotel Ukraina, one of Moscow's famed Soviet-era Stalinst skyscrapers in the foreground, and the MIBC in the background. The Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge is another good viewpoint, where you can see the Kremlin with both the Hotel Ukraina and the modern skyscrapers of the MIBC in the background. Sparrow Hills (Воробьёвы го́ры, Vorobyovy Gory), a hill on the right bank of the Moskva River and one of the highest points in Moscow, 80 m (260 ft) above the river level and served by the homonymous metro station, is another classic Muscovite viewpoint, immortalized by many Russian poets and writers, such as Aleksandr Pushkin and Lev Tolstoi. The observation platform is on a steep bank 85 m (279 ft) above the river. The Central Luzhniki Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 2018 World Cup's final match took place, is right below, across the Moskva River. Next to it is the Novodevichy Convent, with its Naryshkin Baroque towers. Not far from the observation platform is the Luzhniki Metro Bridge.

• Favorite places from which to see the Paris skyline include the church of Sacré Coeur in Montmartre and the Tour de Montparnasse — partly, as some cynical Parisians would say, because the views don't include Sacré Coeur or the Tour de Montparnasse. Sacré Coeur is above and to the north of the rest of Paris, so you can view the whole city from there, whereas the Tour de Montparnasse is right in the center of a major commercial district, so you have a 360° view that is close to some of the sights, including the famous view of the Eiffel Tower with the skyscrapers of La Défense in the background. The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe is also famous, as you get to look down each one of the streets that converge on the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly Place de l'Étoile).

• Stockholm's skyline can be seen across the many bodies of water in the inner city; see Södermalm heights tour.

• Chicago is a geographically virtually flat city, but its architecture is so famous that architectural tours are considered a must for visitors by many Chicagoans. These tours usually take place on branches of the Chicago River, from where you can see changing vistas and buildings from different eras. A walk up Michigan Avenue or State Street through the Loop, across a bridge and through the Near North Side will also introduce you to many beautiful structures.
  • Chicago skyline guide

• New York City has several skylines, but most famously, Downtown and Midtown Manhattan. The best locations from which to see both skylines include the New Jersey cities of Jersey City, Weehawken and Hoboken, the pedestrian path over the Brooklyn Bridge, and for a distant view that's particularly beautiful at sundown, the George Washington Bridge. The East Side has more classic Art Deco buildings than the West Side in Midtown, and for great views of that skyline, a trip to Roosevelt Island on the tram and a walk on the path on the part of the island facing Manhattan is ideal. For views of Downtown from the east, East River Park in Brooklyn and the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights are excellent. A unique, great view of the Downtown and Jersey City skylines can be had by taking the Staten Island Ferry, which is free.

• Downtown Philadelphia has a beautiful skyline, graced by the neo-Art Deco skyscrapers of Liberty Place. The Benjamin Franklin Bridge is a good place from where to view it.

• Pittsburgh has a lovely skyline, best seen from atop the Incline or on an approach to one of the various bridges to Downtown.

• Although it has no skyscrapers, Quebec City's skyline is one of the most distinctive in Canada, with the Château Frontenac, one of Canada's most famous luxury historic hotels, towering above the rest of the old walled city. For the best views, take the ferry across the Saint Lawrence River to Lévis.

• Los Angeles may not have any iconic buildings in its skyline, but is set against the beautiful backdrop of the San Gabriel mountains. This is best viewed from the scenic viewpoint at Baldwin Hills, preferably in the winter when the mountains are capped with snow.

• San Francisco's skyline is famous, but the city is notoriously foggy. On a clear day, you can have a great view from Twin Peaks, accessible by car or bus (or by bicycle or foot if you are ambitious). There are various other hills you can visit, but Twin Peaks is the highest in the city, so you can see the furthest from there when there is no fog. Bring warm clothing, as it's always windy up there. For another view, head across the Golden Gate Bridge to Battery Wagner in Marin County; from there you can have a view of the Golden Gate Bridge with the San Francisco skyline in the background.

• Seattle's skyline is famous for the distinctive Space Needle. Kerry Park is the most famous spot to view the skyline, where you can see both the Space Needle and the skyscrapers of Downtown Seattle, with Mount Rainier also visible in the background on a clear day.

• Toronto's skyline is known for featuring CN Tower, once the tallest freestanding structure in the world before being surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2007. The best views of the skyline can generally be found from the Toronto Islands.

• Vancouver may not have any iconic skyscrapers, but its skyline is known for being set against the beautiful backdrop of the North Shore Mountains. This is best seen from the south, with Queen Elizabeth Park being a popular spot to view it.

• Rio de Janeiro sits on the most spectacular geographical location on the planet. As the song says, "Rio, the mountain, the sky, the sea. Rio that I'll always love". Mountain lookouts like Vista Chinesa and Paineiras have iconic views that for Brazilians have become commonplace because of massive media overexposure.
• Porto Alegre by the Guaíba estuary is home to nice public architecture of many periods and gorgeous sunsets, better appreciated from riverside or the famous TV Hill.
• Brasília features a truly unique skyline of Modernist and Brutalist architecture, with many green open spaces. Famous viewpoints include the centrally located old TV Tower, the new Digital TV Tower on the northern edge of the city, and the iconic Ermida Dom Bosco.
• Belo Horizonte, the planned capital of Minas Gerais state, innaugurated in 1897, was once (aptly) named "King's Corral", as it sits in the middle of a round big valley surrounded by cliffs. There are many viewpoints on them, above the big city and its nice urban planning. About 120 km away, the old capital Ouro Preto, a colonial mining city built on a very uneven mountain landscape, has a totally different skyline experience altogether.

• Auckland's skyline is known for featuring the iconic Sky Tower, which was the tallest freestanding structure in the southern hemisphere until 2022. Take one of the ferries across Waitematā Harbour for the best views.
• Melbourne may not have the iconic structures that its rival Sydney does in its skyline, but it's nevertheless still an impressive sight, particularly when lit up at night. The south bank of the Yarra River is a good place to view the skyline, but for a more panoramic view, head to the Shrine of Remembrance. If you want a view of the skyline with the sea in the foreground, head to one of the public piers in Williamstown.
• Perth's economy is intimately tied to the mining industry, and its skyline is fittingly dominated by the corporate offices of Australia's two largest mining conglomerates. Central Park, the tallest skyscraper in Perth, has Rio Tinto as its main tenant, and Brookfield Place, the second tallest and arguably most iconic skyscraper in Perth, has BHP Biliton as its main tenant, and both can be recognised by the names of their main tenants displayed on their exteriors. The best place to view the skyline is from the south bank of the Swan River.
• Sydney has a world-famous skyline with several landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. Take one of the ferries across Sydney Harbour to have the best views of the skyline.
• Wellington's skyline is set against a beautiful backdrop with Wellington Harbour to the east and mountains to the west. One of the best spots to view the skyline, where you can see the skyline of the Wellington CBD along with the mountains and the sea is from the top of Mount Victoria.
• Where's the best skyline in Queensland? No, it's not Brisbane, but the Gold Coast — specifically the skyline of Surfers Paradise (and by extension, Main Beach). While there's nothing overly distinctive about the structures themselves, its backdrop right next to an array of canals makes it a particularly attractive and distinctive skyline.

The following buildings, all over 350 meters, were each at one time the tallest building in the world.

1. Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, UAE (built 2010) 160 storeys 828 m (2,717 ft)
2. Taipei 101, Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan (built 2004) 101 storeys 509 m (1,670 ft)
3. Petronas Towers, Golden Triangle, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (built 1998) 88 storeys 452 m (1,483 ft)
4. Sears Tower, the Loop, Chicago, USA (built 1974) 110 storeys 442 m (1,450 ft)
5. Empire State Building, Midtown, Manhattan, New York, USA (built 1931) 102 storeys 381 m (1,250 ft)

This is the current (as of 2023) list of the ten tallest buildings in the world. The rankings depend on how exactly you define "tallest" and "building", so different sources give slightly different lists, but everyone agrees that the Burj Khalifa is the tallest by far.

1. Burj Khalifa, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, UAE (built 2010) 160 storeys 828 m
2. Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (built 2023) 118 storeys 679 m
3. Shanghai Tower, Pudong, Shanghai, China (built 2015) 128 storeys 632 m
4. Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower, Mecca, Saudi Arabia (built 2012) 120 storeys 601 m
5. Ping An International Finance Centre, Futian, Shenzhen, China (built 2017) 118 storeys 599 m
6. Lotte World Tower, Songpa, Seoul, South Korea (built 2016) 123 storeys 554.5 m
7. One World Trade Center, Financial District, Manhattan, New York City, United States (built 2014) 104 storeys 541.3 m
8. (tied) Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China (built 2016) 111 storeys 530 m
9. (tied) Tianjin CTF Finance Centre, Tianjin, China (under construction) 98 storeys 530 m
10. China Zun, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China (under construction) 108 storeys 528 m

The Marina area of Dubai had seven of the world's ten tallest residential buildings as of 2010.

The number eight is considered lucky in much of East Asia and hence this number is often deliberately chosen for things like number of floors.

These towers, all over 300 meters (about 1000 feet), were each at one time the tallest tower in the world.

1. Tokyo Skytree, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan (built 2012) 634 m
2. Canton Tower, Haizhu, Guangzhou, China (built 2010) 604 m
3. CN Tower, Downtown Toronto, Canada (built 1976) 553 m
4. Ostankino Tower, outskirts of Moscow, Russia (built 1967) 540 m
5. Tokyo Tower, Minato, Tokyo, Japan (built 1958) 333 meters
6. Eiffel Tower, 7th arrondissement, Paris, France (built 1889) 300 m when built, 324 m with TV antenna.

This is the current (2018) list of the ten tallest towers in the world.

1. Tokyo Skytree, Sumida, Tokyo, Japan (built 2012) 634 m
2. Canton Tower, Haizhu, Guangzhou, China (built 2010) 604 m
3. CN Tower, Downtown Toronto, Canada (built 1976) 553 m
4. Ostankino Tower, outskirts of Moscow, Russia (built 1967) 540 m
5. Oriental Pearl Tower, Pudong, Shanghai, China (built 1995) 468 m
6. Milad Tower, Tehran, Iran (built 2007) 435 m
7. KL Tower, Golden Triangle, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (built 1994) 421 m
8. Tianjin Radio and Television Tower, Tianjin, China (built 1991) 415 m
9. Central Radio and TV Tower, Haidian District, Beijing, China (built 1992) 405 m
10. Zhongyuan Tower, Zhengzhou, China (built 2011) 388 m

Autograph Tower in Thamrin Nine, Jakarta (built 2022) at 383 m is the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the USA and Poland there are some guyed radio masts that are taller than some of the items on this list. After the Burj Khalifa, the tallest construction built so far is the Warsaw radio mast near Gabin.

See also: Developmental records

Of course, height is not the only way in which a building might be remarkable. Other records include:

• Edificio Copan in São Paulo is "only" 38 stories, but it has 1160 apartments and is considered the world's largest residential building by floor area
• Malbork Castle in Malbork is Europe's largest castle by area, the largest Gothic brick structure ever built, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Largest buildings by roof area: the two Hajj terminals at Jeddah airport, which each handle dozens of large aircraft carrying Muslim pilgrims.
• Longest structure on Earth: the Great Wall of China is several thousand km. It is arguably not really all one structure, different parts having been built by different dynasties centuries apart, but even those parts are enormous.
• Depending on how you define "structure" the Dingo Fence in Australia is larger than the Great Wall of China.

Several industrial buildings are huge due to the nature of the work done there. Examples include:

• The former Cargolifter hall in Brandenburg, which has the biggest single span roof in the world and was designed to hold a Zeppelin that never was and now houses a tropical themed water amusement park
• The Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Lower Saxony where cruise ships are built (tour possible). It is by far the biggest dry dock and one of the biggest buildings in the world.
• The Boeing factory in Everett, Washington - the biggest man made structure by interior volume