Portal:Architecture
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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 civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
Architecture began as rural, oral vernacular architecture that developed from trial and error to successful replication. Ancient urban architecture was preoccupied with building religious structures and buildings symbolizing the political power of rulers until Greek and Roman architecture shifted focus to civic virtues. Indian and Chinese architecture influenced forms all over Asia and Buddhist architecture in particular took diverse local flavors. During the Middle Ages, pan-European styles of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and abbeys emerged while the Renaissance favored Classical forms implemented by architects known by name. Later, the roles of architects and engineers became separated.
Modern architecture began after World War I as an avant-garde movement that sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. Emphasis was put on modern techniques, materials, and simplified geometric forms, paving the way for high-rise superstructures. Many architects became disillusioned with modernism which they perceived as ahistorical and anti-aesthetic, and postmodern and contemporary architecture developed. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating. (Full article...)
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The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai before its inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it is the world's tallest structure, with a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but including a 242.6 m spire) of 828 m (2,717 ft). It has also been the tallest building in the world since its topping out in 2009, surpassing Taipei 101, which had held the record for a half-decade.
Construction of the Burj Khalifa began in 2004; the exterior was completed five years later. The primary structure is reinforced concrete. Some of the structural steel for the building was salvaged from the demolished Palace of the Republic in East Berlin. The building was opened in 2010 as part of a new development called Downtown Dubai. It was designed to be the centerpiece of large-scale, mixed-use development. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -

- ... that the Seth Peterson Cottage was said to have "more architecture per square foot" than any of Frank Lloyd Wright's other designs?
- ... that architect Geoff Malone was tasked with impressing visitors with a "rocket ship" design for a Singapore movie theatre?
- ... that the Grain Belt Brewery was built with four distinct architectural sections, in homage to the four companies that combined to form it?
- ... that when the owner of the house Wingspread complained that his roof was leaking, the architect reportedly advised him to move his chair?
- ... that Canadian photographer and architectural activist Brian Merrett's works prompted the preservation of Montreal's Shaughnessy House, now the Canadian Centre for Architecture?
- ... that Ron Labinski has been described as the world's first sports-venue architect?
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- Basic topics Architect • List of architects • Architecture • List of architecture firms • Style • List of buildings • New article announcements • more....
- Architectural history Timeline of architectural styles • Ancient Egyptian • Harappan • Inca • Mayan • Persian • Sumerian • Ancient Greek • Roman • Byzantine • Romanesque • Moorish • Gothic • Renaissance • Mannerism • Baroque • Ottoman • Palladian • Neoclassicism • Revival • Jugendstil • Art Deco • Modern • Postmodern • New Classical • more....
- Architectural theory Critical regionalism • Postmodernism • Deconstructivism • Modernism • Islamic • more....
- Architecture of the world Denmark • Germany • India • Madagascar • Norway • Russia • United Kingdom • United States • more....
- Awards Aga Khan Award • Driehaus Architecture Prize • International Architecture Awards • Pritzker Architecture Prize • more....
- Building science Architectural engineering • Earthquake engineering • Green building • Structural engineering • Acoustical engineering • Building defects • more....
- Construction Trades • Materials science • Project management • Project planning • more
- Landscape architecture Landscape architects • History • Desire lines • Energy-efficient landscaping • Greenway (landscape) • materials • Landscape design • Landscape maintenance • Landscape planning • Natural landscaping • Site planning • more....
- Law Contract law • Property law • Employment law • Land law • Tort • Equity
- Economics of Architecture Cost management • Quantity surveyor • Critical path analysis • Elemental cost planning • Cost–benefit analysis
- Planning and Urban design Topics • Zoning • Growth management • Land-use planning • New Urbanism • more....
- Architecture museums Shchusev Museum of Architecture • Museum of Finnish Architecture • German Architecture Museum
- By Year: 2015 in architecture • 2014 in architecture • 2013 in architecture • 2012 in architecture • 2011 in architecture • more....
- Vernacular architecture Timber framing • Thatching • Vernacular architecture of the Carpathians • Indian vernacular architecture • Vernacular architecture of Indonesia • Vernacular architecture in Norway • Open-air museum • Architecture of Samoa • Sasak architecture • Zakopane Style
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