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Art Form

Architecture

Architectural Arts

Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, distinct from mere construction, employed to satisfy both practical needs of shelter and expressive or aesthetic ambitions. One of the oldest known instances of monumental, deliberately composed building is Gobekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey, a complex of large circular stone enclosures with carved T-shaped limestone pillars, dated to roughly 9500 BCE and built by mobile hunter-gatherer communities before the development of settled farming. In ancient Egypt, monumental architecture developed through the mastaba, a flat mud-brick superstructure raised over a tomb, first built at Saqqara during Dynasty 3, around 2649 to 2575 BCE; King Djoser's vizier Imhotep then stacked mastabas atop one another and built in stone, producing the Step Pyramid, and pyramid building reached its height in Dynasty 4, around 2575 to 2465 BCE. Structurally, much premodern architecture relied on post and lintel, or trabeated, construction, a system architecture has continually revised through new materials from stone and timber to iron, steel and reinforced concrete.

Facts
Medium
Structural materials suited to enclosing and supporting space, historically stone, mud brick, timber and masonry, and in later periods iron, steel, glass and reinforced concrete, organized through systems such as post and lintel construction. 1
Signature Technique
Load-bearing systems refined from post-and-lintel construction and the arch through to the modern tube structure; Fazlur Rahman Khan's mid-20th-century tube structure let steel-framed buildings rise far higher than earlier masonry systems allowed. 2
Notable Example
Filippo Brunelleschi's dome for Florence Cathedral, completed in the early 15th century, which transformed both the building and the city and, with it, the role and status of the architect as a distinct profession. 2
Disputed
Place of Origin
No single point of origin; monumental architecture arose independently in several early civilizations, building on structural systems, such as post-and-lintel construction, that themselves trace to prehistoric building practice before any written record. 2
The cited source dates the practice of architecture only to the prehistoric era, before writing, without naming one place; historians treat monumental architecture as having arisen independently in more than one early civilization rather than diffusing from a single origin.
Connections

Associated With

Balloon Framing, Artistic Techniques

balloon framing is a technique of the architecture art form.

Cantilever Construction, Artistic Techniques

cantilever construction is a technique of the architecture art form.

Coffering, Artistic Techniques

coffering is a technique of the architecture art form.

Corbelling, Artistic Techniques

corbelling is a technique of the architecture art form.

Flying Buttress, Artistic Techniques

flying buttress is a technique of the architecture art form.

Half-Timbering, Artistic Techniques

half timbering is a technique of the architecture art form.

Interior Design, Art Forms

Interior design is a discipline closely allied with architecture, shaping the interior spatial and material qualities of buildings architects design.

Landscape Architecture, Art Forms

Landscape architecture is a design discipline closely allied with architecture, planning outdoor and built environments together.

Post and Lintel Construction, Artistic Techniques

post and lintel construction is a technique of the architecture art form.

Stained Glass, Art Forms

Stained glass became a defining, load-bearing element of Gothic cathedral design itself, not a decoration added afterward.

Source Wikipedia

Expressed In

Constructivism, Movements
Source Tate
Futurism, Movements
Source Tate
Neoclassicism, Movements
Source Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica editors
Rococo, Movements
Source Tate

Movements

Art Deco, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Art Nouveau, Movements
Bauhaus, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Brutalism, Movements
Carolingian Art, Movements
Constructivism, Movements
Source Tate
De Stijl, Movements
Source Wikipedia
Futurism, Movements
Source Tate
Gothic Architecture, Movements
Source Wikipedia
High Renaissance, Movements
Source Wikipedia
International Style, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Modernism, Movements
Source Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica editors
Neoclassicism, Movements
Source Encyclopaedia BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica editors
Organic Architecture, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Postmodernism, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Prairie School, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Renaissance, Movements
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Rococo, Movements
Source Tate
Romanesque Art, Movements
Vienna Secession, Movements
Source Wikipedia

Practitioners

Frank Lloyd Wright, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
John Burgee, Artists
Source John Henry Burgee (Britannica)
Lilly Reich, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Louis Sullivan, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Michelangelo, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Peter Behrens, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Philip Johnson, Artists
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Walter Gropius, Artists

Works In This Form

860-880 Lake Shore Drive, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Abu Simbel, Works

Rock-cut temple complex commissioned by Ramesses II.

Alcazar of Seville, Works

Mudejar royal palace in Seville, Spain.

Alhambra, Works
Source Wikipedia
Angkor Wat, Works
Source Wikipedia
AT&T Building, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Barcelona Pavilion, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Biltmore Estate, Works

Chateauesque Gilded Age mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, designed by Richard Morris Hunt.

Borobudur, Works

9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Java; no single named architect of record.

British Museum, Works

Greek Revival museum building in London, designed by Robert Smirke.

Buckingham Palace, Works

London residence of the British monarch, remodeled by multiple architects across two centuries.

Burj Khalifa, Works

Supertall skyscraper in Dubai.

Casa Mila, Works

Modernista apartment building in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudi.

Catherine Palace, Works

Rococo imperial palace at Tsarskoye Selo, redesigned by Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

Centre Pompidou, Works

Parisian museum building with exposed structural and mechanical systems.

Chartres Cathedral, Works
Source Wikipedia
Chichen Itza, Works

Major Maya city complex; no single named builder of record.

Chrysler Building, Works

Art Deco skyscraper.

CN Tower, Works

Concrete communications and observation tower.

Cologne Cathedral, Works

Gothic cathedral in Cologne, Germany.

Colosseum, Works
Source Wikipedia
Doge's Palace, Works

Venetian Gothic palace, seat of the Doge of Venice.

Dome of the Rock, Works

Early Islamic shrine on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem.

Eames House, Works

Case Study House No. 8, designed by Charles and Ray Eames.

Empire State Building, Works

Art Deco skyscraper.

Fallingwater, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Farnsworth House, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Forbidden City, Works

Chinese imperial palace complex.

Ford Foundation Building, Works

Modernist office building in New York with an interior atrium garden, designed by Kevin Roche.

Frederick C. Robie House, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Gamble House, Works
Getty Center, Works

Modernist museum campus in Los Angeles, designed by Richard Meier.

Glass House, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Golden Temple, Works

Sikh gurdwara in Amritsar, India.

Great Mosque of Djenne, Works

Largest mud-brick building in the world, Mali.

Great Pyramid of Giza, Works
Source Wikipedia
Hagia Sophia, Works
Hermitage Museum, Works

Art museum in Saint Petersburg, centered on the Baroque Winter Palace complex.

Hollyhock House, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Hoover Building, Works

Art Deco factory building in west London.

Imperial Hotel (Tokyo, Wright building), Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Johnson Wax Administration Building, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Kaufmann Desert House, Works

Modernist desert house in Palm Springs, designed by Richard Neutra.

Kinkaku-ji, Works

Gold-leaf Zen Buddhist pavilion in Kyoto.

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Works

Freestanding Romanesque bell tower.

Lever House, Works

International Style curtain-wall skyscraper.

Lloyd's Building, Works

High-Tech office building in London, designed by Richard Rogers.

Louvre, Works

Former royal palace in Paris, now an art museum, built up across several centuries.

Machu Picchu, Works

15th-century Inca citadel; no single named architect of record.

Marin County Civic Center, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Monticello, Works

Thomas Jefferson's Neoclassical plantation house in Virginia.

Moscow Kremlin, Works

Fortified complex in central Moscow, built up across several centuries.

Museum of Modern Art, Works

Manhattan museum building.

Neue Nationalgalerie, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Newgrange, Works

Neolithic passage tomb in Ireland, older than Stonehenge and the Giza pyramids.

Notre-Dame de Paris, Works
Source Wikipedia
One World Trade Center, Works

Main tower of the rebuilt World Trade Center, New York.

Palace of Versailles, Works

French Baroque royal palace.

Palace of Westminster, Works

Gothic Revival seat of the UK Parliament, London.

Palais Garnier, Works
Pantheon, Works
Source Wikipedia
Parthenon, Works
Source Wikipedia
Persepolis, Works

Ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

Peterhof Palace, Works

Russian Baroque imperial palace.

Petra, Works

Nabataean rock-cut city; no single architect of record, built by generations of Nabataean masons.

Petronas Towers, Works

Twin-tower skyscraper designed by Cesar Pelli.

Pont du Gard, Works

Roman aqueduct bridge.

Potala Palace, Works

Former winter palace of the Dalai Lama, Lhasa, Tibet.

Prado Museum, Works

Neoclassical museum building in Madrid, designed by Juan de Villanueva.

Price Tower, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Reichstag Building, Works

German parliament building in Berlin, its modern glass dome designed by Norman Foster.

Research Tower (S. C. Johnson and Son), Works
Rietveld Schroder House, Works

De Stijl house in Utrecht, designed by Gerrit Rietveld.

Rijksmuseum, Works
S. R. Crown Hall, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Sagrada Familia, Works
Saint Basil's Cathedral, Works

16th-century Russian church on Red Square, Moscow.

Saint Peter's Basilica, Works

Renaissance and Baroque basilica in Vatican City.

Salk Institute, Works

Modernist research campus in La Jolla, California, designed by Louis Kahn.

Schonbrunn Palace, Works

Austrian Baroque imperial palace.

Seagram Building, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Stahl House, Works
Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Works

Ottoman imperial mosque (the Blue Mosque).

Sydney Opera House, Works

Modern expressionist-shell performing arts building.

Taipei 101, Works

Skyscraper in Taipei with a pagoda-inspired segmented design.

Taj Mahal, Works
Source Wikipedia
Taliesin, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Taliesin West, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Tate Modern, Works

Converted power station museum building.

Teotihuacan, Works

Ancient Mesoamerican city, no single named builder of record.

Topkapi Palace, Works

Ottoman imperial palace complex.

TWA Flight Center, Works

Expressionist terminal building at JFK Airport, designed by Eero Saarinen.

Uffizi Gallery, Works

Florentine Renaissance civic building, now a museum.

Unity Temple, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Van Gogh Museum, Works

Art museum in Amsterdam, original building designed by Gerrit Rietveld.

Villa Tugendhat, Works
Source Gardner's Art Through the AgesFred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner)
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Works
Willis Faber and Dumas Building, Works

High-Tech insurance office building in Ipswich, England, designed by Norman Foster.

Willis Tower, Works

Bundled-tube skyscraper in Chicago, formerly the Sears Tower.

Winter Palace, Works

Former imperial residence in Saint Petersburg, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • Architecture, britannica.com/topic/architecture
  • Movements: Modernism, entry: Modernism
  • Movements: Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Art
  • Expressed In: Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Art
View the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Architecture, Modernism section
    Fazlur Rahman Khan's development of the tube structure was a technological breakthrough in building ever higher.
  • Architecture, Introduction section
    The practice of architecture itself, which began in the prehistoric era, has been used as a way of expressing culture.
  • Architecture, lead section
    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.
  • Movements: De Stijl, De Stijl, opening infobox
    Major founders included Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondrian, Gerrit Rietveld, and J.J.P. Oud.
  • Associated With: Stained Glass, Gothic architecture, Early Gothic section
    The walls were filled with stained glass, mainly depicting the story of the Virgin Mary but also, in a small corner of each window, illustrating the crafts of the guilds who donated those windows.
  • Movements: Gothic Architecture, Gothic architecture, lead section
    Gothic architecture is an architectural style prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century
  • Movements: Vienna Secession, Vienna Secession, Wikipedia summary, expressed-in architecture
  • Movements: High Renaissance, High Renaissance, Wikipedia summary, expressed-in architecture
  • Works In This Form: Great Pyramid of Giza
  • Works In This Form: Parthenon
  • Works In This Form: Colosseum
  • Works In This Form: Pantheon
  • Works In This Form: Angkor Wat
  • Works In This Form: Taj Mahal
  • Works In This Form: Alhambra
  • Works In This Form: Notre-Dame de Paris
  • Works In This Form: Chartres Cathedral
View the Source
Gardner's Art Through the Ages
Fred S. Kleiner (after Helen Gardner), Cengage Learning
  • chapters on architectural history across periods
  • Movements: Renaissance, chapters on the Italian Renaissance
  • Movements: Art Deco, chapter on early twentieth century architecture and design, section on Art Deco
  • Movements: Prairie School, chapter on early twentieth century American architecture
  • Movements: Organic Architecture, chapter on early twentieth century American architecture
  • Movements: International Style, chapter on the International Style and mid-century Modernist architecture
  • Movements: Bauhaus, chapter on the Bauhaus
  • Practitioners: Michelangelo, chapters on architectural history across periods, including Michelangelo's design for St. Peter's Basilica
  • Movements: Postmodernism, chapters on postmodern architecture
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkHeilbrunn Timeline: Egypt in the Old KingdomView the Source
John Henry Burgee (Britannica)
Practitioners: John Burgee
Tate
Tate, United Kingdom
  • Movements: Rococo, Art Terms: Rococo
  • Movements: Futurism, Art Terms: Futurism
  • Movements: Constructivism, Art Terms: Constructivism
  • Expressed In: Rococo, Art Terms: Rococo
  • Expressed In: Futurism, Art Terms: Futurism
  • Expressed In: Constructivism, Art Terms: Constructivism
View the Source

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