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History of architecture facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
"Architectural history" redirects here. For the journal, see Architectural History (journal). For the book, see A History of Architecture.
Not to be confused with History of construction.
Thomas Cole - Architect’s Dream - Google Art Project
The Architect's Dream, by Thomas Cole, 1840, oil on canvas

The history of architecture explores how buildings have changed over time, across different cultures and regions. It all began when early humans needed simple shelter and protection. While "architecture" often means buildings, it also includes bigger ideas like designing cities, bridges, ships, military forts, and gardens.

Building styles changed a lot, especially in the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s, thanks to new technologies. Materials like steel, cast iron, tile, reinforced concrete, and glass allowed for amazing new designs. For example, they helped the Art Nouveau style appear and made Beaux Arts buildings even grander.

Early Homes: 10,000-2000 BC

Main article: Neolithic architecture

The Neolithic period (10,000-2000 BC) was a time of huge changes for humans. People started farming and raising animals, which meant they could settle down in one place. Communities grew bigger and needed new types of buildings. This led to major advances in architecture.

Most homes from this time were simple. But some had wall decorations, showing that art was starting to appear in buildings. Early Neolithic cultures began in the Middle East around 10,000 BC and spread from there.

Important Neolithic settlements and "cities" include:

Ancient Civilizations and Their Buildings

Mesopotamian Marvels

Main article: Architecture of Mesopotamia
See also: Ziggurat
  • Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin 048

    Columns with clay mosaic cones from Uruk (southern Mesopotamia), Pergamon Museum, Berlin, 3600-3200 BC

  • Ancient ziggurat at Ali Air Base Iraq 2005

    Ziggurat of Ur, Iraq, 21st century BC

  • Glazed Tile

    Tile from the North-West Palace at Nimrud (modern Iraq), British Museum, London, 883-859 BC

  • Ishtar gate in Pergamon museum in Berlin.

    Reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, around 605-539 BC

Mesopotamia, located in modern-day Iraq, is famous for its buildings made of mud-brick. The most well-known structures are ziggurats. These were huge, stepped towers with a temple at the very top. They were built to lift the temples high above the flat river valley, making them stand out. The city of Uruk had many large and impressive temples.

The word ziggurat means "to be high" in the Akkadian language. These buildings were seen as mountains connecting Earth and heaven. The Ziggurat of Ur was about 64 by 46 meters at its base and originally 12 meters tall with three stories. It was built around 2100 BC.

Ancient Egyptian Wonders

Main articles: Ancient Egyptian architecture and Egyptian temple

When we think of ancient Egypt, we often imagine its huge buildings. Many styles and designs were set around 3100 BC. The most famous Egyptian buildings are the pyramids. These were built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms (around 2600–1800 BC) as tombs for the pharaohs. There are also amazing temples, like the Karnak Temple Complex.

Ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. They thought their souls needed their bodies to stay safe forever. So, they built special tombs to protect the dead from damage and robbers. First, they built mastabas, which were flat-roofed mud-brick structures with underground burial rooms.

Then, Imhotep, a priest and architect, designed a tomb for Pharaoh Djoser. He stacked five mastabas on top of each other, creating the first Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser (around 2667–2648 BC). The first smooth-sided pyramid was built by Pharaoh Sneferu. The most impressive is the Great Pyramid of Giza, built for Sneferu's son, Khufu (around 2589–2566 BC). It's the last remaining wonder of the ancient world and the biggest pyramid in Egypt.

Pyramids were made of stone blocks held together with mortar. They were covered with shiny white limestone and had gold tops. What we see today is the inner structure. Inside, narrow passages led to royal burial chambers. Other civilizations, like the Mayans, also built pyramids.

Later, Egyptians built more temples instead of pyramids. By the New Kingdom (around 1550–1070 BC), temples became massive stone buildings with halls and courtyards. Temples were seen as a mini-universe, a copy of the original creation place where the god could renew himself and the world. The entrance had two huge gateways (pylons) that looked like the hills of the horizon. Inside, columned halls represented ancient papyrus fields. Temples were once painted in bright colors like red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and white. Some of these colors are still visible today because of Egypt's dry desert climate.

Harappan City Planning

Main article: Harappan architecture
  • Moenjodaro - The Great Bath 1 - by nadzir81

    The Great Bath, in the city of Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan, around 2600-1900 BC

  • Moenjodaro(a) by Usman Ghani

    View of Mohenjo Daro, showing the walls and main streets, around 2600-1900 BC

The first big cities in the Indian subcontinent belonged to the Indus Valley civilisation, mainly in Mohenjo Daro and Harappa (now in Pakistan). These cities were famous for their amazing city planning. They had buildings made of baked brick, complex drainage systems, and good water supplies. This civilization was skilled in working with metals like copper and bronze. Their cities might have had between 30,000 and 60,000 people.

Ancient Greek Styles

Main article: Ancient Greek architecture
  • Ναός του Ηφαίστου

    Temple of Hephaestus on the Agoraios Kolonos Hill, Athens, Greece, around 449 BC

  • Erechtheum Acropolis Athens

    Erechtheion, Athens, with its Ionic columns, 421–405 BC

  • Parthenon (30276156187)

    Parthenon, Athens, Greece, 447–432 BC, by Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias

  • Delphi tholos cazzul

    Tholos of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, Delphi, Greece, 380–360 BC

  • The great theater of Epidaurus, designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC, Sanctuary of Asklepeios at Epidaurus, Greece (14015010416)

    Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Epidaurus, Greece, 3rd century BC

  • Torre dels Vents d'Atenes

    Tower of the Winds, Athens, 1st century BC

  • Schema Saeulenordnungen

    Illustration of Doric (left three), Ionic (middle three) and Corinthian (right two) columns

  • Examples of Historical Ornament, Greek by Boston Public Library

    Illustrations from 1874 of ornaments and patterns used by ancient Greeks and Romans

  • Antike Polychromie 1

    Illustration from 1883 that shows the colour scheme of the Doric order

Ancient Greek architecture, along with Roman, is one of the most important styles ever. From around 850 BC to 300 AD, ancient Greek culture thrived. Five of the Wonders of the World were Greek!

Greek architecture is best known for its temples, like the Parthenon and the Erechtheion in Athens. They also built impressive theaters. Both temples and theaters used clever mixes of optical illusions and balanced shapes.

Greek temples usually had a base with steps, a main room (called a cella or naos) for a statue, columns, and two triangular sections (pediments) at the front and back. By the 4th century BC, Greek builders created a system of rules called the orders: the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. You can easily tell them apart by their columns, especially the tops (capitals).

  • The Doric column is strong and simple.
  • The Ionic column is thinner and has four scrolls (called volutes) at the corners of its capital.
  • The Corinthian column is like the Ionic but has a fancy capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls.

Temples were also decorated with sculptures and patterns. These Greek designs were later used in Roman buildings and in styles that tried to bring back Greek and Roman art, like the Renaissance and Neoclassical styles.

Many ancient buildings, which look plain white or gray today, were actually painted in bright colors! The Parthenon in Athens, for example, had details painted with vibrant reds, blues, and greens. Over time, these colors faded due to weather and neglect.

Ancient Roman Buildings

Main article: Ancient Roman architecture

The architecture of ancient Rome has been very influential worldwide. The Romans were inspired by Greek and Etruscan styles. As the Roman army conquered new lands, they built towns and cities, spreading their amazing building and engineering skills.

The Romans developed new building techniques and materials. They were known for their domes (like the huge one in the Pantheon), baths, villas, palaces, and tombs. The Pantheon's dome is the largest surviving Roman dome and has a big hole (oculus) at its center. Another important Roman invention was the rounded stone arch, used in arcades and aqueducts.

Besides the Greek orders (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian), the Romans created two more:

  • The Tuscan order was like the Doric but simpler, with smooth columns.
  • The Composite combined the scrolls of the Ionic with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian.

Around 30-15 BC, the architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio wrote an important book called De architectura. It's the only book on architecture from ancient times that still exists, and it has influenced architects for centuries.

Like the Greeks, the Romans built amphitheaters. The biggest ever built, the Colosseum in Rome, could hold about 50,000 people! The Pont du Gard in France is another famous Roman structure, showing their advanced engineering as the highest surviving Roman aqueduct.

Pre-Columbian Americas: Pyramids and Cities

Main articles: Mesoamerican architecture, Aztec architecture, Maya architecture, and Inca architecture

For over 3,000 years before Europeans arrived, complex societies thrived in North, Central, and South America. The most advanced were the Mayans, Olmecs, and Aztecs in Mesoamerica, and the Incas in South America. Their buildings were often lined up with stars or compass directions.

Many cultures built entire cities with huge temples and pyramids carved with animals, gods, and kings. Most cities had a main plaza with government buildings and temples. They also had public ball courts. Like in ancient Egypt, pyramids were built here, usually with steps. They were likely used for religious ceremonies at the top, not just as tombs.

South Asian Architecture

After the Indus Valley civilization, South Asian architecture developed into many unique forms, often combining with Islamic styles later on.

Ancient Buddhist Buildings

Main article: Buddhist architecture

Buddhist architecture began in India between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC, then spread across Asia. Three main types of buildings are linked to early Buddhism: monasteries (viharas), places to honor relics (stupas), and prayer halls (chaityas).

The most famous Buddhist building is the stupa. It's a dome-shaped structure holding relics, used for meditation to remember Buddha. The dome symbolized the endless sky. Buddhism greatly influenced Sri Lankan architecture, with over 25 styles of Buddhist monasteries.

Ancient Hindu Temples

Main article: Hindu temple architecture
  • Deogarh01

    Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh, around 6th century AD

  • Maa Mundeshwari Devi

    Mundeshwari Temple, Kaimur district, Bihar, around 7th century AD

  • 1 Dancing Shiva, Cave 21 at Ellora

    Ellora Caves, Aurangabad district, Maharashtra, around 6th century AD

Across India, Hindu architecture grew from simple rock-cut cave shrines to huge temples. By the 6th or 7th centuries, larger temples became towering brick or stone buildings. These temples symbolized the sacred five-peaked Mount Meru. Unlike some other places, Hindu temples weren't designed for large group worship, but had areas for people to leave offerings and perform rituals.

Many Indian building styles are described in ancient Hindu texts like the Vastu shastras. These guidelines influenced many medieval architectural styles across India.

Maru Gurjara Style

Main articles: Māru-Gurjara architecture, Architecture of Gujarat, and Architecture of Rajasthan

This style of North Indian architecture was used for both Hindu and Jain places of worship. It appeared between the 11th and 13th centuries. These buildings have many carvings on their outer walls and several small spires on the main tower.

Himalayan Architecture

Main articles: Architecture of Nepal and Architecture of Tibet

The Himalayas are home to many different groups of people, so their architecture has many influences. Because it was hard to transport materials, builders took their time to create detailed wood carvings, paintings, and metalwork. A common feature is the slanted, layered roofs found on temples, mosques, and other buildings.

Dravidian Style

Main article: Dravidian architecture
See also: Architecture of Tamil Nadu, Architecture of Kerala, Architecture of Karnataka, Pallava art and architecture, Pandyan art and architecture, Chola art and architecture, Kadamba architecture, Badami Chalukya architecture, Hoysala architecture, Vijayanagara architecture, and Western Chalukya architecture
  • SaluvanakuppamVel

    Stone vel at the entrance to the Murugan Temple, Saluvankuppam, 300 BC

  • Padmanabhaswamy Temple Gopuram

    Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, with its gopuram built by the 16th century AD

  • MEENAKSHI TEMPLE- WEST TOWER

    Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, around 12th century

  • Yali pillars in a small open mantapa in the Vitthala temple complex in Hampi 2

    Vitthala Temple, Hampi, Karnataka, around 16th century

This style developed in southern India and Sri Lanka. It's known for Hindu temples with a unique, shorter pyramid-shaped tower over the main shrine, called a vimana. In the north, towers are taller and often curve inwards. This style also includes regular buildings, some with slanted roofs depending on the area.

Kalinga Architecture

Main article: Kalinga architecture
  • Temple-Jagannath

    The Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha, India, 12th century

  • Konarka Temple

    The Konark Sun Temple, Puri, around 1250 AD

  • Simplified schema of Kalinga architecture

    Simplified schema of a Kalinga temple

The ancient Kalinga region is now parts of eastern India. Its architecture was best between the 9th and 12th centuries. Kalinga temples are richly decorated with hundreds of figures. They usually have three main buildings: curved towers called deul or deula and prayer halls called jagmohan.

East and Southeast Asian Designs

Chinese and Vietnamese Buildings

Main articles: Chinese architecture and Vietnamese architecture

Chinese culture began in the Neolithic period (10,000–2000 BC). Early Chinese buildings were mostly made of timber. They had columns with special brackets and heavy tiled roofs. Walls were made of brick or packed earth.

When Buddhism came to China around the 1st century AD, new types of buildings appeared. Cave temples, inspired by Indian ones, were carved into rocks. Another new building was the Chinese stupa or pagoda. Pagodas were built to honor important teachers, like the Buddha. Buddhism was very popular from the 6th to 8th centuries, with thousands of monasteries built across China.

Japanese and Korean Architecture

Main articles: Japanese architecture and Korean architecture

Chinese and Confucian culture greatly influenced art and architecture in East Asia, including Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.

Japanese architecture traditionally used wood and fusuma (sliding doors) instead of solid walls, so rooms could be changed for different uses. When Buddhism arrived in the mid-6th century, it led to building large wooden temples. Much of this architecture came from China and other Asian cultures. Unlike Western buildings, Japanese structures rarely use stone, except for foundations. Walls are light and often movable.

Khmer Temples

Main article: Khmer architecture
  • My Son

    Champa Temples, Mỹ Sơn, Vietnam, around 4th century

  • Roulos Group - 005 Bakong (8587796725)

    Bakong, Hariharalaya, Roluos, Cambodia, 9th century

  • Prasat Prang Ku Somboon-006

    Prasat Prang Ku, Sisaket, Thailand, 12th century

  • Angkor SiemReap Cambodia Ankor-Wat-01

    Angkor Wat, Angkor, Cambodia, early 12th century

From the 9th to early 15th centuries, Khmer kings ruled a large Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia. Angkor, in modern-day Cambodia, was its capital. Most surviving buildings are stone temples facing east. Many are pyramid-shaped with five square towers, called prasats, which represent the sacred five-peaked Mount Meru. Temples were made of strong materials like sandstone, brick, or laterite.

African Architecture

Traditional Sub-Saharan African architecture is very diverse, with different styles in different regions. Homes include simple huts and larger, more complex buildings.

West African and Bantu Styles

  • King's palace in Nyanza

    King's palace in Nyanza, Rwanda, unknown date

  • Lunda houses-1854

    Illustration from 1854 of Lunda street and houses

  • Anna Hinderer building

    Yoruba architecture depicted in a book by Anna Hinderer in the mid 19th century

  • 07 - (Die sheng) le symbole supreme et representatif de la chefferie et du peuple Bandjoun

    Traditional Bamileke architecture, main hall of the Bandjoun palace in Cameroon, unknown date

In West Africa, rectangular houses with peaked roofs and courtyards are common. Some are decorated with mud reliefs or carved pillars. Other house types include beehive houses made of stone with domed roofs, and round huts with cone-shaped roofs. The round hut is found in Sudan and Eastern Africa, and also in parts of West Africa.

Many West African cities, like Benin City, were surrounded by large walls of mud brick or adobe, and sometimes by huge moats. In medieval southern Africa, there were fortified stone settlements like Great Zimbabwe.

  • Cam0492 Habitation de Pouss

    Beehive-shaped houses of the Musgum ethnic group in Pouss, Cameroon, unknown date

  • Koussoukoingou2

    A traditional house of the Tammari people in Benin, unknown date

  • Kumasi

    Palace of Ashanti Kwaku Dua of Kumasi, Ghana, 1896

  • DogonVillage

    A Dogon village in Mali, with walls made in the wattle and daub method, unknown date

  • Conical Tower - Great Enclosure III (33736918448)

    The conical tower inside the Great Enclosure in Great Zimbabwe, around 11th–14th century

Sahelian Mud Architecture

Main article: Sudano-Sahelian architecture
  • Djenne great mud mosque

    The Great Mosque of Djenné, Djenné, Mali, originally built in the 13th-14th centuries, rebuilt in 1907, adobe

  • Larabanga Mosque Ghana

    The Larabanga Mosque, Larabanga, northern Ghana, possibly built in the 15th century

  • Kanogate

    Hausa gate, the Gidan Rumfa in Kano, northern Nigeria, 15th century

In the Western Sahel region, Islamic influence greatly shaped architecture. Cities like Kumbi Saleh had domed homes and stone houses, with many mosques. The king even had mansions with multiple rooms and stories.

Sahelian architecture grew from cities like Djenné and Timbuktu. The Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu, made of mud on timber, looked similar to the Great Mosque of Djenné. This style used wood, mud-brick, and adobe, and had roots in local pre-Islamic building traditions.

Ethiopian Rock-Cut Churches

Main article: Ethiopian architecture
  • Bet Giyorgis (5498439545)

    Large, monolithic churches such as the Church of Saint George (Lalibela), were carved out of the ground in Ethiopia, late 12th or early 13th century

Ethiopian architecture developed from the Aksumite style, adding new traditions as the Ethiopian state grew. In the center and south of the country, homes used more wood and had rounder shapes. These styles also influenced churches and monasteries.

Throughout the medieval period, the Aksumite style continued, especially with rock-cut churches. The most famous examples are the eleven churches of Lalibela, carved directly out of red volcanic rock. Later, in the 16th and 17th centuries, new influences like Baroque, Arab, Turkish, and Gujarati styles came with Portuguese missionaries.

Oceanic Buildings

Main article: Oceanic art and architecture

Most buildings in Oceania are huts, made from wood and plants. Art and architecture are often linked; for example, storehouses and meetinghouses are decorated with detailed carvings. Buildings showed the structure and beliefs of the societies that built them.

An important ancient site is Nan Madol in the Federated States of Micronesia. Nan Madol was the main center for the Saudeleur Dynasty, which ruled Pohnpei until about 1628. Building started as early as the 1st or 2nd century AD, with the unique megalithic architecture beginning around 1180–1200 AD.

Islamic Architecture: A Global Reach

Main article: Islamic architecture

Because of the large Islamic conquests, Islamic architecture includes many different styles from the 7th century to today. Early Islamic buildings were influenced by Roman, Byzantine, Persian, and Mesopotamian architecture. As Islam spread further east, it was also shaped by Chinese and Indian styles. This long history created many local styles, like Ottoman, Mughal, and Sahelian architecture.

Key Islamic buildings include mosques, schools (madrasas), tombs, palaces, baths (hammams), and forts. Mosques often have large halls with columns or domes. Islamic art avoids showing people or animals, so buildings are decorated with Arabic calligraphy (writing from the Qur'an) and abstract designs like geometric patterns and arabesques.

European Architecture Through the Ages

Medieval European Styles

Main article: Medieval architecture
See also: Norse architecture and Architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School

Most surviving medieval buildings were for defense, like castles and fortified walls. But new types of public, military, and religious buildings also appeared during this time.

Byzantine Grandeur

Main article: Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architects built city walls, palaces, bridges, and many churches. The most common church design was the basilica. Later, churches often had a cross-in-square shape with five domes. This Byzantine style inspired architecture in all Eastern Orthodox countries.

The Hagia Sophia in Istanbul is the most famous Byzantine church. Unlike Greek and Roman temples, where the outside was most important, Christian services happen inside churches. So, Byzantine church exteriors usually have little decoration.

Byzantine architecture often used marble columns, carved ceilings, and rich decorations, including many mosaics with gold backgrounds. They used stone and brick for building, and thin alabaster for windows. Mosaics covered brick walls and other surfaces where paintings wouldn't last.

Romanesque Churches

Main article: Romanesque architecture

The term 'Romanesque' describes medieval churches built from the 10th to 12th centuries, before the Gothic style with its pointed arches. Romanesque buildings often have heavy barrel vaults and carved capitals, inspired by ancient Roman buildings.

Romanesque cathedrals are easy to spot because they use thick pillars and columns, round arches, and look very solid. Unlike the sharp pointed arches of Gothic buildings, Romanesque round arches needed massive supports. Compared to Byzantine churches, Romanesque ones usually have less complex decoration inside and out.

Gothic Cathedrals

Main article: Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture started with experiments to meet the needs of more and more pilgrims visiting holy sites. Churches wanted to show off their important relics and create beautiful places for them. These places were filled with colorful light from large stained glass windows.

Gothic architecture is known for its pointed arches, ribbed vaults, rose windows, and flying buttresses. It's not just one element, but how all these parts were combined and improved.

The Basilica of St Denis (around 1135–1344) is often seen as the start of Gothic architecture. The abbot, Abbot Suger, wanted to rebuild the church because it couldn't hold all the pilgrims. He created a new choir with radiating chapels that weren't separated by walls. Instead, slim columns supported the vaults, allowing visitors to walk around the altar and see the relics. The large stained-glass windows filled the space with colorful light, making the walls seem to disappear.

Renaissance Revival

Main article: Renaissance architecture
See also: Henry II style and Henry IV style

During the Renaissance, Italy was made of many states, and their competition led to new artistic and technical developments. The Medici Family, a powerful banking family, famously supported Renaissance art and architecture.

The Renaissance began around 1452, when architect Leon Battista Alberti finished his book De Re Aedificatoria (On the Art of Building). He studied ancient Roman ruins and Vitruvius's writings. His book covered history, city planning, and ideas about beauty. In the late 1400s, artists and architects visited Rome to study ancient ruins like the Colosseum and the Pantheon. They drew what they saw, which helped them create new designs.

Soon, grand buildings like the Pazzi Chapel (1441-1478) and the Palazzo Pitti (1458-1464) were built in Florence using this new style. The Renaissance started in Italy but slowly spread across Europe, with different interpretations.

Since Renaissance art aimed to bring back Ancient Rome's culture, it used many of the same decorations as ancient Greek and Roman art. A famous Renaissance decoration is the margent, a vertical design of flowers or vines used on pillars. Another is the round medallion with a person's profile. Renaissance art also used putti (chubby baby angels) more often than Greco-Roman art.

Global Styles: Baroque to Modern

Baroque Drama

Main article: Baroque architecture
See also: Louis XIV style and Baroque garden

The Baroque style started in the late 1500s and early 1600s, especially in Rome. It was a way for the Catholic Church to show its power and God's greatness. Baroque and its later version, Rococo, were the first truly global art styles, lasting over two centuries (around 1580 to 1800). They spread quickly through Europe, Latin America, and parts of Africa and Asia. Because it spread so far, different types of Baroque appeared in different places.

The first Baroque buildings were churches and monasteries, then public buildings and palaces. Baroque architecture is known for its movement and curves. Walls, fronts, and interiors often curved, like in San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome. Baroque architects took ideas from Renaissance architecture, like domes and columns, and made them taller, grander, more decorated, and more dramatic. Interiors often used trompe-l'œil painting (which tricks the eye) and sculpture to create the illusion of looking into heaven. Light was used for dramatic effect, shining down from domes and reflecting off lots of gold.

Baroque buildings were designed to grab attention and dominate their surroundings, whether small like San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane or massive like the new front of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. City planning in the Baroque era also became grand, with wide, straight avenues and symmetrical squares, often with a fountain or statue in the middle. The most famous Baroque space is Gianlorenzo Bernini's St. Peter's Square in Rome.

Rococo Elegance

Main articles: Rococo and Rocaille
See also: Style Louis XV

The name Rococo comes from French words for shell-covered rockwork. Rococo architecture is fancy and flowing, with lots of curves, scrolls, gold, and decorations. It was very popular in Europe in the first half of the 18th century. It started in France as a new way to decorate interiors and then spread. Rococo rooms were usually smaller than Baroque ones, making them feel more private and cozy.

Rococo designs often used shell shapes, icicles, and rock-like patterns. A favorite was the scallop shell. While few Rococo exteriors were built in France, many Rococo churches are found in southern Germany. Other common decorations included leaves, birds, flowers, fruits, love symbols (like putti or winged babies), and elements from Far Eastern art (like pagodas and dragons). Pastel colors like light blue, mint green, and pink were widely used. Rococo designers also loved mirrors, often placing them above fireplaces.

Exotic Influences

Main article: Exoticism
  • Chinese House Potsdam-, Germany

    Chinese inspiration/Chinoiserie - Chinese House, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam, Germany, by Johann Gottfried Büring, 1755-1764

  • Stockholm Sweden Royal-Domain-of Drottningholm Drottningholms-Kina-Slott-01

    Chinese inspiration/Chinoiserie - Chinese Pavilion, Ekerö Municipality, Sweden, by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz, 1763–1769

  • MoscheeSchwetzingen Panorama quad-mj

    Islamic inspiration - Garden Mosque of the Schwetzingen Palace, Germany, by Nicolas de Pigage, 1779-1795

  • Haga Park March 2015 01

    Islamic inspiration - Turkish Tent, Hagaparken, Stockholm, Sweden, by Louis Jean Desprez, 1787

  • The Royal Pavilion Brighton UK

    Islamic inspiration - Royal Pavilion, Brighton, UK, by John Nash, 1787-1823

  • Hôtel de Beauharnais

    Egyptian inspiration/Egyptian Revival - portico of the Hôtel Beauharnais, Paris, L.E.N. Bataille, around 1804

  • Egyptian Building

    Egyptian inspiration/Egyptian Revival - Egyptian Building, part of the Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA, by Thomas Stewart, 1845

  • Facade, Mayan Theater, Los Angeles

    Pre-Columbian inspiration/Mayan Revival - facade detail of the Mayan Theater, Los Angeles, USA, by Stiles O. Clements, 1927

  • Paris 10e Cinéma Le Louxor 965

    Egyptian inspiration/mix of Egyptian Revival and Art Deco - Le Louxor Cinema, Paris, by Henri Zipcy, 1919-1921

  • 450 Sutter St. lobby 1

    Pre-Columbian inspiration/mix of Mayan Revival and Art Deco - Interior detail of 450 Sutter Street, San Francisco, California, by Timothy L. Pflueger, 1929

As Europeans explored the world, they discovered new styles that influenced their art and architecture. Because these non-European styles were rare and new, they became very popular in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Nobles and kings built small structures inspired by these styles in their palace gardens or decorated rooms with them.

One example is chinoiserie, a Western decorative style from the 18th century. It was inspired by Chinese art but also mixed with Rococo style. Since travel to China was difficult, Europeans imagined Asia as a place of wealth and luxury. This led to a blend of Rococo shapes with Asian figures and designs.

Another foreign style that interested Europeans was Islamic art. Examples include the Garden Mosque of the Schwetzingen Palace in Germany and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. The Moorish Revival buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with their horseshoe arches, also show this influence.

Ancient Egypt also fascinated Europeans. This interest is very old, going back to Ancient Greeks and Romans. The main periods for Egyptian Revival buildings were the early 1800s (after Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt) and the 1920s (after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb). Because it was linked to pharaohs, death, and eternity, many Egyptian Revival tombs and cemetery gates were built.

In the 1920s and 1930s, some American architects became very interested in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican architecture, especially Mayan buildings. Some of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses were built in a Mayan Revival style, and other architects mixed Mayan designs with Art Deco elements.

Neoclassical Simplicity

Main article: Neoclassical architecture
See also: Palladian architecture, Louis XVI style, Adam style, and Empire style

Neoclassical architecture focused on Ancient Greek and Roman details. It used plain, white walls and grand sizes. Compared to the fancy Baroque and Rococo styles, Neoclassical exteriors were simpler, with straight lines, but still decorated. This style worked well for large buildings like the Panthéon in Paris and smaller ones like the Petit Trianon.

In the 1700s, discoveries at ancient Roman cities like Pompeii and Herculaneum (buried by a volcano in 79 AD) inspired a return to order and logic in architecture. People saw ancient buildings as the perfect standard.

The Cenotaph of Newton, around 1784 (never built), by Étienne-Louis Boullée

Architects like Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728–1799) created amazing, unbuilt designs, like a huge dome monument for Isaac Newton. These ideas inspired other architects to think outside the box.

New ideas about city planning also appeared. Writers criticized crowded medieval streets and called for wider streets, fountains, and open squares to improve health and safety. In England, new ideas for gardens appeared, leading to the English landscape garden. These gardens showed an idealized view of nature, with fake ruins and bridges, unlike the symmetrical Baroque gardens.

Revivalism and Mixing Styles

Main article: Revivalism (architecture)
See also: Eclecticism in architecture, Victorian architecture, and Napoleon III style § Architecture
  • Moscow July 2011-7a

    Russian Revival - Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow, Russia, 1839-1860

  • All Saints Margaret Street Interior 2, London, UK - Diliff

    Gothic Revival - Interior of the All Saints, London, by William Butterfield, 1850–1859

  • Saint Augustin Church Paris

    Eclectic - The Église Saint-Augustin de Paris, by Victor Baltard, 1860–1868

  • Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus)

    Indo-Saracenic - The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai, India, 1878–1888

  • Cathedral Saint Alexander Nevsky (23997180108)

    Byzantine Revival - Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria, by Alexander Pomerantsev, 1882–1912

  • Belfast City Hall 2

    Neo-Baroque - Belfast City Hall, Belfast, UK, by Brumwell Thomas, 1898–1906

  • Beaney Institute 002

    Tudor Revival architecture - The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, Canterbury, England, by A.H. Campbell, 1899

  • Immeuble rue La Boétie, rue de Miromesnil, Paris 8e

    Rococo Revival - Apartment building no. 8 on Rue de Miromesnil, Paris, by P. Lobrot, 1900

  • Place Beauvau (731)

    Louis XVI Revival - Apartment building no. 2 on Rue de Miromesnil, Paris, around 1900

  • La haye palais paix jardin face

    Renaissance Revival - Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands, by Louis Marie Cordonnier, 1907

  • 56, Bulevardul Dacia, Bucharest (Romania)

    Romanian Revival - The C.N. Câmpeanu House, Bucharest, Romania, around 1923

  • Ankara asv2021-10 img23 Ziraat Bank Museum

    First national movement - Ziraat Bank Museum, Ankara, Turkey, 1929

  • 12 Strada Armenească, Bucharest (03)

    Mediterranean Revival - General Mandiros Ciomac and Simion Ciomac Building, Bucharest, by Ion Giurgea, 1938

The 19th century saw many different styles that copied or reinterpreted older ones. This is called Revivalism. The idea that architecture could show a country's glory started early, but the idea that it could show a national character became popular in the 18th century. As Europe's map changed, architecture was used to give new nations a sense of a glorious past.

Different styles became linked to different types of buildings:

  • Egyptian for prisons (because pharaohs were linked to death and eternity).
  • Gothic for churches (because the Middle Ages were linked to Christianity).
  • Renaissance Revival for banks (because the Medici family was linked to banking).
View of Devonpart, near Plymouth, by John Foulston, 1820s, including an 'Egyptian' library, a 'Hindoo' nonconformist chapel, a 'primitive Doric' town hall, and a street of houses with a Roman Corinthian order
View of Devonpart, near Plymouth (the UK), by John Foulston, 1820s, showing different revival styles.

The most famous Revivalist style is the Gothic Revival, which started in England in the mid-1700s. German writers promoted Gothic as a strong symbol of national identity.

In India, during British rule, a new style called Indo-Saracenic appeared. It mixed Indian elements with Western European styles. Most of these public buildings were built between 1858 and 1947, especially in cities like Mumbai and Kolkata.

Beaux-Arts Grandeur

Main article: Beaux-Arts architecture
  • Paris Palais Garnier 2010-04-06 16.55.07

    Exterior of the Palais Garnier, Paris, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875

  • Opera Garnier Grand Escalier

    Grand stairs of the Palais Garnier, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875

  • Palacio CEC, Bucarest, Rumanía, 2016-05-29, DD 91-93 HDR

    The CEC Palace on Victory Avenue, Bucharest, Romania, by Paul Gottereau, 1897-1900

  • The Cantacuzino Palace from Bucharest (Romania)

    Cantacuzino Palace, Bucharest, by Ion D. Berindey, 1898-1906

  • Petit-Palais-Paris-02-2018

    Petit Palais, Paris, by Charles Giraud, 1900

  • Building at the intersection of Calea Victoriei with Strada Franklin, Bucharest, circa 1900, by Leonida Negrescu

    Anker Building, Bucharest, by Leonida Negrescu, around 1900

  • Image-Grand central Station Outside Night 2

    Grand Central Terminal, New York City, by Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore, 1903

  • 29 avenue Bugeaud Paris

    Hôtel Roxoroid de Belfort, Paris, 1911, by André Arfvidson

  • Della Faillelaan 23, Antwerpen

    Villa, Antwerp, Belgium, by Michel de Braey, 1913

The Beaux-Arts style gets its name from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, a famous art school. Many architects from around the world studied there, so you can find Beaux-Arts buildings everywhere, from Bucharest to Buenos Aires. This style was very popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s for opera houses, public buildings, and fancy homes.

The style was greatly influenced by the Paris Opéra House (1860-1875), designed by Charles Garnier. This opera house was a masterpiece, known for its grand staircase and reception halls. Beaux-Arts buildings often had layered fronts with classical elements or sculptures. They aimed for a Baroque richness, like Louis XIV's Versailles. It was a mix of classical styles like Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassicism.

Industry and New Technologies

  • Les Halles, Paris, by Victor Baltard, 1852-1855

    Les Halles, Paris, by Victor Baltard, 1852-1855

  • Crystal.Palace.Paxton.Plan

    Plan and elevation for the Crystal Palace, London, by Joseph Paxton, 1854

  • De Binnen Amstel gezien naar het in 1866 gedempte Amstelgrachtje, thans Maarten Jansz Kosterstraat, en het Paleis voor Volksvlijt op het Frederiksplein

    Paleis voor Volksvlijt, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, by Cornelis Outshoorn, 1859–1964

  • Le Bon Marché, 001

    Le Bon Marché, Paris, by Louis-Charles Boileau in collaboration with the engineering firm of Gustave Eiffel, 1872

  • Bradbury Atrium

    Interior of the Bradbury Building, with its exposed staircases and free-standing hydraulic elevators, Los Angeles, USA, by George Herbert Wyman, 1889-1893

  • Warenhaus Tietz Leipziger Str. 1900

    Tietz Department Store, Berlin, Germany, 1899-1900

The Industrial Revolution brought new technologies and new types of buildings. By 1850, iron was used everywhere, from small decorations to huge train stations. A famous 19th-century building made of glass and iron is the Crystal Palace in London, built in 1851 for the Great Exhibition. It looked like a giant greenhouse.

New marketplaces and department stores used iron and glass in new ways. Just a year after the Crystal Palace was taken down, the first department store, Le Bon Marché, opened in Paris. Its interior was remodeled with three skylight atriums, allowing more daylight inside.

Art Nouveau: Nature's Curves

Main article: Art Nouveau § Architecture and ornamentation
See also: Art Nouveau religious buildings

Art Nouveau was a popular art and design movement from the early 1890s until 1914. It was short-lived but important, paving the way for modern architecture. Artists wanted to escape the overly decorated styles of the 19th century.

Art Nouveau focused on natural forms, uneven shapes, and flowing, curved lines. Buildings used modern materials like cast-iron and glass. A good example is the Paris Metro entrance at Porte Dauphine by Hector Guimard (1900), which looks like a sculpture.

The style had many different looks depending on the country. In Hungary, Romania, and Poland, it included folk art elements. It also had different names: Modern Style in Britain, Jugendstil in Germany, and Liberty style in Italy.

Modern Architecture: Less is More

Main article: Modern architecture

Modernist architecture appeared in the early 20th century, rejecting decoration and embracing simplicity and new materials. It started in Europe, focusing on usefulness and avoiding extra ornaments. Modernism reached its peak in the 1930s and 1940s with the Bauhaus and the International Style. These styles were known for uneven shapes, flat roofs, large windows, and open interiors.

Art Deco Glamour

Main articles: Art Deco and Streamline Moderne
  • The boudoir of fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin, now in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris

    The boudoir of fashion designer Jeanne Lanvin (now in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris), by Armand-Albert Rateau, 1920-1922

  • Frontal view of the Hotel du Collectionneur at the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes (1925)

    Hotel du Collectionneur at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, Paris, by Pierre Patout, 1925

  • Edgar brandt, porte da ascensore in ferro, vetro e bronzo, francia 1926 01

    Elevator doors, now in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisboa, Portugal, by Edgar Brandt, 1926

  • La samaritaine as seen from the Pont Neuf

    La Samaritaine, Paris, by Henri Sauvage, 1926–1928

  • 28 Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu, Bucharest (01)

    Door of Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu no. 28, Bucharest, Romania, around 1930

  • Chrysler Building spire, Manhattan, by Carol Highsmith (LOC highsm.04444)

    Chrysler Building, New York City, by William Van Allen, 1930

  • Biarritz - Musée de la mer (edited)

    Musée de la Mer, Biarritz, France, by Joseph Hiriart, 1933

Art Deco, named after a Paris exhibition in 1925, began in France as a fancy, highly decorated style. It quickly spread worldwide, especially in the United States, becoming more streamlined in the 1930s. This style was everywhere, from jewelry to movie sets, homes, cinemas, and hotels. Its excitement captured the spirit of the "roaring 20s" and offered an escape during the Great Depression.

Art Deco ended with World War II, but its appeal continues. While it's a modern style, it took ideas from ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, African, Aztec, and Japanese influences. It also used ideas from Futurism, Cubism, and the Bauhaus. Bright colors were often used on carvings. Common materials included chrome plating, brass, polished steel, aluminium, inlaid wood, stone, and stained glass.

International Style: Clean Lines

Main article: International Style (architecture)

The International Style appeared in Europe after World War I. It removed all extra decoration and used modern industrial materials like steel, glass, and reinforced concrete. These buildings were straight, flat-roofed, uneven, and white. They became a symbol of modernity around the world, offering a clean, rational future after the war. Architect Philip Johnson and historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock named the movement in 1932. A famous quote from Le Corbusier, a key figure, was: "a house is a machine for living in."

Brutalist Buildings: Raw Concrete

Main article: Brutalist architecture

Brutalism was inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'habitation building in Marseilles (1947-1952). The term comes from béton brut, meaning "raw concrete," which was a key material. This style was popular from the 1950s to the mid-1970s. It used concrete in an unusual way, exposing it on the outside of buildings instead of hiding it.

Postmodernism: Breaking the Rules

Main article: Postmodern architecture

Postmodernism is a mix of styles that appeared in the late 20th century. It was a reaction against Modernism, which some people found boring and too simple. Architect Robert Venturi (1925-2018) wrote a book in 1966 that praised the creativity of older styles like Mannerist and Baroque. He argued against the Modernist idea of "Less is more," saying instead, "Less is a bore." His ideas greatly influenced Postmodernism.

Deconstructivist Designs

Main article: Deconstructivism

Deconstructivism is a style that grew from postmodern architecture in the late 1980s. It's known for buildings that look fragmented, with unusual shapes and surfaces. They often seem to twist or break apart, creating a surprising and controlled chaos.

Important moments for Deconstructivism include an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1988, which featured works by architects like Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, and Zaha Hadid. These architects have since moved on, but the term still describes this unique trend in modern architecture.

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    See also

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