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Architecture is the study and practice of designing structures, especially habitable ones. It utilizes civil engineering techniques, but is considered a visual art. 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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Image 1

The main entrance on East 79th Street in 2025

The Harry F. Sinclair House (also the Isaac D. Fletcher House or Fletcher–Sinclair Mansion) is a mansion at the southeast corner of East 79th Street and Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. The house was built between 1897 and 1899. Over the first half of the 20th century, the house was successively the residence of businessmen Isaac D. Fletcher and Harry F. Sinclair, and then the descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Director of New Netherland. The Ukrainian Institute of America acquired the home in 1955, and the institute renovated the building in the 1990s. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1978.

The mansion was designed in an eclectic French Renaissance style by C. P. H. Gilbert and built by foreman Harvey Murdock. The building largely retains its original design, except for a tankhouse on the roof. Gilbert and Murdock constructed the bulk of the house with brick, which was then faced with limestone ashlar. The northern facade on 79th Street, containing the main entrance, is characterized by multiple windows in square recesses or semi-elliptical and fully Gothic arches. The western facade on Fifth Avenue is symmetrical and dominated by a curved, projecting pavilion. The interior of the mansion comprises 27 rooms on six floors, for a total floor space of 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²). Critical reviews of the house's architecture over its history have been largely positive. (Full article...)
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A postcard dated July 12, 1907, showing the New Orleans Mint during its last few years of operation as a branch mint facility

The New Orleans Mint (French: Monnaie de La Nouvelle-Orléans) operated in New Orleans, Louisiana, as a branch mint of the United States Mint from 1838 to 1861 and from 1879 to 1909. During its years of operation, it produced over 427 million gold and silver coins of nearly every American denomination, with a total face value of over US$307 million. It was closed during most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction.

After it was decommissioned as a mint, the building has served a variety of purposes, including as an assay office, a United States Coast Guard storage facility, and a fallout shelter. Since 1981 it has served as a branch of the Louisiana State Museum. Damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, after over two years of repairs and renovations, the museum reopened in October 2007. The New Orleans Mint has been designated a National Historic Landmark, and it is the oldest extant structure to have served as a U.S. Mint. (Full article...)
Image 3

The BP Bridge viewed from The Buckingham in Lakeshore East (June 12, 2008)

The BP Pedestrian Bridge, or simply BP Bridge, is a girder footbridge in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It spans Columbus Drive to connect Maggie Daley Park (formerly, Daley Bicentennial Plaza) with Millennium Park, both parts of the larger Grant Park. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry and structurally engineered by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, it opened along with the rest of Millennium Park on July 16, 2004. Gehry had been courted by the city to design the bridge and the neighboring Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and eventually agreed to do so after the Pritzker family funded the Pavilion.

Named for energy firm BP, which donated $5 million toward its construction, it is the first Gehry-designed bridge to have been completed. BP Bridge is described as snakelike because of its curving form. Designed to bear a heavy load without structural problems caused by its own weight, it has won awards for its use of sheet metal. The bridge is known for its aesthetics, and Gehry's style is seen in its biomorphic allusions and extensive sculptural use of stainless steel plates to express abstraction. (Full article...)
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Architecture at Vkhutemas, book cover by El Lissitzky, 1927

Vkhutemas (Russian: Вхутемас, IPA: [fxʊtʲɪˈmas] , acronym for Высшие художественно-технические мастерские Vysshiye Khudozhestvenno-Tekhnicheskiye Masterskiye "Higher Art and Technical Studios") was the Russian state art and technical school founded in 1920 in Moscow, replacing the Moscow Svomas.

The workshops were established by a decree from Vladimir Lenin with the intentions, in the words of the Soviet government, "to prepare master artists of the highest qualifications for industry, and builders and managers for professional-technical education". The school had 100 faculty members and an enrollment of 2,500 students. Vkhutemas was formed by a merger of two previous schools: the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and the Stroganov School of Applied Arts. The workshops had artistic and industrial faculties; the art faculty taught courses in graphics, sculpture and architecture while the industrial faculty taught courses in printing, textiles, ceramics, woodworking, and metalworking. (Full article...)
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The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, United States. It was designed in the International Style by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe along with Philip Johnson, Ely Jacques Kahn, and Robert Allan Jacobs. The high-rise tower is 515 feet (157 m) tall with 38 stories and, when completed in 1958, initially served as the headquarters of the Seagram Company, a Canadian distiller.

Phyllis Lambert, daughter of Seagram CEO Samuel Bronfman, heavily influenced the Seagram Building's design, an example of the functionalist aesthetic and a prominent instance of corporate modern architecture. A glass curtain wall with vertical mullions of bronze and horizontal spandrels made of Muntz metal form the building's exterior. On Park Avenue is a pink-granite public plaza with two fountains. Behind the plaza is a tall elevator lobby with a similar design to the plaza. The lowest stories originally contained the Four Seasons Restaurant, which was replaced in 2017 with the Grill and Pool restaurants, and the Brasserie restaurant, which was superseded in 1995 by the Lobster Club. On the upper stories are modular office spaces. (Full article...)
Image 6

View overlooking western facade

The St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It is located on an elevated hill above the bank of the Dnipro river, to the northeast of the Saint Sophia Cathedral. The site is in the historical administrative neighbourhood of Upper Town and overlooks Podil, the city's historical commercial and merchant quarter. The monastery has been the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine since December 2018.

Originally built in the Middle Ages by the Kievan Rus' ruler Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych, the modern monastery comprises the cathedral church, the Refectory Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, constructed in 1713, the Economic Gate, constructed in 1760, and the bell tower, which was added in the 1710s. The exterior of the structure was remodelled in the Ukrainian Baroque style during the 18th century; the interior retained its original Byzantine architecture. (Full article...)
Image 7

St Donat's Castle from the Tudor Garden
"An exceptionally fine medieval castle"

St Donat's Castle (Welsh: Castell Sain Dunwyd), St Donats, Wales, is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 16 miles (26 km) to the west of Cardiff, and about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) to the west of Llantwit Major. Positioned on cliffs overlooking the Bristol Channel, the site has been occupied since the Iron Age, and was by tradition the home of the Celtic chieftain Caradog. The present castle's origins date from the 12th century when the de Haweys and later Peter de Stradling began its development. The Stradlings held the castle for four hundred years, until the death of Sir Thomas Stradling in a duel in 1738.

During the 18th century, the castle's status and condition declined and by the early 19th century it was only partly habitable. The later 19th and early 20th centuries saw several restorations. In 1852, it was purchased by John Whitlock Nicholl Carne, who claimed descent from the Stradlings but whose efforts at reconstruction were not well regarded. More enlightened improvements were made by its subsequent owner, the coal magnate Morgan Stuart Williams. (Full article...)
Image 8

Catherine de' Medici, by François Clouet

The French queen Catherine de' Medici was patron for building projects including the Valois chapel at the Basilica of Saint-Denis, the Tuileries Palace, and the Hôtel de la Reine in Paris, and extensions to the Château de Chenonceau, near Blois. Born in 1519 in Florence, Catherine de' Medici was a daughter of both the Italian and the French Renaissance. She grew up in Florence and Rome under the wing of the Medici popes, Leo X and Clement VII. In 1533, at the age of fourteen, she left Italy and married Henry, the second son of King Francis I of France. On doing so, she entered the greatest Renaissance court in northern Europe.

King Francis set his daughter-in-law an example of kingship and artistic patronage that she never forgot. She witnessed his huge architectural schemes at Chambord and Fontainebleau. She saw Italian and French craftsmen at work together, forging the style that became known as the first School of Fontainebleau. Francis died in 1547, and Catherine became queen consort of France. But it wasn't until her husband King Henry's death in 1559, when she found herself at forty the effective ruler of France, that Catherine came into her own as a patron of architecture. Over the next three decades, she launched a series of costly building projects aimed at enhancing the grandeur of the monarchy. During the same period, however, religious civil war gripped the country and brought the prestige of the monarchy to a dangerously low ebb. (Full article...)
Image 9

1749 portrait

Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an English architect who supervised the construction of Holkham Hall, and became one of the best-known architects of his generation, despite coming from modest origins. Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand townhouse. As a result, he is often overlooked today, remembered principally for his Palladian remodelling of numerous country houses, many of them situated in the East Anglia area of Britain. As Brettingham neared the pinnacle of his career, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and neoclassicism was introduced, championed by the young Robert Adam.

Born in Norwich, into a family of craftsmen, Brettingham worked initially as a surveyor, gaining experience through jobs for the city's civic authorities. Work included restorations at Norwich Cathedral, at the castle, at the local prison and the shire hall. His professional ascent began in 1743 with his appointment to the post of Clerk of Works at Holkham. The succeeding decades saw many aristocratic commissions, predominantly in East Anglia, but including work at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. (Full article...)
Image 10

Pei in 1980

Ieoh Ming Pei (/ˌjoʊ mɪŋ ˈpeɪ/ YOH ming PAY; Chinese: 貝聿銘; pinyin: Bèi Yùmíng; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was a Chinese-American architect.

Born in Guangzhou into a Chinese family, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the garden villas at Suzhou, the traditional retreat of the scholar-gentry to which his family belonged. In 1935, he moved to the United States and enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school, but quickly transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Unhappy with the focus on Beaux-Arts architecture at both schools, he spent his free time researching emerging architects, especially Le Corbusier. (Full article...)
Image 11

Burges in 1881

William Burges (/ˈbɜːrdʒɛs/; 2 December 1827 – 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoclassical architectural style and re-establish the architectural and social values of a utopian medieval England. Burges stands within the tradition of the Gothic Revival, his works echoing those of the Pre-Raphaelites and heralding those of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Burges won his first major commission for Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork in 1863 when he was 35. He died in 1881 at his Kensington home, The Tower House aged only 53. His architectural output was small but varied. Working with a long-standing team of craftsmen, he built churches, a cathedral, a warehouse, a university, a school, houses and castles. Burges's most notable works are Cardiff Castle, constructed between 1866 and 1928, and Castell Coch (1872–1891), both of which were built for John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. Other significant buildings include Gayhurst House, Buckinghamshire (1858–1865), Knightshayes Court (1867–1874), the Church of Christ the Consoler (1870–1876), St Mary's, Studley Royal (1870–1878), in Yorkshire, and Park House, Cardiff (1871–1880). (Full article...)
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The ruins of Santa María de Óvila in Spain, shown more than 75 years after the most striking architectural features were removed by agents of William Randolph Hearst

Santa María de Óvila is a former Cistercian monastery built in Spain beginning in 1181 on the Tagus River near Trillo, Guadalajara, about 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Madrid. In 1835 it was confiscated by the Spanish government and sold to private owners.

American publisher William Randolph Hearst bought parts of the monastery in 1931 with the intention of using its stones in the construction of a grand and fanciful castle at Wyntoon, California, but after some 10,000 stones were removed and shipped, they were abandoned in San Francisco for decades. These stones are now in various locations around California: the old church portal was erected at the University of San Francisco, and the chapter house was reassembled by Trappist monks at the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina, California. Other stones are serving as simple decorative elements in Golden Gate Park's botanical garden. (Full article...)
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"Truly the palace of a modern magician" – the Victorian periodical The World describes Armstrong and his house

Cragside is a Tudor Revival country house near the town of Rothbury in Northumberland, England. Dating to the Victorian era, it was the home of William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, founder of the Armstrong Whitworth armaments firm. An industrial magnate, scientist, philanthropist and inventor of the hydraulic crane and the Armstrong gun, Armstrong also displayed his inventiveness in the domestic sphere, making Cragside the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. The estate was technologically advanced: the architect of the house, Richard Norman Shaw, wrote that it was equipped with "wonderful hydraulic machines that do all sorts of things". In the grounds, Armstrong built dams and lakes to power a sawmill, a water-powered laundry, early versions of a dishwasher and a dumb waiter, a hydraulic lift and a hydroelectric rotisserie. In 1887, Armstrong was raised to the peerage, the first engineer or scientist to be ennobled, and became Baron Armstrong of Cragside.

The original building consisted of a small shooting lodge which Armstrong built between 1862 and 1864. In 1869, he employed the architect Richard Norman Shaw to enlarge the site, and in two phases of work between 1869 and 1882, they transformed the house into a northern Neuschwanstein. The result was described by the architect and writer Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel as "one of the most dramatic compositions in all architecture". Armstrong filled the house with a significant art collection; he and his wife were patrons of many 19th-century British artists. Cragside became an integral part of Armstrong's commercial operations: honoured guests under Armstrong's roof, including the Shah of Persia, the King of Siam and two future Prime Ministers of Japan, were also customers for his commercial undertakings. (Full article...)
Image 14

Palazzo Pitti in 2011

The Palazzo Pitti ( Italian: [paˈlattso ˈpitti] ), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly in the Renaissance style, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker.

The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling family of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house, for generations amassing paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions. The Medici also added the extensive Boboli Gardens to the palace estate. (Full article...)
Image 15

West front

St. Michael's Cathedral (German: Kathedrale St. Michael; simplified Chinese: 圣弥额尔主教座堂; traditional Chinese: 聖彌額爾主教座堂; pinyin: Shèng Mí'ài'ěr Dàjiàotáng), also called the Zhejiang Road Catholic Church (Chinese: 浙江路天主教堂), is a Catholic church in Qingdao (Tsingtao), Shandong Province, China, and is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Qingdao (Tsingtao). It is located in the oldest part of Qingdao, at 15 Zhejiang Road (formerly Bremen Straße), on the east side of Zhongshan Road (formerly Friedrich Straße) in Shinan District. Built by German missionaries, the cathedral stands at the top of a hill in the center of the old German-built part of the city. It is the largest example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the province, resembling a German cathedral of the 12th century.

St. Michael's Cathedral is the product of a strong German presence in Shandong Province in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. The Divine Word Missionaries built a church in the Jiaozhou Bay concession in Shandong in 1902, and in 1934 erected the cathedral, which remained nominally under their administration until 1964. In 1942 it came under the control of the Japanese Army, returning to Chinese control when the Japanese left Qingdao in 1945. In the early 1950s, all foreign missionaries, including the Bishop of Qingdao, were either imprisoned or expelled from China, and during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) the cathedral was defaced and abandoned. In 1981, it was repaired by the government and reopened for services, and in 1992 it was listed as a Provincial Historic Building by the government of Shandong Province. (Full article...)

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Hyperboloid structures are architectural structures designed using a hyperboloid in one sheet. Often these are tall structures, such as towers, where the hyperboloid geometry's structural strength is used to support an object high above the ground. Hyperboloid geometry is often used for decorative effect as well as structural economy. The first hyperboloid structures were built by Russian engineer Vladimir Shukhov (1853–1939), including the Shukhov Tower in Polibino, Dankovsky District, Lipetsk Oblast, Russia.

A hyperbolic paraboloid structure (also called a hypar) is a load-bearing structure with the shape of a truncated region of an infinite hyperbolic paraboloid. It's a doubly ruled and saddle surface, with perpendicular cross sections shaped like a hyperbola and a parabola. In architecture, it is often used as a saddle roof, which can be easily built using linear supports (straight line segments). In biology, it forms naturally a strong surface that won't buckle under compression. (Full article...)

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Image 1

South Somerset shown within Somerset and England

South Somerset is a former local government district in the English county of Somerset. The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles (958 km²), stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district had a population of about 158,000, and Yeovil was its administrative centre.

In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, severe restrictions are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or its fittings. In England, the authority for listing under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 rests with Historic England, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; local authorities have a responsibility to regulate and enforce the planning regulations. (Full article...)
Image 2

Chicago skyline in 2024 on the shores of
Lake Michigan

Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, with a metropolitan area of over 9 million people. It is home to over 1,250 completed high-rises, 137 of which stand taller than 492 feet (150 m) as of 2026^[update]. The birthplace of the skyscraper, Chicago has always played a prominent role in their development, and its skyline spans the full history of skyscraper construction. The tallest building in the city is the 110-story Willis Tower (also known as the Sears Tower), which rises 1,451 feet (442 m) in the Chicago Loop and was completed in 1974. Of the fifteen tallest buildings in the United States, five are in Chicago. Chicago's skyline is the second largest in the United States, in North America, and in the Western Hemisphere, after New York City.

The Home Insurance Building, completed in 1885, is regarded as the world's first skyscraper. This building used the steel-frame method, innovated in Chicago; it was originally built with 10 stories, and later expanded to 12, to a height of 180 feet (55 m), an enormous height for the 19th century. Being the inventor of the skyscraper, Chicago went through a series of early high-rise construction booms that lasted from the 1880s to the mid-1930s, during which nine of the city's 100 tallest buildings were completed. Chicago and New York City were the only cities in the world with large, high-rise skylines during the first half of the 20th century. Chicago then went through an even larger building boom that lasted from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, in which many notable commercial skyscrapers were built, such as the city's fourth-tallest building, the Aon Center, its fifth tallest, 875 North Michigan Avenue (originally known as the John Hancock Center), and Willis Tower, which was the tallest building in the world upon its completion until 1993, and the tallest in the United States until 2013. For most of the 20th century until the 1990s, Chicago had the second largest skyline in the world. (Full article...)
Image 3

The skyline of Lujiazui in Pudong District, with the Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Tower

The city of Shanghai, China has one of the largest skylines in the world, with 193 completed skyscrapers that reach a height of 150 metres (492 feet) as of 2025, making it the city with the sixth-most skyscrapers in the world. It also has the third most skyscrapers in mainland China, after Shenzhen and Guangzhou. As the largest urban area in China, with an urban area population of over 21.9 million residents as of 2020, Shanghai is home to some of China's tallest buildings.

Shanghai's first high-rise building boom occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, during the city's heyday as a multinational center of business and finance. The city's international concessions permitted foreign investment, and with it came architectural styles influenced by the West, as seen today in areas such as the French Concession and the Bund. After the Communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai's urban development was stifled, punished for its earlier capitalist excesses. (Full article...)
Image 4

Tower Building, originally the office of Hutchinson & Co, now part of the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre

Widnes is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey where it narrows at Runcorn Gap. The town contains 24 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, 5 are classified at Grade II*, and the rest are at Grade II; Widnes has no Grade I listed buildings. In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance. Listed buildings are categorised in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest; Grade II* includes particularly significant buildings of more than local interest; Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading.

Before 1847, the area now occupied by the town of Widnes consisted of the hamlets of Farnworth, Cronton, Appleton, and Upton; a few scattered houses; and areas of mostly marshy farmland. In 1833 a canal and a railway reached the area; the Sankey Canal was extended to a point on the River Mersey to the east of Runcorn Gap and the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway established a terminus adjacent to the canal. Widnes Dock, the world's first railway dock, was established at the new terminal, and in 1847 John Hutchinson established the first chemical factory nearby. During the second half of the 19th century, more chemical factories were built and the town grew, absorbing the previously separated hamlets. The town became overcrowded and highly polluted with smoke, chemical fumes, and waste. (Full article...)
Image 5

Downtown Los Angeles in 2019

Los Angeles is the second largest city in the United States, and the largest in California, with a metropolitan area population of over 12 million. Los Angeles has the largest skyline in California and the West Coast, with over 800 high-rise buildings. Despite being the country's second largest city, Los Angeles ranks fifth in the United States in terms of skyscrapers taller than 492 feet (150 m), with 31 as of 2026, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Houston. Los Angeles has two supertall skyscrapers, buildings rising above 984 feet (300 m) in height: Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building in the city and in California, and the U.S. Bank Tower. Upon its completion in 1989, the US Bank Tower, at 1,018 feet (310 m), remained the tallest building in the city until Wilshire Grand Center was built in 2017 to a height of 1,100 feet (335.3 m). The skyline can be seen from many locations around the Greater Los Angeles Area, including from as far as San Gorgonio Mountain, 82 miles away.

The history of skyscrapers in Los Angeles began with the 1903 completion of the 13-story Braly Building, which is often regarded as the first high-rise in the city. The Braly building has since been converted from a commercial structure to a residential tower and is now known as the "Continental Building". The growth of Los Angeles' skyline during the early 20th century was hampered by a height restriction imposed in 1904, prohibiting the construction of any building taller than 150 feet (46 m), effectively limiting the height of buildings to 13 stories. An exception was made for Los Angeles City Hall, built in 1928, which dominated the skyline for over three decades. (Full article...)
Image 6

Norman doorway in the undercroft of Norton Priory, built in local red sandstone

Runcorn is an industrial town in Halton, Cheshire, England, on the south bank of the River Mersey where it narrows at Runcorn Gap. In the town are the 61 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings in the current urban area of Runcorn, including the districts of Runcorn, Halton, Weston, Weston Point, and Norton. Two of these are classified as being in Grade I, nine in Grade II*, and 51 in Grade II.

In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. These buildings are in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest; Grade II* includes particularly significant buildings of more than local interest; Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading. (Full article...)
Image 7

The Strat tower is the tallest observation tower in the United States

The city of Las Vegas, Nevada and its surrounding unincorporated communities in the Las Vegas Valley are the sites of more than 160 high-rises, 42 of which stand taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest structure in the city is the Strat tower, which rises 1,149 feet (350 m) just north of the Las Vegas Strip. The tower is also the tallest observation tower in the United States. However, the Strat is not considered a building because the vast majority of the tower is not habitable. The tallest building in Las Vegas is the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which rises 735 feet (224 m) and was topped out in November 2008. This building remained unfinished for several years due to the late-2000s recession and opened in December 2023. The second tallest habitable building in the city is the 59-story Resorts World, which rises 673 feet (205 m) and was completed in 2021.

Beginning in the 1960s, high-rise hotels began to become more concentrated on the Las Vegas Strip. The first high-rise hotel and casino resort to rise higher than 492 feet (150 m) was the 529-foot (161 m) New York-New York Hotel & Casino, completed in 1997. Las Vegas entered into a skyscraper-building boom in the late 1990s that has continued to the present; of the city's 40 tallest skyscrapers, 39 were completed after 1997. As of 2025, the skyline of Las Vegas is ranked 66th in the world and 18th in the United States with 176 completed high-rises.In what is being dubbed a "Manhattanization wave", there are over 30 skyscrapers that are proposed, approved or under construction in the city that are planned to rise over 400 feet (122 m) in height. The tallest building approved for the city is the World Jewelry Center, which is planned for construction in Downtown Las Vegas. The 815-foot (248 m) tower is part of a proposal to construct a hub for the world's jewelry industry, across from World Market Center Las Vegas. The tallest building in Las Vegas is the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which has also been the tallest building in the city since its topping out in November 2008; construction on the building was suspended in mid-2009. Following numerous delays, the building opened in late 2023. (Full article...)
Image 8

John Douglas in late middle age

John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His designs included new churches, alterations to and restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, much of his work incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. Douglas is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, especially half-timbering. Of particular importance is Douglas' use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving.

Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant. He established an office in Chester in either 1855 or 1860, from where he practised throughout his career. Initially he ran the office himself but in 1884 he appointed his assistant, Daniel Porter Fordham, as a partner. When Fordham retired in 1897, he was succeeded by Charles Howard Minshull. In 1909 this partnership was dissolved and Douglas ran the office alone until his death in 1911. As his office was in Chester, most of his work on houses was in Cheshire and North Wales, although some was further afield, in Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Surrey, and Scotland. (Full article...)
Image 9

Skyline of Boston's Back Bay, with its three tallest buildings: The John Hancock Tower (left), Prudential Tower (center), and One Dalton (right)

Boston is the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England. It is home to over 580 completed high-rises, 73 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m) as of 2026. Boston's skyline is by far the largest in New England, and the city has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in the Northeastern United States, after New York City. The tallest building in Boston is the 62-story 200 Clarendon, better known as the John Hancock Tower; the office skyscraper rises 790 ft (241 m) in the Back Bay district, southwest of Downtown Boston.

The history of skyscrapers in Boston began early with the completion of the 13-story Ames Building in 1893. The Greek Revival style Custom House Tower, which was Boston's tallest building from 1915 to 1964, was among the first skyscrapers outside of New York City. Boston went through a major building boom from the 1960s to the early 1990s, resulting in the construction of over 30 buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m), including the John Hancock Tower and the city's second-tallest building, the Prudential Tower. At the time of the Prudential Tower's completion in 1964, it stood as the tallest building in North America outside of New York City. (Full article...)
Image 10

The Miami skyline as seen from Watson Island

Miami, a major city and the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Florida, has over 400 high-rises, 73 of which are taller than 492 feet (150 m) as of 2026, with seven more that are topped out. The tallest completed building in the city is the 85-story Panorama Tower, completed in 2017, which rises 868 feet (265 m) in Miami's Brickell district. Cipriani Residences Miami, at 950 ft (290 m) tall, topped out in 2026 and is set to be completed in 2028. The top ten tallest buildings in Florida are located in Miami, and the top twenty are all in the city's metropolitan area. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the United States, after New York City and Chicago, and the fourth largest in North America, behind Toronto.

The first significant tall building in Miami is considered to be the six-story Burdine's Department Store, built in 1912, while the 17-story, Mediterranean Revival Freedom Tower, completed in 1925, is the city's best-known early skyscraper. For much of the 20th century, Miami had a relatively modest skyline compared to other major American cities. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Miami underwent a large residential high-rise boom that transformed its skyline, and expanded it to the Brickell and Edgewater neighborhoods. Development accelerated in the mid-2000s, until the Great Recession brought an end to the boom. The skyscraper boom resumed in the mid-2010s, owing to the city's continued population growth and investment, with Miami overtaking Houston as the city with the largest skyline in the southern United States, and has continued into the 2020s. (Full article...)
Image 11

Central Minneapolis in 2024

Minneapolis, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, is home to 190 completed high-rises, 41 of which stand taller than 300 feet (91 m) as of 2026. Of these, 11 have a height greater than 492 ft (150 m). Minneapolis has the second largest skyline in the Midwestern United States, after Chicago, with the second most buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m) or 492 ft (150 m) in the region. The tallest building in Minneapolis is the 57-story IDS Center, which rises 792 feet (241 m) and was designed by architect Philip Johnson. It is also the tallest building in Minnesota. Minneapolis and neighboring Saint Paul form the core of the Twin Cities, a metropolitan area of 3.7 million. Saint Paul has a smaller high-rise skyline of its own, approximately eight miles east of Downtown Minneapolis. Most of the tallest buildings in Downtown Minneapolis are linked via the Minneapolis Skyway System, the largest pedestrian skywalk system in the world.

The history of skyscrapers in Minneapolis began with the construction of the Lumber Exchange Building in 1886; at 165 feet (50 m) and 12 floors, it is often regarded as the first skyscraper in Minnesota and one of the first fire-proof buildings in the country. The Lumber Exchange Building stands as the oldest structure outside of New York City with at least 12 floors. Minneapolis went through a small building boom in the early 1920s. This period saw the construction of the Lumen Technologies Building and the Foshay Tower, which was modelled after the Washington Monument. The Foshay Tower overtook the City Hall as the city's tallest building. Due to the Great Depression, few tall buildings were completed from the 1930s to 1950s. (Full article...)
Image 12

The skyline of Providence as viewed from across the Providence River

The U.S. state of Rhode Island is home to 27 buildings over 175 feet (53 m) in height. Five of these buildings are taller than 300 feet (91 m), all of which are located in the state's capital and largest city, Providence.

The tallest skyscraper in the city and state is the Industrial National Bank Building at 111 Westminster Street in Downtown Providence, which rises 26 floors and 428 feet (130 m). The Industrial National Bank Building, nicknamed the "Superman Building" due to its resemblance to the fictional Daily Planet building from the 1950s TV series, Adventures of Superman, is also the sixth-tallest building in New England outside of Boston. The second-tallest building in Providence is One Financial Plaza, which rises 30 floors and 410 feet (125 m) and was completed in 1973. (Full article...)
Image 13
West Somerset is a former local government district in the English county of Somerset. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, severe restrictions are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or its fittings. In England, the authority for listing under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 rests with Historic England, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; local authorities have a responsibility to regulate and enforce the planning regulations.

The district of West Somerset covers a largely rural area, with a population, according to the 2011 census, of 35,300 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi). The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet. The council's administrative headquarters are in the village of Williton. (Full article...)
Image 14

Downtown Tulsa in 2015

Tulsa is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 1 million. Tulsa is the site of 28 buildings that stand taller than 200 feet (61 m), 12 of which are taller than 300 feet (91 m) as of 2026. Four skyscrapers reach a height of 492 feet (150 m). On these metrics, Tulsa ranks as the largest skyline in the state, ahead of Oklahoma City. The tallest building in Tulsa is the BOK Tower, which rises 667 feet (203 m) in Downtown Tulsa and was completed in 1975. BOK Tower is the second tallest building in Oklahoma, after Devon Energy Center in Oklahoma City. Tulsa and Oklahoma City contain the majority of Oklahoma's tallest buildings.

Among the earliest high-rises to be built in Tulsa was the 16-story Cosden Building in 1918, regarded as the first skyscraper in Tulsa. The city went through an early building boom in the 1920s, resulting in the construction of notable high-rises such as the Mayo Hotel, the Mincks-Adams Hotel, the Thompson Building, and the Philtower, alongside an addition to the 320 South Boston Building, bringing it to a height of 400 ft (122 m), then the tallest in the city. There were no high-rises built in the 1930s and 1940s. The First National Bank Building, completed in 1950, marked the first modern style high-rise in the Tulsa. The 1960s saw an increase in skyscraper development. The Bank of America Center took the title of the city's tallest building in 1967, while two notable residential towers were built south of downtown: Liberty Tower and the cylindrical University Club Tower. (Full article...)
Image 15

Eastgate Clock designed by Douglas and erected on Chester's Eastgate in 1899 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee

John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His designs included new churches, alterations to and restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses. He also designed a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, much of his work incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. Douglas is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, especially half-timbering. Of particular importance is Douglas' use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving.

Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant. He established an office in Chester in either 1855 or 1860, from where he practised throughout his career. Initially he ran the office himself but in 1884 he appointed a former assistant, Daniel Porter Fordham, as a partner. When Fordham retired in 1897, he was succeeded by Charles Howard Minshull. In 1909 this partnership was dissolved and Douglas ran the office alone until his death in 1911. As his office was in Chester, most of his work was carried out in Cheshire and North Wales, although some was further afield in regions including Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Shropshire. (Full article...)

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These are Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.

Image 1

Walls of Dubrovnik from fortress Lovrijenac

The Walls of Dubrovnik (Croatian: Dubrovačke gradske zidine) are a series of defensive stone walls surrounding the city of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia. Ramparts were built in the outlying areas of the city, including the mountain slopes as part of a set of statutes from 1272. The existing city walls were constructed mainly during the 13th–17th centuries. The walls run an uninterrupted course of approximately 1,940 metres (6,360 ft) in length, encircling most of the old city, and reach a maximum height of about 25 metres (82 ft).

Refugees from destroyed towns such as Epidaurus fled to what would become the defensive settlement of Dubrovnik (also known later as Ragusa) which would become a haven of refuge with the construction of its town walls. The walls were reinforced by three circular and 14 quadrangular towers, five bastions (bulwarks), two angular fortifications and the large St. John's Fortress. Land walls were additionally reinforced by one larger bastion and nine smaller semicircular ones, like the casemate Fort Bokar, the oldest preserved fort of that kind in Europe. The moat that ran around the outside section of the city walls, which were armed by more than 120 cannons, provided superb city defense capabilities. (Full article...)
Image 2

The former Star Ferry pier and its clock tower viewed from the sea, November 2005

Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, often referred to as the "Star Ferry" Pier, was a pier in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong, serving the Star Ferry. The pier, with its clock tower, was a prominent waterfront landmark. Built in 1957 at the height of the Modern Movement, it was the third generation of the Star Ferry Pier in Central, and was located near the City Hall and the General Post Office.

The pier was the central flashpoint of the Hong Kong riots in 1966, and 40 years later became the focus of a confrontation between conservationists and the government, which wanted to demolish the pier to allow for reclamation. The ferry service from the pier was suspended on 11 November 2006, and moved to piers 7 and 8 of Central Piers. Demolition commenced on 12 December 2006, and was completed in early 2007. (Full article...)
Image 3

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Mount Pleasant

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and locally nicknamed "Paddy's Wigwam" or "The Mersey Funnel", is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. The Grade I Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Liverpool's many listed buildings.

The cathedral's architect, Frederick Gibberd, was the winner of a worldwide design competition. Construction began in 1962 and was completed in 1967. Earlier designs for a cathedral were proposed in 1933 and 1953, but neither was completed. (Full article...)
Image 4

Aerial view over northern Bath from a hot air balloon. The famous Royal Crescent is in the centre.

The buildings and architecture of Bath, a city in Somerset in the south west of England, reveal significant examples of the architecture of England, from the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to the present day. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, largely because of its architectural history and the way in which the city landscape draws together public and private buildings and spaces. The many examples of Palladian architecture are purposefully integrated with the urban spaces to provide "picturesque aestheticism". In 2021, the city was added to a second World Heritage Site, a group of historic spa towns across Europe known as the "Great Spas of Europe". Bath is the only entire city in Britain to achieve World Heritage status, and is a popular tourist destination.

Important buildings include the Roman Baths; neoclassical architect Robert Adam's Pulteney Bridge, based on an unused design for the Rialto Bridge in Venice; and Bath Abbey in the city centre, founded in 1499 on the site of an 8th-century church. Of equal importance are the residential buildings designed and built into boulevards and crescents by the Georgian architects John Wood, the Elder and his son John Wood, the Younger – well-known examples being the Royal Crescent, built around 1770, and The Circus, built around 1760, where each of the three curved segments faces one of the entrances, ensuring that there is always a classical facade facing the entering visitor. (Full article...)
Image 5

Liverpool Town Hall at dusk

Liverpool Town Hall stands in High Street at its junction with Dale Street, Castle Street, and Water Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and described in the list as "one of the finest surviving 18th-century town halls". The authors of the Buildings of England series refer to its "magnificent scale", and consider it to be "probably the grandest ...suite of civic rooms in the country", and "an outstanding and complete example of late Georgian decoration".

It is not an administrative building but a civic suite, lord mayor's parlour and council chamber; local government administration is centred at the nearby Cunard Building. The town hall was built between 1749 and 1754 to a design by John Wood the Elder replacing an earlier town hall nearby. An extension to the north designed by James Wyatt was added in 1785. Following a fire in 1795 the hall was largely rebuilt and a dome designed by Wyatt was built. Minor alterations have subsequently been made. The streets surrounding its site have altered since its initiation, notably when viewed from Castle Street, the south-side, it appears as off-centre. This is because Water Street which ran to the junction with Dale Street, the west-east axis, was continuous and built up across the junction so that the town hall was not visible originally from that aspect. The structures were removed 150 years after this to expose the building from this position. (Full article...)
Image 6

Aerial view of Hadleigh Castle from the north, with the Thames Estuary in the background

Hadleigh Castle is a ruined fortification in the English county of Essex, overlooking the Thames Estuary from south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by parkland and had an important economic and defensive role. The castle was significantly expanded and remodelled by Edward III, who turned it into a grander property, designed to defend against a potential French attack, as well as to provide the King with a convenient private residence close to London. Built on a soft hill of London clay, the castle has often been subject to subsidence; this, combined with the sale of its stonework in the 16th century, has led to it now being ruined. The remains are now preserved by English Heritage and protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument. (Full article...)
Image 7

A part of the restored and renovated walls of Constantinople with towers in the Fatih-Zeytinburnu district border

The walls of Constantinople (Turkish: Konstantinopolis Surları; Latin: Moenia Constantinopolitana; Greek: Τείχη της Κωνσταντινούπολης) are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (modern Fatih district of Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built.

Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger. They saved the city, and the Byzantine Empire with it, during sieges by the Avar–Sassanian coalition, Arabs, Rus', and Bulgars, among others. The fortifications retained their usefulness even after the advent of gunpowder siege cannons, which played a part in the city's fall to Ottoman forces in 1453 but were not able to breach its walls. (Full article...)
Image 8

The synagogue in 2014

The Hurva Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת החורבה, romanized: Beit ha-Knesset ha-Hurva, lit. 'The Ruin Synagogue'), also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid (Hebrew: חורבת רבי יהודה החסיד, lit. 'Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Pious'), is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

It was originally founded in the early 18th century by followers of Judah HeHasid on the ruins of a 15th century synagogue and adjacent to the 14th century Sidna Omar mosque, but it was destroyed in 1721 by local lenders over a debt dispute. The plot became known as "The Ruin", or Hurva, where it lay desolate for 116 years until it was resettled in 1837 by members of the Ashkenazi Jewish community, known as the Perushim. In 1856, the Ottoman Sultan Abdelmecid issued a firman authorizing the construction of a synagogue at the site, and the sultan's chief architect, Assad Bey, designed it and oversaw its construction. Construction began in 1864, and although officially named the Beis Yaakov Synagogue (בית יעקב), it retained its name as the Hurva. It became Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue, until it was destroyed on May 27, during the fighting of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Israel claims Arabs deliberately destroyed it, while Jordanian and Palestinian sources state the Jordanian army was forced to shell the synagogue after the Zionist forces used its high rooftops for military purposes. (Full article...)
Image 9

Tange in 1953

Kenzō Tange (丹下健三, Tange Kenzō; 4 September 1913 – 22 March 2005) was a Japanese architect. Born in Sakai and raised in China and southern Japan, Tange was inspired from an early age by the work of Le Corbusier and designed his first buildings under Imperial Japan. He first achieved recognition for his projects to reconstruct the destroyed cities of postwar Japan, particularly Hiroshima, where he designed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. His engagement with the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in the 1950s made him one of the first Japanese architects to achieve international recognition.

Renowned for synthesizing traditional Japanese styles with modernism, Tange's work was emblematic of the Japanese postwar boom. However, he built major projects on five continents. He was a forerunner, mentor, and patron of the metabolist movement. He was also known as an ambitious, original urban planner whose ideas inspired the reconstruction of cities including Skopje. Tange would continue designing buildings until his death in 2005. (Full article...)
Image 10

Robot Building as of 2025, after a controversial renovation

The Robot Building (Thai: ตึกหุ่นยนต์, Thai pronunciation: [tɯk̚˨˩.hun˨˩.jon˧] , RTGS: tuek hun yon), located in the Sathorn business district of Bangkok, Thailand, houses United Overseas Bank's Bangkok headquarters. It was designed for the Bank of Asia by Sumet Jumsai to reflect the computerization of banking; its architecture is a reaction against neoclassical and high-tech postmodern architecture. The building's features, such as progressively receding walls, antennas, and eyes, contribute to its robotic appearance and to its practical function. Completed in 1986, the building is one of the last examples of modern architecture in Bangkok. (Full article...)
Image 11

The Liuhe Pagoda, or Six Harmonies Pagoda, in Hangzhou, 60 m (197 ft) in height, erected in 1156 and completed in 1165 AD

The architecture of the Song dynasty encompasses structures built in China from 960 to 1279, and includes towering Buddhist pagodas, temple halls, pavilions, gardens, stone and wooden bridges, lavish tombs, and extravagant palaces. Song dynasty architects inherited ideas, methods, and traditions from previous dynasties such as the Tang and Later Zhou, though with stylistic changes, especially with the growth of the economy and blurring of residential and commercial areas in urban districts. Although many timber structures built during this era no longer survive, much is known about the layout of Kaifeng (Bianjing), capital city of the Northern Song (960–1127), and Hangzhou (Lin'an), capital city of the Southern Song (1127–1279), due to art and literature. Wooden buildings were the most prevalent, but stone, brick, and rammed earth structures were also built.

Architectural knowledge in China had been passed down orally for thousands of years, usually from craftsman fathers to their sons. There were also government agencies and schools for construction, building, and engineering. The professions of architect, master craftsman, carpenter, and structural engineer did not have the high status of the Confucian scholar-officials. However, some statesmen were commissioned by the emperor to oversee construction projects, such as Su Song for his astronomical clocktower erected in Kaifeng. Scholar-officials such as Ouyang Xiu designed and built their own private gardens, and the written works of architects such as Yu Hao were appreciated by some Chinese literati. Song architectural trends not only impacted later Chinese dynasties but also influenced Japanese architecture. (Full article...)
Image 12

The view across the entrance causeway across the ditch, with the site of the castle behind

Buckton Castle was a medieval enclosure castle near Carrbrook in Stalybridge, a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, it was surrounded by a 2.8-metre-wide (9 ft) stone curtain wall and a ditch 10 metres (33 ft) wide and 6 metres (20 ft) deep. Buckton is one of the earliest stone castles in North West England and survives only as buried remains overgrown with heather and peat. It was most likely built and demolished in the 12th century. The earliest surviving record of the site dates from 1360, by which time it was already derelict. The few finds retrieved during archaeological investigations indicate that Buckton Castle may not have been completed.

In the 16th century, the site may have been used as a beacon during the Pilgrimage of Grace. In the 18th century, the castle attracted treasure hunters following rumours that gold and silver had been discovered at Buckton. The site was later used as an anti-aircraft decoy during the Second World War. Between 1996 and 2010, Buckton Castle was investigated by archaeologists as part of the Tameside Archaeology Survey, first by the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit and later by the University of Salford's Centre for Applied Archaeology. The project involved community archaeology, with more than 60 volunteers taking part. The castle, close to Buckton Vale Quarry, is a scheduled monument. (Full article...)
Image 13

Haapsalu Castle

Haapsalu Castle (also Haapsalu Episcopal Castle, Estonian: Haapsalu piiskopilinnus, or more simply Bishop's Castle) is a castle with cathedral in Haapsalu, Estonia, founded in the thirteenth century as the seat of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek. According to legend, during full moons in August, an image of a maiden, The White Lady, appears on the inner wall of the chapel. (Full article...)
Image 14

The Sunol Water Temple is located at 505 Paloma Way in Sunol, California. Designed by Willis Polk, the 59-foot (18 m) high classical pavilion is made up of twelve concrete Corinthian columns and a concrete ring girder that supports the conical wood and tile roof. Inside the temple, water originally from the Pleasanton well fields and Arroyo de la Laguna flowed into a white tiled cistern before plunging into a deeper water channel carrying water from the filter galleries to the Niles Aqueduct in Niles Canyon and across San Francisco Bay near the Dumbarton Bridge. The ceiling of the temple has panels with paintings by Yun Gee and other artists^{[additional citation(s) needed]} depicting a Native American maiden carrying water vessels, and women in classical poses. The temple is open to the public Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Full article...)
Image 15

Taipei 101 (Chinese: 台北101; pinyin: Táiběi Yīlíngyī; stylized in all caps), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a 508-meter (1,667 ft), 101-story skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by the Taipei Financial Center Corporation. It was officially classified as the world's tallest building from its opening on 31 December 2004 until it was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa in 2009. As of 2026, it is the tallest building in Taiwan and the eleventh tallest in the world.

The building's high-speed elevators were manufactured by Toshiba of Japan and held the record for the fastest in the world at the time of completion, transporting passengers from the 5th to the 89th floor in 37 seconds (attaining 60.6 kilometers per hour or 37.7 miles per hour). In 2011, Taipei 101 was awarded a Platinum certificate rating under the LEED certification system for energy efficiency and environmental design, becoming the tallest and largest green building in the world. The structure regularly appears as an icon of Taipei in international media, and the Taipei 101 fireworks displays are a regular feature of New Year's Eve broadcasts and celebrations. (Full article...)

More good articles

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The following are images from various architecture-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Södra Ängby, 1938 (from Functionalism (architecture))
Image 2Green Roof (from Architecture)
Image 3Façade of the Church of the Gesù Rome (consecrated 1584) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 4In 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. (from Architecture)
Image 5Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen (1682–1747) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 6The Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, 10th to 8th millennium BC (from Architecture)
Image 7Stained glass windows at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, 1248 (from Architecture)
Image 8Plan of the second floor (attic storey) of the Hôtel de Brionne in Paris – 1734. (from Architecture)
Image 9The Taj Mahal in India, 17th century (from Architecture)
Image 10Troja Palace, Prague (1679–1691) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 11Znamenskaya Church (Dubrovitsy) 1690-1698 Podolsk, Moscow (from Baroque architecture)
Image 12Stourhead in Wiltshire, England, designed by Henry Hoare (1705–1785) (from Architecture)
Image 13Sebil of Abdülhamid I, Istanbul (circa 1780) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 14Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków, Poland by Giovanni Maria Bernardoni (1597–1619) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 15Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Music Room 1901 (from Architecture)
Image 16St. George's Cathedral, Timișoara by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (from Baroque architecture)
Image 17Zlín in the Czech Republic (from Functionalism (architecture))
Image 18Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, 1935 (Ad van der Steur) (from Traditionalist School (architecture))
Image 19Radcliffe Camera in Oxford (from Baroque architecture)
Image 20Obchodný a obytný dom Luxor (Residential and Commercial House Luxor), 1937, in Bratislava (Slovakia) (from Functionalism (architecture))
Image 21Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, 1903 (Hendrik Petrus Berlage) rationalism was an important precursor of Dutch traditionalism (from Traditionalist School (architecture))
Image 22Helsinki Central Station, 1919 (Eliel Saarinen) (from Traditionalist School (architecture))
Image 23The Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral built from 1573 to 1813. (from Baroque architecture)
Image 24Bauhaus building (Germany). The Bauhaus style co-started modernist architecture. (from Architecture)
Image 25Corpus Christi Church, Grand Duchy of Lithuania (today Nyasvizh, Belarus), 1586 and 1593 (from Baroque architecture)
Image 26Ed-Deir "The Monastery" at Petra, Jordan, c. mid-first century AD (from Architecture)
Image 27The Tempietto in Rome, 1444–1514 (from Architecture)
Image 28The Zwinger in Dresden by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1697–1716), reconstructed in the 1950s and 1960s, after the damage of World War II. (from Baroque architecture)
Image 29St Andrew's Church, Kyiv (from Baroque architecture)
Image 30Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Turin (from Baroque architecture)
Image 31Upper Belvedere Palace in Vienna (1721–23) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 32Typical railing, flat roof, stucco and colour detail in Nordic funkis (SOK warehouse and offices, 1938, Finland) (from Functionalism (architecture))
Image 33Brandevoort housing estate in Helmond, 2005 (Rob Krier) (from Traditionalist School (architecture))
Image 34The Luxembourg Palace by Salomon de Brosse (1615–1624) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 35The Church of St-Gervais-et-St-Protais, the first Paris church with a façade in the new Baroque style (1616–20) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 36The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali, 13th–14th century, reconstructed in 1906 (from Architecture)
Image 37Body plan of a ship showing the hull form (from Architecture)
Image 38Stockholm City Hall, 1923 (Ragnar Östberg) (from Traditionalist School (architecture))
Image 39Interior view of dome of the Church of the Gesù by Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, and Giacomo della Porta (from Baroque architecture)
Image 40Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa, India, completed in 1604 AD. It holds the body of St. Francis Xavier. (from Baroque architecture)
Image 41Himeji Castle, Japan, 1609 (from Architecture)
Image 42Façade of Santa Susanna, Rome by Carlo Maderno (1603) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 43Church of Santa Engrácia, Lisbon (now National Pantheon of Portugal; begun 1681) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 44The dome of Les Invalides, Paris (from Baroque architecture)
Image 45Interior of the Basilica and Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Recife, Brazil, built between 1665 and 1767 (from Baroque architecture)
Image 46The National Congress of Brazil, designed by Oscar Niemeyer (from Architecture)
Image 47Maastricht City Hall by Pieter Post (1664) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 48The tower of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium (Y. Lindegren & T. Jäntti, built in 1934–38) (from Functionalism (architecture))
Image 49Wilanów Palace, Warsaw (1677–1696) (from Baroque architecture)
Image 50A wooden vernacular house in Norway (from Architecture)

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that the Seth Peterson Cottage was said to have "more architecture per square foot" than any of Frank Lloyd Wright's other designs?
... that the houses in New York City's Henderson Place Historic District have been described as "gingerbread-type" and likened to dollhouse architecture?
... that the Korean royal palace Deoksugung mixes Korean and Western architectural styles?
... that William Aitken, William J. Bain, J. Lister Holmes, John T. Jacobsen, and George W. Stoddard collaborated in the early 1940s to design America's first racially integrated public housing development?
... that the Dorian Electra album Flamboyant is named both as a reference to a style of Gothic architecture and to reclaim a word historically used to shame gay men?
... that Swiss architect Fritz Metzger designed a church with a floor plan shaped like a fish's belly?