TIL-A

Archiectural structures and terminology

Parthenon, Athens, Greece

Ictinus & Callicrates

447–432 BCE

Style: Classical Greek (Doric)

Doric temple, optical refinements

Model of classical proportion

Temple of Hephaestus, Athens, Greece

Unknown

449 BCE

Style: Classical Greek (Doric)

Well-preserved Doric temple

One of the best surviving Greek temples

Erechtheion, Athens, Greece

Mnesicles

421–406 BCE

Style: Classical Greek (Ionic)

Caryatid porch, Ionic order

Key example of Ionic Greek architecture

Pantheon, Rome, Italy

Apollodorus (attrib.)

118–125 CE

Style: Roman

Concrete dome, oculus

Most influential dome

Colosseum, Rome, Italy

Vespasian & Titus

80 CE

Style: Roman

Arches, vaults, classical orders

Prototype of stadium architecture

Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France

Romans

40–60 CE

Style: Roman

Aqueduct bridge, arches

Major Roman engineering work

Roman Forum, Rome, Italy

Romans

7th c. BCE–CE

Style: Roman

Governmental district

Center of Roman public life

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey

Isidore & Anthemius

537 CE

Style: Byzantine

Massive dome, pendentives

Dome revolution

Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy

Unknown

526–547 CE

Style: Byzantine

Central plan, mosaics

Iconic Byzantine mosaics

Speyer Cathedral, Speyer, Germany

Unknown

1030–1106

Style: Romanesque

Massive walls, rounded arches

Largest Romanesque church

Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, France

Various

1163–1345

Syle: Gothic

Flying buttresses, rose windows

Model of Gothic architecture

Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France

Unknown

1194–1250

Style: Gothic

Stained glass, rib vaults

Best preserved Gothic cathedral

Cologne Cathedral, Cologne, Germany

Master Gerhard

1248–1880

Style: Gothic

Tall spires, pointed arches

Largest Gothic cathedral façade

Milan Cathedral (Duomo), Milan, Italy

Multiple

1386–1965

Style: Gothic

Thousands of spires, white marble

Largest Gothic church in Italy

Florence Cathedral (Duomo), Florence, Italy

Brunelleschi

1296–1436

Stye: Renaissance

Double-shell dome

Birth of Renaissance architecture

Palazzo Rucellai, Florence, Italy

Alberti

1446–1451

Style: Renaissance

Classical façade orders

Early Renaissance palace

Tempietto of San Pietro, Rome, Italy

Bramante

1502

Style: High Renaissance

Perfect classical proportions

Symbol of High Renaissance

Villa Rotonda, Vicenza, Italy

Palladio

1566–1571

Style: Renaissance (Palladian)

Symmetry, temple façades

Model for Neoclassicism

St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City

Michelangelo, Bernini

1506–1626 

Style: Renaissance/Baroque

Oval piazza, massive dome

Center of Baroque Rome

Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France

Le Vau, Mansart

1661–1710

Style: Baroque

Hall of Mirrors, gardens

Icon of French Baroque

Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza, Rome, Italy

Borromini

1642–1660

Style: Baroque

Corkscrew dome

Masterpiece of Baroque geometry

Panthéon, Paris, France

Soufflot

1757–1790

Style: Neoclassical

Temple front + dome

Symbol of French Neoclassicism

British Museum, London, UK

Smirke

1847

Style: Neoclassical

Greek Revival façade

Key neoclassical public building

Crystal Palace, London, UK

Joseph Paxton

1851

Style: Industrial

Cast iron + glass exhibition hall

Revolution in prefabrication

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Gustave Eiffel

1889

Style: Industrial

Iron lattice structure

Symbol of modern engineering

Casa Batlló, Barcelona, Spain

Gaudí

Redesigned by Gaudí in 1904-1906

Style: Modernisme

Organic curves, mosaic façade

Major Catalan modernist work

Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain

Gaudí

1882–present

Style: Modernisme

Hyperboloids, expressive forms

Gaudí’s greatest work

Fallingwater, Pennsylvania, USA

Frank Lloyd Wright

1935

Style: Organic

Cantilevers over waterfall

Icon of organic design

Villa Savoye, Poissy, France

Le Corbusier

1929–1931

Style: Modernism

Pilotis, ribbon windows, roof garden

Defines Le Corbusier’s 5 points: pilotis (elevated columns), free plan, free facade, horizontal windows, and roof gardens

Bauhaus Dessau, Dessau, Germany

Walter Gropius

1925–1926

Style: Modernism

Functionalist design, glass curtain walls

Symbol of Bauhaus movement

UN Headquarters, New York, USA

Wallace Harrison

1952

Style: International Style

Glass curtain walls

Key example of International Style

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE

Adrian Smith

2010

Style: Neo-futurism

Tallest building, buttressed-core

Engineering landmark

Louvre Pyramid, Paris, France

I. M. Pei

1989

Style: Contemporary

Glass and metal pyramid

Iconic museum entrance

Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia

Jørn Utzon

1973

Style: Expressionist

Shell-like roof forms

Icon of 20th-century design

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain

Frank Gehry

1997

Style: Deconstructivism

Titanium curves, sculptural form

Revitalized Bilbao; iconic contemporary museum

Doric Order, Ancient Greece

Greece

7th c. BCE

Style: Classical

Heavy proportions, no base, fluted shaft, simple capital

Oldest Greek order; basis of classical architecture

Ionic Order, Ancient Greece (Ionia)

Asia Minor

6th c. BCE

Style: Classical

Volute capital, slender proportions, base present

Key Aegean influence; refined aesthetic

Corinthian Order, Ancient Greece

Greece

5th c. BCE

Style: Classical

Acanthus leaves capital, highly decorative

Most ornate classical order, adopted by Romans

Tuscan Order, Ancient Rome

Italy

1st c. BCE

Style: Classical

Unfluted shaft, simple base and capital

Roman simplification of Doric

Composite Order, Ancient Rome

Italy

1st c. CE

Style: Classical

Combination of Corinthian acanthus + Ionic volutes

Most decorative Roman order

Gothic Architecture, France

Europe

12th–16th c.

Pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses

Defined medieval cathedrals; structural revolution

Romanesque Architecture, Western Europe

10th–12th c.

Thick walls, semicircular arches, barrel vaults

Transitional style leading to Gothic

Renaissance Architecture, Italy

15th–17th c.

Symmetry, proportion, classical elements

Revival of classical antiquity; basis of modern architecture

Baroque Architecture, Italy

Europe

1600–1750

Curved forms, dramatic contrasts, ornamentation

Expressive and theatrical style dominating Europe

Neoclassical Architecture, Europe

18th–19th c.

Return to classic simplicity and order

Major influence on governmental buildings

Modernism, Global

20th c.

Functionalism, minimalism, new materials

Foundation of contemporary architecture

Postmodern Architecture, Global

Late 20th c.

Mix of historical references, irony, color

Reaction to modernism; playful design

Flying Buttress, Gothic Europe

12th c.

Style: Gothic

External arch support transferring vault forces

Key innovation enabling tall Gothic cathedrals

Barrel Vault, Ancient Rome

1st c. BCE

Style: Roman

Continuous vault forming a semicircle

Allowed construction of large interior spaces

Ribbed Vault, Gothic Europe

12th c.

Style: Gothic

Intersecting barrel vaults with ribs

Allowed lighter walls and taller structures

Triumphal Arch, Ancient Rome

1st c. CE

Style: Roman

Monumental arch celebrating victories

Symbol of imperial power

Rose Window, Gothic Europe (France)

13th c.

Style: Gothic

Circular stained glass window with tracery

Iconic feature of Gothic cathedrals

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446)

• Key works: Florence Cathedral dome, Ospedale degli Innocenti

• Why important: Father of Renaissance architecture; invented linear perspective; engineered largest dome since antiquity.

Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472)

• Key works: Palazzo Rucellai, Santa Maria Novella façade

• Why important: Theoretician of Renaissance harmony, proportion, and the classical orders.

Andrea Palladio (1508–1580)

• Key works: Villa Rotonda, Teatro Olimpico

• Why important: Palladianism shaped all later Neoclassical architecture in Europe + USA.

Michelangelo (1475–1564)

• Key works: Dome of St Peter’s Basilica

• Why important: Bridged Renaissance and Baroque; expressive, monumental language.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680)

• Key works: St Peter’s Square colonnade, Baroque churches

• Why important: Defined Baroque spatial movement and theatricality.

Francesco Borromini (1599–1667)

• Key works: San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

• Why important: Complex geometry, concave–convex façades—Baroque innovation.

Louis XIV architects (Hardouin-Mansart, Le Vau)

• Key works: Palace of Versailles

• Why important: Symbol of absolute monarchy; French Baroque style.

Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923)

• Key works: Eiffel Tower

• Why important: Symbol of iron engineering; start of metal-frame architecture.

Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926)

• Key works: Sagrada Família

• Why important: Organic forms, Catalan Modernism.

Frank Lloyd Wright (1869–1959)

• Key works: Fallingwater, Robie House

• Why important: Organic architecture; horizontal Prairie style.

Walter Gropius (1883–1969)

• Key works: Bauhaus Building

• Why important: Founded Bauhaus; functionalist modernism.

Le Corbusier (1887–1965)

• Key works: Villa Savoye, Unité d’Habitation

• Why important: Modernist theory; “Five Points of Architecture”; functional planning.

• Five Points of Architecture:

  1. Pilotis

  2. Free ground plan

  3. Free façade

  4. Ribbon windows

  5. Roof garden

• Modulor: proportional human-based system

• High-rise housing as “machines for living”

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969)

• Key works: Barcelona Pavilion, Farnsworth House

• Why important: International Style; minimalism—“Less is more.”

• Universal open plans

• Steel + glass architecture

• Floating planes

• Horizontal + transparent buildings

Frank Gehry (1929–2025)

• Key works: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

• Why important: Deconstructivism; expressive sculptural forms.

Industrialisation - Urban changes

• Massive rural → urban migration

• Grid expansion and boulevards (e.g., Haussmann’s Paris)

• Separation of work/live zones (early zoning)

• Suburbs emerging due to trains

• Infrastructure growth (railways, sewers, bridges)

New building types created my industrialisation

• Railway stations

• Factories

• Warehouses

• Department stores

• Exhibition halls (e.g., Crystal Palace)

• Markets with iron/glass roofs

• Social housing blocks

• Office buildings with early steel structures

New materials introduced my industrialisation

• Iron

• Steel

• Reinforced concrete

• Large glass panes

These enabled bigger spans → modern architecture.

Modernism

1900-1960s

Characteristics:

• Function over ornament (“form follows function”)

• New materials: steel, concrete, glass

• Standardization & mass production

• Asymmetry and simple geometry

International style

(defined in 1932 MoMA exhibition)

• Flat roofs

• Ribbon windows

• Free plan, open interior

• No ornamentation

• Pilotis (support columns)

• Glass curtain walls

• Appears the same everywhere → “international”

Bauhaus

• Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919

• Combined art, craft, and technology

• Modular, geometric forms

• Prefab elements

• Art + architecture + design = unified

Sustainable design

Aims:

• Reduce energy use

• Natural ventilation & daylight

• Renewable materials

• Local materials

• Green roofs / solar systems

• Low carbon footprint

• Water recycling

Regeneration

• Redeveloping abandoned industrial areas

• Improving local communities

• Adaptive reuse (factories → apartments)

Heritage vs. Development

Balance between:

• preserving important buildings
  vs.

• allowing new modern development
  → Cities evaluate cultural value, environmental impact, and social benefit.

Parametricism

• Zaha Hadid, Patrik Schumacher

• Algorithm-based design

• Fluid, dynamic forms

• Non-linear geometry

• Computer-generated surfaces
  Used in stadiums, museums, airports.

Global architectural practices (post-2000)

• Large, international firms (OMA, BIG, ZHA, Foster+Partners)

• Emphasis on:

  • sustainability

  • digital design

  • cultural identity in globalized world

  • mixed-use mega-projects

Plan

• Horizontal cut of a building

• Shows walls, rooms, circulation

• View from above

Section

• Vertical cut

• Shows heights, floors, structure

Elevation

• Flat view of a building’s façade

• No perspective

• Shows height and vertical elements

Façade

• Exterior face of a building

• Usually the front

• Shows style, symmetry, windows

Axonometry (Axonometric drawing)

• 3D drawing without perspective

• Parallel lines remain parallel

• Types: isometric (all axis are portrayed the same), dimetric (2 of axis are same, 1 is different), trimetric (all 3 axis are portrayed differently)

Scale

Ratio of drawing size to real size
Examples: 1:100, 1:50, 1:500

Module

• Repeating unit used to structure design, basically breaking down more complex systems into smaller modules with each module containing its own logic

• Le Corbusier’s Modulor is a famous example; Le Modulor is a book by architect Le Corbusier, first published in 1948, that introduces his system of anthropometric proportions based on the human body, the golden ratio, and Fibonacci numbers, intended to bring harmony to architecture and design, was followed by Le Modulor 2 in 1955, the system was famous used in his published buildings.