Portal:Architecture
The Architecture Portal
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Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. The term comes from Latin architectura; from Ancient Greek ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn) 'architect'; from ἀρχι- (arkhi-) 'chief' and τέκτων (téktōn) 'creator'. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
Architecture began as rural, oral vernacular architecture that developed from trial and error to successful replication. Ancient urban architecture was preoccupied with building religious structures and buildings symbolizing the political power of rulers until Greek and Roman architecture shifted focus to civic virtues. Indian and Chinese architecture influenced forms all over Asia and Buddhist architecture in particular took diverse local flavors. During the Middle Ages, pan-European styles of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals and abbeys emerged while the Renaissance favored Classical forms implemented by architects known by name. Later, the roles of architects and engineers became separated.
Modern architecture began after World War I as an avant-garde movement that sought to develop a completely new style appropriate for a new post-war social and economic order focused on meeting the needs of the middle and working classes. Emphasis was put on modern techniques, materials, and simplified geometric forms, paving the way for high-rise superstructures. Many architects became disillusioned with modernism which they perceived as ahistorical and anti-aesthetic, and postmodern and contemporary architecture developed. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating. (Full article...)
Selected article –
Dubai Mall (originally known as The Dubai Mall, until 2023) (Arabic: دبي مول "Dubai Mall") is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. The mall is part of the 20-billion-dollar downtown complex called Downtown Dubai that is adjacent to the Burj Khalifa, and includes over 1,200 shops. In 2011, it was the most visited building on the planet, and attracts over 54 million visitors each year.
Twice delayed, Dubai Mall opened on 4 November 2008, with about 1000 retailers. In January 2023, the shopping mall announced that it was officially changing its name from "The Dubai Mall" to "Dubai Mall". Dubai Mall has received a record 105 million visitors in 2023, a jump of over 19 per cent from the previous year which had 88 million visitors. (Full article...)
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- ... that after architect Frà Antonio Cano died of a fall from scaffolding at his new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Snows, Alberto della Marmora accused him of destroying many former basilicas?
- ... that British architect Diane Haigh transformed one historic building into an art gallery and another into a hospice?
- ... that the Lutheran St. Trinitatis in Wolfenbüttel, consecrated in 1719, is a Baroque church with a facade recalling that of a palace?
- ... that after Claudia Winterstein dropped plans to become an architect because of the Berlin Wall, she led her party as a member of the Bundestag?
- ... that the Dust Bowl refugee Ibsen Nelsen received the Purple Heart and became a fellow of the American Institute of Architects?
- ... that Saints Peter and Paul Seminary, the last Catholic high school seminary in Ohio before its closure in 1990, was designed with influences from Chinese architecture?
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Architects | Architecture | Architectural elements | Architectural history | Buildings & structures |
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