Before recorded history, humans constructed earthen mounds, stone circles, megaliths, and structures that often puzzle modern-day archaeologists. Prehistoric architecture includes monumental structures such as Stonehenge, cliff dwellings in the Americas, and thatch and mud structures lost to time.

• PREHISTORIC

• ANCIENT EGYPT

• MESOPOTAMIA

• CLASSICAL

In ancient Egypt, powerful rulers constructed monumental pyramids, temples, and shrines. Far from primitive, enormous structures such as the Pyramids of Giza were feats of engineering capable of reaching great heights.

• MESOPOTAMIA

• CLASSICAL

• BYZANTINE

• ANCIENT EGYPT

West Asiatic Architecture flourished & developed in the Twin Rivers “Tigris & Euphrates also known as “Mesopotamia” it refers to Persia, Assyria & Babylon.

• MESOPOTAMIA

• ANCIENT EGYPT

• BABYLONIAN

• PERSIAN

From the rise of ancient Greece until the fall of the Roman empire, great buildings were constructed according to precise rules. The Classical Orders, which defined column styles and entablature designs, continue to influence building design in modern times.

• CLASSICAL (Greek & Roman)

• MESOPOTAMIA

• ANCIENT EGYPT

• PREHISTORIC

After Constantine moved the capital of the Roman empire to Byzantium (now called Istanbul) in 330 AD, Roman architecture evolved into a graceful, classically-inspired style that used brick instead of stone, domed roofs, elaborate mosaics, and classical forms.

• RENAISSANCE

• GOTHIC

• ROMANESQUE

• BYZANTINE

As Rome spread across Europe, heavier, stocky Romanesque architecture with rounded arches emerged. Churches and castles of the early Medieval period were constructed with thick walls and heavy piers.

• BYZANTINE

• ROMANESQUE

• GOTHIC

• RENAISSANCE

Pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and other innovations led to taller, more graceful architecture. Gothic ideas gave rise to magnificent cathedrals like Chartres and Notre Dame.

• BYZANTINE

• ROMANESQUE

• GOTHIC

• RENAISSANCE

A return to classical ideas ushered an "age of awakening" in Italy, France, and England. Andrea Palladio and other builders looked the classical orders of ancient Greece and Rome. Long after the Renaissance era ended, architects in the Western world found inspiration in the beautifully proportioned architecture of the period.

• BYZANTINE

• ROMANESQUE

• GOTHIC

• RENAISSANCE

In Italy, the Baroque style is reflected in opulent and dramatic churches with irregular shapes and extravagant ornamentation. In France, the highly ornamented Baroque style combines with Classical restraint. Russian aristocrats were impressed by Versailles in France, and incorporated Baroque ideas in the building of St. Petersburg. Elements of the elaborate Baroque style are found throughout Europe.

• BAROQUE

• ROCOCO

• NEOCLASSICISM

• ART NOUVEAU

During the last phase of the Baroque period, builders constructed graceful white buildings with sweeping curves. These Rococo buildings are elegantly decorated with scrolls, vines, shell-shapes, and delicate geometric patterns.

• BAROQUE

• ROCOCO

• NEOCLASSICISM

• ART NOUVEAU