Civilisation/Architecture
Architectural orders
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian (all Greek), Tuscan and Composite (added by the Romans)
Doric architecture – oldest and simplest
Ionic architecture – characterised by spiral scrolls
Corinthian architecture – is the most ornate, characterized by a slender fluted column and an elaborate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls
Tuscan is the Roman equivalent of Doric
Composite is a mixture of Ionic and Corinthian
Parthenon is an example of Doric architecture
Pantheon is an example of Corinthian architecture
An entablature refers to the superstructure of mouldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave (the supporting member carried from column to column, pier or wall immediately above) the frieze (an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented) and the cornice (the projecting member below the pediment).
The structure of the entablature varies with the three classical orders. In each, the proportions of the subdivisions (architrave, frieze, cornice) are defined by the proportions of the column in the order. In Roman and Renaissance interpretations, it is usually approximately a quarter of the height of the column
The frieze is dominated by the triglyphs, vertically channeled tablets, separated by metopes, which may or may not be decorated
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the entablature, typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding
Caryatid – a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head
Telamon – male version of a caryatid
Volute – a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column
Architectural styles (chronological)
Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Europe which emerged in the late 10th century and evolved into the Gothic style during the 12th century. The Romanesque style in England is more traditionally referred to as Norman architecture. Romanesque architecture is characterized by its massive quality, its thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers and decorative arcading, e.g. Durham Cathedral
Gothic – architectural style prevalent in Western Europe from the 12th through the 15th century and characterized by pointed arches, rib vaulting, and a developing emphasis on verticality and the impression of height
In Gothic architecture, ogives are the intersecting transverse ribs of arches that establish the surface of a Gothic vault
English Gothic architecture is divided into three periods – Early English e.g. Salisbury Cathedral, Decorated e.g. Wells Cathedral, Exeter Cathedral and York Minster, and Perpendicular e.g. Winchester Cathedral, Eton College Chapel and King’s College Chapel, Cambridge
Renaissance – rebirth of Classical architecture. Palladian style in England. Brunelleschi, Bramante and Michelangelo in Italy
The dome of St Peter’s Basilica was designed by Bramante, then Michelangelo and then della Porta
On the hillside above the Vatican Palace, Antonio Pollaiuolo built a small casino named the palazzetto or the Belvedere for Pope Innocent VIII. Some years later Donato Bramante linked the Vatican with the Belvedere, under a commission from Pope Julius II by creating the Cortile del Belvedere (‘Courtyard of the Belvedere’), in which stood the Apollo Belvedere, among the most famous of antique sculptures. The 1st century Roman bronze Pigna (‘pinecone’) gives the name Cortile della Pigna to the highest terrace
Building of the Uffizi was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de' Medici as the offices for the Florentine magistrates — hence the name ‘uffizi’ (‘offices’) Construction was continued to Vasari's design by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and ended in 1581
Palladian architecture – named after the 16th century Italian architect Andrea Palladio
Baroque – Bernini and Borromini in Rome. Wren (St. Paul’s), Vanburgh and Hawksmoor in England. Includes Rococo, which is characterised by soft curves and scrollwork
Classical style of architecture introduced by Inigo Jones, after studying Palladio
Neo-Classical – Robert Adam, John Nash, John Wood, Baron Haussmann
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, Neo-Gothic) – House of Commons (Barry and Pugin)
Art Nouveau (1890s) – Gaudi, Mackintosh
Beaux-Arts architecture expresses the academic neoclassical architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The Beaux-Arts style heavily influenced the architecture of the United States in the period from 1880 to 1920
The Vesnin brothers: Leonid, Victor and Alexander were the leaders of Constructivist architecture, the dominant architectural school of the Soviet Union in the 1920s and early 1930s
Art Deco (1925–39) – heavy geometric base forms, e.g. Radio City Music Hall in New York
Streamline Moderne, sometimes referred to as Art Moderne, was a late type of the Art Deco design style which emerged during the 1930s. Its architectural style emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements, e.g. Midland Hotel, Morecambe
Modernism or Functionism (1901–80) – Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright
Googie architecture is a subdivision of futurist architecture influenced by car culture and the Space and Atomic Ages. Originating in Southern California during the late 1940s and continuing approximately into the mid-1960s, Googie-themed architecture was popular among motels, coffee houses and gas stations
Brutalism – architectural style of the 1950s and 1960s that evolved from the work
of Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe
Postmodernism (1980s onwards) – e.g. Pompidou Centre
Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. Architects Antoni Gaudi and Frank Lloyd Wright are famous for their work with organic architecture
Prairie School is mostly associated with a generation of architects employed or influenced by Louis Sullivan or Frank Lloyd Wright, but usually does not include Sullivan himself
International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style
Futurist architecture is an early-20th century form of architecture born in Italy, and was part of the Futurism movement. Included the architect Antonio Sant'Elia
The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault
A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults
Pueblo Revival Style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States which draws its inspiration from the Pueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the turn of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s
Deconstructivism is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s. It is characterized by ideas of fragmentation, an interest in manipulating ideas of a structure's surface or skin, non-rectilinear shapes which serve to distort and dislocate some of the elements of architecture, such as structure and envelope
Metabolism was a post-war Japanese architectural movement that fused ideas about architectural megastructures with those of organic biological growth
Architectural terms
Fan vault – a form of vault used in the Gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equidistantly, in a manner resembling a fan. The largest fan vault in the world can be found in the chapel of King's College, Cambridge
Barrel vault – also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault
Groin vault – or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults
Spandrel – the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure
Quoin – stones used to form the exterior angle of a building
Corbel – an architectural member that projects from within a wall and acts as a type of bracket to carry weight
Tracery – stone bars or ribs between sections of glass used decoratively in windows
Jamb – the vertical section of a door frame
Mullion – a vertical strip between the casements or panes of a window
Architects
Alvar Aalto (1898 – 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work also includes furniture, textiles and glassware. Designed Finlandia Hall in Helsinki
Patrick Abercrombie (1897 – 1957) redesigned London after World War II, Plymouth in the 1950s, Hong Kong, and Addis Ababa
Robert Adam (1728 – 1792) designed interiors for Harewood House, Osterley Park and Syon House. Register House, Edinburgh was designed by Robert Adam – first major government building to be constructed in Britain
Michael Arad (born 1969) was the winning designer of the World Trade Center Memorial with “Reflecting Absence” – a pair of pools set 30 feet deep in the “footprints” of the downed towers, with cascading waterfalls surrounded by the names of the dead
Herbert Baker (1862 – 1946) was the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, from 1892 to 1912. With Edwin Lutyens he was instrumental in designing New Delhi. His tomb is in Westminster Abbey
Charles Barry (1795 – 1860) was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens. Barry remodeled Trafalgar Square
John Francis Bentley (1839 – 1902) was an English ecclesiastical architect whose most famous work is the Westminster Cathedral, built in a style heavily influenced by Byzantine architecture
Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598 – 1660) designed the piazza and colonnades of St Peter's. He planned several Roman palaces: Palazzo Barberini (from 1630 on which he worked with Borromini); Palazzo Ludovisi and Palazzo Chigi. Saint Peter's baldachin is a large Baroque sculpted bronze canopy located directly under the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. Designed by Bernini, it was intended to mark, in a monumental way, the place of Saint Peter's tomb underneath. Under its canopy is the High Altar of the basilica. Commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, the work began in 1623 and ended in 1634
Francesco Borromini (1599 – 1667) was an influential Baroque architect in Rome. He designed many churches, and was a rival of Bernini
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446) was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. All of his principal works are in Florence, the most important of which were the designs for the dome of the Cathedral of Florence (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) and the Sagrestia Vecchia, or Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo
William Burges (1827 – 1881) was a Gothic Revival architect responsible for the rebuilding of Cardiff Castle
Daniel Burnham (1846 – 1912) was the Director of Works for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He took a leading role in the creation of master plans for the development of a number of cities, including Chicago and downtown Washington DC. He also designed several famous buildings, including the Flatiron Building in New York City, Union Station in Washington D.C. and Selfridges in London
Santiago Calatrava (born 1951) designed the Quadracci Pavilion (2001) of the Milwaukee Art Museum. Calatrava is currently designing the future train station – World Trade Center Transportation Hub, at the rebuilt World Trade Centre in New York. HSB Turning Torso is a Deconstructivist skyscraper in Malmo, located on the Swedish side of the Oresund strait. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava and officially opened in 2005. The tower reaches a height of 190 metres. Upon completion, it was the tallest building in Scandinavia. City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia was designed by Santiago Calatrava
William Chambers (1723 – 1796) was a Scottish-Swedish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, London, and the pagoda at Kew
David Chipperfield (born 1953) designed the River and Rowing Museum in Henley, the Turner Contemporary in Margate and The Hepworth Wakefield
John Dobson (1787 – 1865) was an English architect in the neoclassical tradition. He is best known for designing Newcastle Central Station and for his work with Richard Grainger developing the centre of Newcastle in a neoclassical style
Peter Eisenman (born 1932) and engineering firm Buro Happold designed the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, is a memorial in Berlin to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust
Norman Foster (born 1935) designed the Swiss Re building in London (30 St Mary Axe, also known as the gherkin), Millau Viaduct, The Sage Gateshead, and The Reichstag Berlin. Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) Clyde Auditorium, known as the Armadillo building, was designed by Norman Foster. Pyramid of Peace in Astana was designed by Norman Foster. Millennium Bridge was designed by Norman Foster and Anthony Caro. City Hall is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority, and was designed by Norman Foster and opened in 2002. McLaren Technology Centre was designed by Norman Foster
Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926) was the figurehead of Catalan Modernism. His masterpiece is the still-uncompleted Sagrada Família in Barcelona. Construction started in 1882
Frank Gehry (born 1929) designed the Guggenheim at Bilbao, which is constructed of titanium. The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. The Frank Gehry-designed building, an example of Deconstructivism, opened in 2003 and features his trademark steel cladding. Dancing House, Prague – Frank Gehry. Nicknamed ‘Fred and Ginger’. Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago – designed by Frank Gehry. New World Symphony Concert Hall, Miami Beach – designed by Frank Gehry. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi was designed by Frank Gehry – completion is expected in 2017. Frank Gehry designed the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. Dr Chau Chak Wing Building is a Business School building of the University of Technology, Sydney. It is the first building in Australia designed by Frank Gehry
James Gibbs (1682 – 1754) designed St Martin-in-the-Fields in 1721. The cylindrical Radcliffe Camera at Oxford University was designed by James Gibbs
Erno Goldfinger (1902 – 1987) was a Hungarian-born architect and designer of furniture, and a key member of the architectural Modern Movement after he had moved to the United Kingdom. Designed Trellick Tower in North Kensington. The James Bond character Auric Goldfinger is named after Erno
Nicholas Grimshaw (born 1939) is noted for several modernist buildings, including London's Waterloo International railway station, the Eden Project in Cornwall, and the National Space Centre. In 2004, he was elected President of the Royal Academy. Cutty Sark Renovation – Grimshaw Architests
Walter Gropius (1883 – 1969) designed the Pan Am building (now known as The MetLife Building) in New York. He was the first director of the Bauhaus. Born in Germany, moved to the USA in 1937. Married Alma Mahler
Hector Guimard (1867 – 1942) was the best-known representative of the French Art Nouveau style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Designed many Paris metro entrances
Zaha Hadid (1950 – 2016) was a Deconstructivist architect born in Baghdad, and the first female recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2004). Designed the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany. She won the Stirling Prize two years running: in 2010, for the Maxxi in Rome, and in 2011 for the Evelyn Grace Academy, a school in Brixton. Designed the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympics.
Baron Haussmann (1809 – 1891) was chosen by the Emperor Napoleon III to carry out a massive program of new boulevards, parks and public works in Paris
Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661 – 1736) designed the Clarendon building in Oxford. Hawksmoor was known as “the devil’s architect”. He designed six London churches including St George’s Bloomsbury, Christ Church Spitalfields, and St Anne’s Limehouse
Thomas Heatherwick (born 1970) designed the New Bus for London. B of the Bang was a sculpture designed by Thomas Heatherwick, located next to the City of Manchester Stadium. It was dismantled in 2009 because of structural problems. The Seed Cathedral is a sculpture structure built by a nine member conglomeration of British business and government resources helmed by designer Thomas Heatherwick. It references the race to save seeds from round the world in banks, and therefore the cathedral houses 60,000 plant seeds at the end of acrylic rods, held in place by geometrically cut holes with the rods inserted therein. The structure stands where it was built, at a cost of £25 million, in Shanghai for the 2010 World Expo. Plan for garden bridge across the Thames designed by Thomas Heatherwick, supported by Joanna Lumley
Herzog & de Meuron was founded in Basel in 1978 by Jacques Herzog (born 1950) and Pierre de Meuron (born 1950). Converted Bankside Power Station into Tate Modern. Allianz stadium in Munich designed by Herzog & de Meuron. Birds Nest stadium in Beijing designed by Herzog & de Meuron with engineer ArupSport
James Hoban (c. 1758 – 1831) design of the White House by in 1792 was influenced by Leinster House in Dublin
Josef Hoffmann (1870 – 1956) was an Austrian architect and designer of consumer goods. He established the Wiener Werkstatte, which was to last until 1932. He was commissioned to build the Palais Stoclet in Brussels from 1905 to 1911. This masterpiece of Jugendstil, was an example of Gesamtkunstwerk, replete with murals in the dining room by Klimt and four copper figures on the tower by Franz Metzner
Charles Holden (1875 – 1960) is best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and for the University of London's Senate House. He also created many war cemeteries in Belgium and northern France for the Imperial War Graves Commission
Michael Hopkins (born 1935) designed the opera house at Glyndebourne, Mound Stand at Lord’s, Portcullis House, The Rose Bowl, and the Schlumberger Research Centre at Cambridge
Victor Horta (1861 – 1947) was born in Belgium, and is one of the most important names in Art Nouveau architecture. Designed the Palais de Beaux-Arts and Hotel Tassel in Brussels
Arne Jacobsen (1902 – 1971) was a Danish architect and designer, exemplar of the ‘Danish Modern’ style. Among his architectural achievements are St Catherine’s College, Oxford, and the Danish National Bank building in Copenhagen. Jacobsen has created a number of highly original chairs and other furniture, including the swan chair
Geoffrey Jellicoe (1900 – 1996) designed Motopia, a city of the future, where the bubble-top cars of tomorrow moved freely on elevated streets, and the pedestrian zipped around safely on moving sidewalks
Philip Johnson (1906 – 2005) founded the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA in 1930 and in 1978 he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture Prize. The Seagram Building, the company's American headquarters office tower at 375 Park Avenue in New York City, was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson. Philip Johnson won the Pritzker Prize for a house made from glass
Inigo Jones (1573 – 1652) designed the Queen’s House at Greenwich. Covent Garden – Palladian architecture, designed by Inigo Jones in 1630s. Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones's 1622 Banqueting House (site of execution of Charles I in 1649) was destroyed by fire. Originally known as York Place
Rem Koolhaus (born 1944) is the Dutch architect for the CCTV Headquarters building in Beijing. Kunsthal, Rotterdam. Won the Pritzker Prize in 2000
Kisho Kurokawa (1934 – 2007) was one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement. He designed the New Wing of the Van Gogh Museum, the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel, and a number of art museums in Japan
Denys Lasdun (1914 – 2001) designed the University of East Anglia. Halls of residence at the University of East Anglia are based on the ziggurats of Mesopotamia. National Theatre, South Bank – designed by Dennis Lasdun
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier (1887 – 1965), was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen. Wrote Toward an Architecture. Devised a scale of proportions known as The Modulor, based on the golden ratio. Le Corbusier designed Chandigarh. The chapel of Notre Dame du Haut in Ronchamp, completed in 1954, is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Le Corbusier
Villa Savoye is a modernist villa in Poissy, in the outskirts of Paris. It was designed by Le Corbusier. Ville Radieuse (French: ‘Radiant City’) was an unrealized project designed by Le Corbusier in 1924. Le Corbusier planned to bulldoze most of central Paris north of the Seine in 1925. Le Corbusier had the idea of a “Vertical Garden City”
CY Lee (born 1938) is a Chinese architect based in Taiwan. He directed the design of Taipei 101, the world's tallest skyscraper at the time of completion, in 2004
Daniel Libeskind (born 1946) designed the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the extension to the Denver Art Museum, the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin, and the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester. Spiral – cancelled extension to V&A by Daniel Libeskind
Adolf Loos (1870 – 1933) was a Moravian-born Austro-Hungarian architect. He was influential in European Modern architecture, and in his essay Ornament and Crime he repudiated the florid style of the Vienna Secession
Berthold Lubetkin (1901 – 1990) was a Russian émigré architect who pioneered modernist design in Britain in the 1930s. His work includes the Highpoint housing complex in Highgate, London Zoo penguin pool, Dudley Zoo, Finsbury Health Centre and Spa Green Estate in Clerkenwell. Lubetkin set up the architectural practice Tecton
Edwin Lutyens (1869 – 1944) designed the Cenotaph, Whitehall, the Thiepval Memorial and New Delhi. Liverpool’s Catholic cathedral designed by Edwin Lutyens, but only the crypt was built. New cathedral (Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, known as “Paddy’s Wigwam”) was designed by Frederick Gibberd. Edwin Lutyens designed the fountains surrounding Nelson’s Column
Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 – 1928) designed the Glasgow School of Art. The Lighthouse was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for the Glasgow Herald and now an architecture and design centre
Frank Matcham (1854 – 1920) was an English theatrical architect and designer. He was known for his designs of many London theatres including the Hackney Empire (1901); the London Coliseum (1904); the London Palladium (1910) and the Victoria Palace (1911)
Hannes Meyer (1889 – 1954) was a Swiss architect and second director of the Bauhaus in Dessau. He was fired from the Bauhaus in 1930 for allegedly allowing Communist student organization to bring bad publicity to the school
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 – 1969) designed the Seagram building in New York, the New National Gallery in Berlin, and many buildings around Chicago. He was the third and final director of the Bauhaus. He is often associated with his quotation of the aphorisms, "less is more" and "God is in the details"
Rafael Moneo (born 1937) designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, and the expansion of the Madrid Atocha railway station. Won the Pritzker Prize in 1996
John Nash (1752 – 1835) designed St James Park, Royal Pavilion at Brighton (for the Prince Regent) and laid out Regent Street in the 1820s. In 1828, John Nash designed Marble Arch based on the triumphal arch of Constantine in Rome. It was originally erected on The Mall as a gateway to the new Buckingham Palace. In 1851, the arch was moved to its present location during the building of the east front of the palace
Balthasar Neumann (1687 – 1753) was a German military artillery engineer and architect who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture. He designed some of the most impressive buildings of the period, including the Wurzburg Residence and the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Oscar Niemeyer (1907 – 2012) designed a number of civic buildings in Brasilia, and collaborated with other architects on the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum in Rio de Janeiro was designed by Oscar Niemeyer
Jean Nouvel (born 1945) is the architect for the Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi. Won the Pritzker Prize in 2008 for his work on more than 200 projects, including the Arab World Institute in Paris
Andrea Palladio, born Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola (1508 – 1580) is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture. All of his buildings are located in what was the Venetian Republic, but his teachings, summarized in the architectural treatise, The Four Books of Architecture, gained him wide recognition. The city of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Villa Barbaro is a large villa at Maser in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It was designed and built by Andrea Palladio for two of his most important patrons, the brothers Barbaro. Church of the Redeemer, Venice was designed by Palladio
Victor Pasmore (1908 – 1998) pioneered the development of abstract art in Britain in the 1940s and 1950s He designed the Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee
Joseph Paxton (1803 – 1865) designed Crystal Palace and the Great Conservatory at Chatsworth. He also designed Britain’s tallest fountain, ‘The Emperor’, at Chatsworth House. In 1837, Paxton began the Great Conservatory or Stove, a huge glasshouse, at Chatsworth. At the time, the Conservatory was the largest glass building in the world. Great Victorian Way was an unbuilt infrastructure project, designed by Joseph Paxton in 1855. It would have consisted of a ten-mile covered loop around much of central and west London, integrating a glass-roofed street, railways, shops and houses
Cesar Pelli (born 1926) was born in Argentina. He designed the Costanera Centre in Santiago. It is the tallest building in Latin America and the second tallest in the Southern Hemisphere after Australia's Q1 on the Gold Coast. Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, designed by Cesar Pelli, were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004 and remain the tallest twin towers in the world. One Canada Square, London E14, is the tallest habitable building in the United Kingdom, at 771 ft and 50 storeys. Designed by Cesar Pelli, construction was completed in 1991. The building is most commonly known as Canary Wharf or Canary Wharf Tower. It was formerly called Canada Tower. The square to the east of the tower was named after Canada because it was built by the Canadian firm Olympia and York
Dominique Perrault (born 1953) is best known for the design of the French National Library, distinguished with the Mies van der Rohe Prize in 1996
Renzo Piano (born 1937) was born in Italy. He designed The New York Times Building. Shard London Bridge, previously known as London Bridge Tower, is also known as the Shard of Glass and 32 London Bridge. It is the tallest building in the European Union. The tower stands at 310 m (1017 ft) tall and has 95 floors. Renzo Piano, the building's architect, worked together with architectural firm Broadway Malyan during the planning stage of the project. Shard site bought by Irvine Sellar. Main building contractor – Mace. Shard observation deck is on 72nd floor. Zentrum Paul Klee is a museum dedicated to the artist Paul Klee, located in Bern, Switzerland and designed by Renzo Piano. It features about 40 percent of Paul Klee’s entire pictorial oeuvre. The Auditorium Parco della Musica is a large multi-functional public music complex to the north of Rome, in the area where the 1960 Summer Olympic Games were held. The Parco della Musica was designed by Renzo Piano
IM Pei (born 1917) was born in Guangzhou and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He designed the Louvre Pyramid, the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong, and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and was designed by IM Pei
John Portman (born 1924) is an American architect and real estate developer widely known for popularizing hotels and office buildings with multi-storied interior atria. Portman also had a large impact on the cityscape of his hometown of Atlanta, with the Peachtree Center complex which includes Portman-designed Hyatt, Westin, and Marriott hotels
Augustus Pugin (1812 – 1852) was an English architect, designer and theorist of design now best remembered for his work on churches and on the Houses of Parliament, rebuilt after a fire in 1834. St Giles’ Catholic Church in Cheadle was designed by Pugin. The Grange in Ramsgate was the home of August Pugin, who designed it in the Victorian Gothic style. Pugin was buried at St Augustine's Church next to the house. Pugin designed the Gothic interiors, wallpapers and furnishings, including the royal thrones and the Palace of Westminster's clock tower in which Big Ben hangs. Pugin designed St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham and St Georges Cathedral in Southwark
William Railton (1800 – 1877) was an English architect, best known as the designer of Nelson's Column. The column itself is built of granite from Dartmoor. The whole monument is 51.6 m tall from the bottom of the pedestal to the top of Nelson's hat
John Rennie (1761 – 1821) designed London Bridge, Southwark Bridge, and many canals and docks. The first Waterloo Bridge on the site was designed by John Rennie and opened in 1817 as a toll bridge. His son, John, also designed bridges in London
Gerrit Rietveld (1888 – 1964) was a Dutch furniture designer and architect. He designed Schroder House in Utrecht, which was built in 1924
Richard Rogers (born 1933) was born in Florence. Richard Rogers designed the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Pompidou Centre is known as “our lady of the pipe work” and known locally as Beaubourg – it was designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers and opened in 1977. The nearby Stravinsky Fountain features sixteen whimsical moving and water-spraying sculptures by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle, which represent themes and works by composer Igor Stravinsky. Welsh Assembly building was designed by Richard Rogers. Millennium Dome was designed by Richard Rogers, the contractor was Sir Robert McAlpine, and the building structure was engineered by Buro Happold. Lloyd’s building was designed by Richard Rogers and was completed in 1986
Nicola Salvi (1697 – 1751) was an Italian architect; among his few projects completed is the Trevi fountain in Rome
Karl Schinkel (1781 – 1841) was a Prussian architect. His most famous buildings are found in and around Berlin. He also designed the Iron Cross
George Gilbert Scott (1811 – 1878) designed St Pancras station, the Foreign Office and the Albert Memorial
George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (1839 – 1897) was an architect working in late Gothic and Queen Anne revival styles. He was the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott, and father of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. He died in Midland Grand Hotel, a building designed by his father
Giles Gilbert Scott (1880 – 1960) designed Liverpool’s Anglican cathedral (primarily constructed of sandstone), Battersea power station, Bankside power station, Waterloo Bridge and the K2 red telephone box (1936)
Richard Seifert (1910 – 2001) was a British architect, born in Zurich. He is best known for designing the NatWest Tower (now called Tower 42) and Centre Point
Richard Norman Shaw (1831 – 1912) designed Bedford Park, New Scotland Yard, and Piccadilly Hotel
Robert Smirke (1780 – 1867) was one of the leaders of Greek Revival architecture. Smirke designed the main block and facade of the British Museum
Peter Smithson (1923 – 2003) and Alison Smithson (1928 – 1993) together formed an architectural partnership, and are often associated with the New Brutalism. They wanted “streets in the sky”. Designed a number of buildings at the University of Bath
John Soane (1753 – 1837) designed the Bank of England in 1788. He also designed Dulwich Picture Gallery
James Stirling (1926 – 1992) was the first British winner of the Pritzker Prize, in 1981. Designed the Clore Gallery for the Turner Collection at Tate Britain
Louis Sullivan (1856 – 1924) was called the “father of modernism.” He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, and was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright and an inspiration to architects of the Prairie School. “Form follows function” – Louis Sullivan
Kenzo Tange (1913 – 2005) designed the Peace Garden of Hiroshima, and Abuja. The gymnasium and swimming pool for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were designed by Kenzo Tange
Yoshio Taniguchi (born 1937) is a Japanese architect best known for his redesign of the Museum of Modern Art in New York which was reopened in 2004
Jorn Utzon (1918 – 2008) was a Danish architect who designed Sydney Opera House. Other works include Bagsvard Church near Copenhagen and the National Assembly Building in Kuwait. He also made important contributions to housing design, especially with his Kingo Houses near Helsingor
William Van Alen (1883 – 1954) was an American architect, best known as the architect in charge of designing New York City's Chrysler Building which was completed in 1930
John Vanburgh (1664 – 1726) designed Castle Howard. Blenheim Palace was designed by John Vanburgh in1705 for the Duke of Marlborough. Vanburgh also wrote Restoration comedies
Otto Wagner (1841 – 1918) was an Austrian architect and urban planner, known for many buildings in Vienna, including stations on the Metropolitan Railway
Alfred Waterhouse (1830 – 1905) was associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He designed Strangeways prison, Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum
Aston Webb (1849 – 1930) completed the Victoria and Albert Museum, and gave a new facade to Buckingham Palace. Admiralty Arch was designed by Aston Webb. He was President of the Royal Academy from 1919 to 1924, and the founding Chairman of the London Society, from 1912
Stanford White (1853 – 1906) designed the second Madison Square Garden (1890; demolished in 1925), Washington Square Arch, and New York Herald Building
Colin St John Wilson (1922 – 2007) spent over 30 years progressing the project to build a new British Library in London, originally planned to be built in Bloomsbury and now completed near Kings Cross in 1997
John Wood (1704 – 1754) designed a number of buildings in Bath, including Queen Square, and The Circus. His son, John, designed the Bath Assembly Rooms and Royal Crescent
Christopher Wren (1632 – 1723) was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710. Other notable buildings by Wren include the south front of Hampton Court Palace, Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford, Marlborough house in Pall Mall, Flamsteed House in Greenwich Park, Greenwich Hospital, the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and St Bride’s church, and St Mary-le-Bow church. The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known as The Monument, is a Roman Doric column designed by Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke. He was also a noted scientist, and he was a founder of the Royal Society
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959) designed more than 1,000 structures, 532 of which were completed. Wright believed in designing structures that were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. Wright was a leader of the Prairie School movement of architecture. His most famous private residence, Fallingwater, at Bear Run, Pennsylvania, was constructed from 1935 to 1939.
He also designed the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. His estate in Wisconsin was known as Taliesin (Taliesin in Welsh mythology was a poet, magician, and priest)
Minoru Yamasaki (1912 – 1986) designed Pruitt–Igoe, a large housing project first occupied in 1954 in St Louis. Its buildings were torn down in the mid-1970s, and the project has become an icon of urban renewal and public-policy planning failure. The World Trade Center in New York City (sometimes informally referred to as the Twin Towers) was a complex of seven buildings, mostly designed by Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki and developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Peter Zumthor (born 1943) is a Swiss architect and winner of the 2009 Pritzker Prize. His best known projects are the Kunsthaus Bregenz, a shimmering glass and concrete cube that overlooks Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Austria, and the cave-like thermal baths in Vals, Switzerland
Awards
Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded annually since 1979 by the Hyatt Foundation to honour a living architect. Winners include – Philip Johnson (1979), James Stirling (1981), IM Pei (1983), Kenzo Tange (1987), Oscar Niemeyer (1988), Frank Gehry (1989), Renzo Piano (1998), Norman Foster (1999), Rem Koolhaas (2000), Herzog and de Meuron (2001), Jorn Utzon (2003), Zaha Hadid (2004), Paulo Mendes da Rocha (2006), Richard Rogers (2007)
The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture or Mies van der Rohe award is a prize for architecture given every two years since 1988 by the European Commission. Won by Rem Koolhaas in 2005
Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is given for a distinguished body of work rather than for one building
RIBA Stirling Prize is named after the architect James Stirling. The award was founded in 1996. First winner was Stephen Hodder. For years prior to 1996, the award was known as the ‘Building of the Year Award’
Carbuncle Cup is an architecture prize, given annually by the magazine Building Design to ‘the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months’
