Portal:Architecture

A mosque (/mɒsk/ MOSK), also called a masjid (/ˈmæsdʒɪd, ˈmʌs-/ MASS-jid, MUSS-), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.

Originally, mosques were simple places of prayer for the early Muslims, and may have been open spaces rather than elaborate buildings. In the first stage of Islamic architecture (650–750 CE), early mosques comprised open and closed covered spaces enclosed by walls, often with minarets, from which the Islamic call to prayer was issued on a daily basis. It is typical of mosque buildings to have a special ornamental niche (a mihrab) set into the wall in the direction of the city of Mecca (the qibla), which Muslims must face during prayer, as well as a facility for ritual cleansing (wudu). The pulpit (minbar), from which public sermons (khutbah) are delivered on the event of Friday prayer, was, in earlier times, characteristic of the central city mosque, but has since become common in smaller mosques. To varying degrees, mosque buildings are designed so that there are segregated spaces for men and women. This basic pattern of organization has assumed different forms depending on the region, period, and Islamic denomination. (Full article...)

St. Michael's Cathedral (German: Kathedrale St. Michael; simplified Chinese: 圣弥爱尔大教堂; traditional Chinese: 聖彌愛爾大教堂; 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, on the east side of Zhongshan Road 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...)

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...)

The Harry F. Sinclair House 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. After the house gradually fell into disrepair, 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...)

The I.G. Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the Westend Campus of the University of Frankfurt. Construction began in 1928 and was complete in 1930 as the corporate headquarters of the I.G. Farben conglomerate, then the world's largest chemical company and the world's fourth-largest company overall.

The building's original design in the modernist New Objectivity style was the subject of a competition which was eventually won by the architect Hans Poelzig. On its completion, the complex was the largest office building in Europe and remained so until the 1950s. The I.G. Farben Building's six square wings retain a modern, spare elegance, despite its mammoth size. It is also notable for its paternoster elevators. (Full article...)

St Nicholas is the Anglican parish church of Blakeney, Norfolk, in the deanery of Holt and the Diocese of Norwich. The church was founded in the 13th century, but the greater part of the church dates from the 15th century when Blakeney was a seaport of some importance. Of the original structure only the chancel has survived rebuilding, perhaps owing to its link to a nearby Carmelite friary. An unusual architectural feature is a second tower, used as a beacon, at the east end (the church stands just inland from, and about 30 metres (98 ft) above, the small port). Other significant features are the vaulted chancel with a stepped seven-light lancet window, and the hammerbeam roof of the nave. St Nicholas is a nationally important building, with a Grade I listing for its exceptional architectural interest.

Much of the original church furniture was lost in the Reformation, but a late-Victorian restoration recreated something of the original appearance, as well as repairing and refacing the building.
The Victorian woodwork was created to match the few older pieces that remained, or to follow a similar style; thus, the new wooden pulpit follows the themes of the medieval font. Of the stained glass smashed in the Reformation only fragments have been recovered, and these have been incorporated in a window in the north aisle of the church. Nine Arts and Crafts windows by James Powell and Sons are featured on the east and south sides of the church, and the north porch has two modern windows of predominantly blue colour. St Nicholas contains some notable memorials, including several plaques for the Blakeney lifeboats and their crews, and much pre-Reformation graffiti, particularly depictions of ships. The location of the latter suggests that they were votive in nature, although the saint concerned is now unknown. (Full article...)

The buildings of Nuffield College, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, are to the west of the city centre of Oxford, England, and stand on the site of the basin of the Oxford Canal. Nuffield College was founded in 1937 after a donation to the University by the car manufacturer Lord Nuffield; he gave land for the college, as well as £900,000 (approximately £246 million in present-day terms) to build and endow it. The architect Austen Harrison, who had worked in Greece and Palestine, was appointed by the University to design the buildings. His initial design, heavily influenced by Mediterranean architecture, was rejected by Nuffield, who called it "un-English" and refused to allow his name to be associated with it. Harrison reworked the plans, aiming for "something on the lines of Cotswold domestic architecture", as Nuffield wanted.

Construction of the second design began in 1949 and was finished in 1960. Progress was hampered by post-war building restrictions, and the effects of inflation on Nuffield's donation led to various cost-saving changes to the plans. In one change, the tower, which had been planned to be ornamental, was redesigned to hold the college's library. It was the first tower built in Oxford for 200 years and is about 150 feet (46 m) tall, including the flèche on top. The buildings are arranged around two quadrangles, with residential accommodation for students and fellows in one, and the hall, library and administrative offices in the other. The chapel has stained glass windows designed by John Piper. (Full article...)

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...)

The main buildings of Jesus College, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, are located in the centre of the city of Oxford, England, between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street, and Market Street. Jesus College was founded in 1571 by Elizabeth I caused by the petition of a Welsh clergyman, Hugh Price, who was treasurer of St David's Cathedral. Her foundation charter gave to the college the land and buildings of White Hall, a university hall that had experienced a decline in student numbers. Price added new buildings to those of White Hall, and construction work continued after his death in 1574. The first of the college's quadrangles, which includes the hall, chapel, and principal's lodgings was completed between 1621 and 1630. Construction of the second quadrangle began in the 1630s, but was interrupted by the English Civil War and was not completed until about 1712. Further buildings were erected in a third quadrangle during the 20th century, including science laboratories (now closed), a library for undergraduates, and additional accommodation for students and fellows. In addition to the main site, the college owns flats in east and north Oxford, and a sports ground.

The chapel, which was dedicated in 1621 and extended in 1636, was extensively altered in 1864 under the supervision of the architect George Edmund Street. The alterations have had their supporters and their critics; one historian of the college (Ernest Hardy, principal from 1921 to 1925) described the work as "ill-considered". The hall's original hammerbeam roof was hidden by a plaster ceiling in 1741 when rooms were installed in the roof space. The principal's lodgings, the last part of the first quadrangle to be constructed, contain wooden panelling from the early 17th century. The Fellows' Library in the second quadrangle dates from 1679 and contains 11,000 antiquarian books; it was restored at a cost of £700,000 in 2007. A new Junior Common Room, about twice the size of its predecessor, was completed in the third quadrangle in 2002. Further student and teaching rooms were added in Ship Street, opposite the college, in 2010. (Full article...)

El Lissitzky (Russian: Эль Лиси́цкий, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky Russian: Ла́зарь Ма́ркович Лиси́цкий, listen; 23 November [O.S. 11 November] 1890 – 30 December 1941), was a Russian and Soviet artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the avant-garde, helping develop suprematism with his mentor, Kazimir Malevich, and designing numerous exhibition displays and propaganda works for the Soviet Union.

Lissitzky began his career illustrating Yiddish children's books in an effort to promote Jewish culture. He started teaching at the age of 15, maintaining his teaching career for most of his life. Over the years, he taught in a variety of positions, schools, and artistic media, spreading and exchanging ideas. He took this ethic with him when he worked with Malevich in heading the suprematist art group UNOVIS, when he developed a variant suprematist series of his own, Proun, and further still in 1921, when he moved to Weimar Republic. In his remaining years he brought significant innovation and change to typography, exhibition design, photomontage, and book design, producing critically respected works and winning international acclaim for his exhibition design. This continued until his deathbed, where in 1941 he produced one of his last works – a Soviet propaganda poster rallying the people to construct more tanks for the fight against Nazi Germany. (Full article...)

West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Baronet. The house is a long rectangle with four façades that are columned and pedimented, three theatrically so. The house encapsulates the entire progression of British 18th-century architecture from early idiosyncratic Palladian to the Neoclassical, although anomalies in its design make it architecturally unique. The mansion is set within an 18th-century landscaped park containing many small temples and follies, which act as satellites to the greater temple, the house.

The house, a Grade I listed building, was given to the National Trust in 1943 by Sir John Dashwood, 10th Baronet (1896–1966), an action strongly resented by his heir. Dashwood retained ownership of the surrounding estate and the contents of the house, most of which he sold; after his death, the house was restored at the expense of his son, the 11th Baronet. Today, while the structure is owned by the National Trust, the house is still the home of the Dashwood family. The house is open to the public during the summer months and is a venue for civil weddings and corporate entertainment, which help to fund its maintenance and upkeep. (Full article...)

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, 604-foot (184 m) Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading venue of the CBOT and later the CME Group, formed in 2007 by the merger of the CBOT and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 2012, the CME Group sold the CBOT Building to a consortium of real estate investors, including GlenStar Properties LLC and USAA Real Estate Company.

The CBOT has been located at the site since 1885. A building designed by William W. Boyington stood at the location from 1885 to 1929, being the tallest building in Chicago from its construction until its clock tower was removed in 1895. The Boyington building became unsound in the 1920s and was demolished in 1929, replaced by the current building designed by Holabird & Root. The current building was itself Chicago's tallest until 1965, when it was surpassed by the Richard J. Daley Center. (Full article...)

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...)

The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg. The building was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. It is also the main building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex.

The seat of government for the state was initially in Philadelphia, then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire. The second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899. (Full article...)

Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (13 March 1825 – 15 March 1898) was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's unique architectural identity and culture, and was appointed the first official Provincial Architect of the developing province of Canterbury. Heavily influenced by the Anglo-Catholic philosophy behind early Victorian architecture, he is credited with importing the Gothic Revival style to New Zealand. His Gothic designs constructed in both wood and stone in the province are considered unique to New Zealand. Today, he is considered the founding architect of the province of Canterbury. (Full article...)

Miami is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Florida, and its metropolitan area, with a population of 6.4 million, is the largest in the state. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the United States, after New York City and Chicago, and the fourth largest in North America. It has over 400 high-rises, 68 of which are taller than 492 feet (150 m), with six more that are topped out. The tallest building in the city is the 85-story Panorama Tower, completed in 2017, which rises 868 feet (265 m) in Miami's Brickell district. The top ten tallest buildings in Florida are located in Miami, and the top twenty are all in the city's metropolitan area.

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, and has continued into the 2020s, with Miami overtaking Houston as the city with the largest skyline in the southern United States. (Full article...)

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...)

Taunton Deane is a former local government district with borough status 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 Taunton Deane Area covers a population of approximately 100,000 in an area of 462 square kilometres (178 sq mi). It is centred on the town of Taunton, where around 60,000 of the population live and the council are based, and includes surrounding suburbs and villages. (Full article...)

There are 42 Grade I listed buildings in Maidstone. The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district in the English county of Kent. The district covers a largely rural area of 152 square miles (394 km²) between the North Downs and the Weald with the town of Maidstone, the county town of Kent, in the north-west. The district has a population of approximately 166,400 in 2016.

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, buildings are given listed building status by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, acting on the recommendation of Historic England. (Full article...)

Bath and North East Somerset (commonly referred to as BANES or B&NES) is a unitary authority created on 1 April 1996, following the abolition of the County of Avon, which had existed since 1974. Part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset occupies an area of 220 square miles (570 km²), two-thirds of which is green belt. It stretches from the outskirts of Bristol, south into the Mendip Hills and east to the southern Cotswold Hills and Wiltshire border. The city of Bath is the principal settlement in the district, but BANES also covers Keynsham, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and the Chew Valley. The area has a population of 170,000, about half of whom live in Bath, making it 12 times more densely populated than the rest of the area.

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, strict limitations are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or 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...)

The Japanese Sengoku period from the mid-15th to early 17th century was a time of nearly continual military conflict. Powerful military lords known as daimyōs, such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, struggled to unify Japan. During the Sengoku period, because of constant warfare, many fortifications and castles were built. Archetypal Japanese castle construction is a product of the Momoyama period and early Edo period.

A new era of castle construction began when the daimyo Nobunaga built Azuchi Castle from 1576 to 1579. Earlier fortifications of the Kamakura and Muromachi periods were crude large-scale structures; Azuchi, however, with rich ornamentation and a keep rising seven stories high, became the prototype for castle construction of the period. The style of Azuchi Castle marked a shift in the function of the castles from a place that was merely a fortress and military garrison to a political, cultural and economic center. The newer style castles functioned as home to the daimyōs, his family, and his most loyal retainers. Because of the expense of building such a lavish structure, castles in the style of Azuchi, functioned also to highlight the power and prestige of the daimyōs. These new castles were built of wood and plaster on a stone foundation. Generally the main keep or tenshu was positioned at the highest point, surrounded by a series of interlocking baileys with walls, small towers and pathways. Residential buildings were located in one of the outer circles. The daimyō conducted his business in the citadel. (Full article...)

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S state of Michigan, with a metropolitan area population of 4.4 million as of 2025. Detroit is home to 39 buildings taller than 300 feet (91 m), nine of which are skyscrapers with a height of 492 ft (150 m). Detroit has one of the largest skylines in the Midwestern United States, with the third most skyscrapers above 492 ft (150 m) in the region, after Chicago and Minneapolis. The tallest skyscraper in Detroit is the 70-story Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, which rises 727 ft (221.5 m) along the Detroit International Riverfront in the city's downtown.^[A] The skyscraper is one of seven towers in the Renaissance Center complex, which has served as the headquarters of General Motors since 1996, reflecting the city's role in the automotive industry. The Detroit Marriott is the tallest building in Michigan and was the tallest hotel building in the world upon completion in 1977; it is currently the third tallest in the Western Hemisphere.

Detroit's history of skyscrapers began in 1889, with completion of the historic 10-story Hammond Building—considered the city's first steel-framed skyscraper. Detroit grew to become the fourth-largest city in the United States by the 1920s, and witnessed a massive building boom during the Roaring Twenties. Many ornate skyscrapers were build during this period, including the Penobscot, Guardian, Fisher, Buhl, and David Stott buildings. This resulted in Detroit having one of the world's largest skylines at the time outside of New York City and Chicago. By 1930, the city had thirteen 300-foot buildings. The Great Depression brought an end to the boom. (Full article...)

Sedgemoor 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.

Sedgemoor is a low-lying area of land close to sea level between the Quantock and Mendip hills, historically largely marsh (or moor). It contains the bulk of the area also known as the Somerset Levels, including Europe's oldest known engineered roadway, the Sweet Track. (Full article...)

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 2025. 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...)

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...)

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...)

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). The tallest building in Minneapolis is the 57-story IDS Center, which rises 792 feet (241 m) and was designed by architect Philip Johnson. The tower has been the tallest building in the state of Minnesota since its completion in 1973, and is the 66th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city and the state is Capella Tower, which rises 775 feet (236 m) and was completed in 1992. Overall, seventeen of the twenty tallest buildings in Minnesota are located in Minneapolis. Additionally, 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 the city began with the construction of the Lumber Exchange Building, now also known as the Edison Building, in 1886; this structure, rising 165 feet (50 m) and 12 floors, is often regarded as the first skyscraper in Minnesota and one of the first fire-proof buildings in the country. The Lumber Exchange Building also 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, and then experienced a much larger boom lasting from 1960 to the early 1990s. During this time, 24 of the city's 36 tallest buildings were constructed, including the IDS Center, Capella Tower and Wells Fargo Center. The city is the site of twelve skyscrapers at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, including three which rank among the tallest in the United States. As of 2021^[update], the skyline of Minneapolis is ranked 2nd in the Midwest (after Chicago), 11th in the United States, and 82nd in the world with 32 buildings rising at least 328 feet (100 m). (Full article...)

San Francisco is a major city in the U.S state of California. The broader San Francisco Bay Area has a population of up to 9.2 million residents as of 2023. San Francisco has over 480 high-rises, 126 of which are at least 300 feet (91 m) tall. San Francisco has one of the largest skylines in the Western United States. It has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in California, with 26, after Los Angeles. When ranked by buildings that reach 300 ft (91 m), San Francisco has more skyscrapers than Los Angeles. The tallest building in the city is Salesforce Tower, a supertall skyscraper completed in 2018 at a height of 1,070 ft (326.1 m). It is the 18th-tallest building in the United States and the second tallest in California.

The history of skyscrapers in San Francisco began with the 218-foot (66 m), ten-story Chronicle Building, which was completed in 1890. During the 1920s, San Francisco underwent one of the largest pre-war skyscraper booms in the United States, constructing ten structures greater than 300 ft (91 m), including the Telephone Building and the Russ Building. The Great Depression and World War II halted skyscraper development for two decades until the 1950s. Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers, were built in a major construction boom between the 1960s and the late 1980s. This included the iconic Transamerica Pyramid in 1972, which rises to 853 feet (260 m). (Full article...)

The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture." Founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy, the award is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation. It is considered to be one of the world's premier architecture prizes, and is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. (Full article...)

Charles Holden (12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s. Other notable designs were Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and the University of London's Senate House. Many of his buildings have been granted listed building status, indicating that they are considered to be of architectural or historical interest and protecting them from unapproved alteration. He also designed over 60 war cemeteries and two memorials in Belgium and northern France for the Imperial War Graves Commission from 1920 to 1928.

Holden's early architectural training was in Bolton and Manchester where he worked for architects Everard W. Leeson and Jonathan Simpson before moving to London. After a short period with Arts and Crafts designer Charles Robert Ashbee, he went to work for Henry Percy Adams in 1899. He became Adams' partner in the firm in 1907 and remained with it for the rest of his career. (Full article...)

The Mezhyhirya Savior-Transfiguration Monastery (Ukrainian: Межигірський Спасо-Преображенський монастир, romanized: Mezhyhirskyi Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Monastyr) was an Eastern Orthodox female monastery that was located in the neighborhood of Mezhyhiria outside of the Vyshhorod city limits.

The monastery was located just 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the north of Vyshhorod. Today, the territory is part of the Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast (province) in northern Ukraine. The location is situated in the Mezhyhirya ravine, on the right bank of the Dnieper River in close proximity to the Kyiv Reservoir. (Full article...)

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and includes the Clinton Presidential Library, the offices of the Clinton Foundation, and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. It is the thirteenth presidential library to have been completed in the United States, the eleventh to be operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, and the third to comply with the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

It is situated on 17 acres (69,000 m²) of land located next to the Arkansas River and Interstate 30 and was designed by architectural firm Polshek Partnership, LLP with exhibition design by Ralph Appelbaum Associates. Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects also contributed. The main building cantilevers over the Arkansas River, echoing Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century". With a 68,698-square-foot (6,382.3 m²) floor plan, the library itself is the largest presidential library in terms of physical area, although the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has the greatest space overall, due to its addition of the 90,000 square feet (8,400 m²) Air Force One Pavilion in 2005. The archives are the largest as well, containing 2 million photographs, 80 million pages of documents, 21 million e-mail messages, and 79,000 artifacts from the Clinton presidency. The Clinton Library is also the most expensive, with all funding coming from 112,000 private donations. (Full article...)

The Édifice Price (English: Price Building) is an 18-floor (originally 16) skyscraper in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1928–1930 amid controversy for Price Brothers Limited, it is the tallest building in the Old Quebec historical district, as well as one of the oldest skyscrapers in Canada. The building is the property of Ivanhoé Cambridge, a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. A memorial is attached to the building. In 2001, it became the location of an official residence for the Premier of Quebec, which occupies two of the upper floors. (Full article...)

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...)

Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about 10,872 acres (4,400 ha).

The first substantial house on the site was built in the 17th century. During the early 19th century it was replaced by a much larger house designed by William Porden. This in turn was replaced by an even larger house, with outbuildings and a chapel, designed by Alfred Waterhouse. Its construction started in 1870 and concluded about 12 years later. By 1960 the fabric of the house had deteriorated and, like many other mansions during this period, it was demolished, although the chapel and many of the outbuildings were retained. A new house was built but its design was not considered to be sympathetic to the local landscape, and in the late 1980s it was re-cased and given the appearance of a French château. (Full article...)

The New Bedford Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District in New Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, west of the community's waterfront. During the 19th century, when the city was the center of the American whaling industry, this was its downtown. After its decline in the early and mid-20th century, through the efforts of local activist groups the district has since been preserved and restored to appear much as it was during that period.

Most of its buildings were erected between 1790 and 1855 by Russell Warren and other builders working in the Federal and Greek Revival architectural styles. Many of them reflect the legacy of whaling in the city's development. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Later it was recognized as a local historic district and protected by local zoning. One building within it, the U.S. Customhouse, is the oldest such facility currently in use and has been independently recognized as an NHL. Since 1996 the district has also been a part of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. (Full article...)

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...)

108 North State Street, often referred to as Block 37, is a shopping mall and development situated in the Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. This site is defined by the square block bordered by West Randolph Street, North State Street, West Washington Street, and North Dearborn Street, originally designated as one of the city's 58 blocks. While the above-ground redevelopment has been finished, construction on an underground station was halted, leaving it only partially completed.

The previous buildings on the block were demolished in 1989 for a hotly contested redevelopment plan under the then Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. The debates included the demolition of the Chicago Landmark McCarthy Building, which proceeded after the Illinois Supreme Court decided private preservation groups did not have standing to challenge the city's decision. (Full article...)

The Franklin Center is a 60-story supertall skyscraper in the Loop neighborhood of downtown Chicago. Completed in 1989 as the AT&T Corporate Center to consolidate the central region headquarters of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), it stands at a height of 1,007 ft (307 m) and contains 1.7 million sq ft (160,000 m²) of floor space. It is located two blocks east of the Chicago River and northeast of the Willis Tower with a main address of 227 West Monroe Street and an alternate address of 100 South Franklin Street.

The building is the tallest constructed in Chicago in the last quarter of the 20th century. It is the 6th tallest building in Chicago and the 23rd tallest in the United States. It contains office and retail space and a 350-space garage. (Full article...)

Antonin Raymond (or Czech: Antonín Raymond), born as Antonín Reimann (10 May 1888 – 25 October 1976) was a Czech American architect. Raymond was born and studied in Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic), working later in the United States and Japan. Raymond was also the Consul of Czechoslovakia to Japan from 1926 to 1939, in which year the Czech diplomacy was closed down after the occupation of the European country by Nazi Germany.

Raymond's initial work with American architects Cass Gilbert and Frank Lloyd Wright gave him an insight into the use of concrete for texture and structure that he would refine throughout his six-decade career. At studio practices in New Hope, Pennsylvania and Tokyo, he explored traditional Japanese building techniques combined with the latest In American building innovations. Raymond applied these principles to a wide range of residential, commercial, religious, and institutional projects in Japan, America, India, and the Philippines. (Full article...)

The Chicago Spire is a canceled skyscraper project that was partially built between 2007 and 2008 located at 400 Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. If completed, it would have stood 2,000 feet (610 m) high with 150 floors and been the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. When originally proposed as the Fordham Spire in July 2005, the design had 116 stories, included a hotel and condominiums, and was topped with a broadcast antenna mast. The building was designed and spearheaded by Spanish architect-engineer Santiago Calatrava and Chicago developer Christopher T. Carley of the Fordham Company. On March 16, 2006, the Chicago Plan Commission unanimously approved the initial design of the building. Initial construction started but the Great Recession began in late 2007. On November 4, 2014, a court ruling brought the original development plan and the extended litigation over the nine-year-old project to a close. Developer Garrett Kelleher signed over the property location to the project's biggest creditor, Related Midwest, who announced that they would not build the Spire and made plans for the two tower 400 Lake Shore by David Childs. (Full article...)

Fort Pasir Panjang or Labrador Battery is located within Labrador Park at the southern tip of Singapore island. It was one of the 11 coastal artillery forts built by the British in the 19th century to defend the western passageway into Keppel Harbour against piracy and foreign naval powers. During the 1942 Battle of Pasir Panjang, the fort played a supporting role but a limited one in defending the Malay Regiments against the Japanese invasion at Bukit Chandu. In 1995, the site was gazetted by the National Heritage Board as one of the 11 World War II sites in Singapore. (Full article...)

The Joffrey Tower is a high-rise commercial real estate development on the northeast corner of North State Street and East Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States that is the permanent home of the Joffrey Ballet. It is located immediately south of the Chicago Theatre and directly across the street from Macy's largest Chicago (and its second largest overall) department store on State Street, within the Loop Retail Historic District. Its address had once been the site of the Chicago Masonic Temple. The placement of the Joffrey Ballet in this building appears to have involved political dealings with the Mayor of Chicago, Richard M. Daley and his brother, William M. Daley, a co-chairman of the Joffrey board of trustees. The building was scheduled for completion in December 2007, but was not finished until September 12, 2008. (Full article...)

The Sycamore Historic District is a meandering area encompassing 99 acres (400,000 m²) of the land in and around the downtown of the DeKalb County, Illinois county seat, Sycamore. The area includes historic buildings and a number of historical and Victorian homes. Some significant structures are among those located within the Historic District including the DeKalb County Courthouse and the Sycamore Public Library. The district has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 2, 1978.

There are over 200 properties within the irregular boundaries of the Sycamore Historic District. Of those, 187 are considered contributing properties to the historic district, and 22 are non-contributing. Of all of the district's homes and buildings 75% fit within the historic district concept. Some of the major structures include several prominent Queen Anne style mansions, the Sycamore library, the DeKalb County Courthouse, and dozens of mid- to late 19th-century houses. (Full article...)

The Arbor Hill Historic District–Ten Broeck Triangle, originally the Ten Broeck Historic District, is a seven-block area located within the Arbor Hill neighborhood north of what is today downtown Albany, New York, United States. In 1979 its easternmost third, the Ten Broeck Triangle, the second oldest residential neighborhood in the city, was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Four years later, the district was increased to its current size and renamed to reflect its expansion to include some of the rest of Arbor Hill.

The future district was first established by its oldest contributing property, the Ten Broeck Mansion, built at the end of the 18th century by a prominent local family. It lent its name to the Ten Broeck Triangle, established in the middle of the following century when successful businessmen, primarily lumber dealers, built large houses along Ten Broeck Avenue with the fortunes they had made from trade on the Erie Canal. It was one of the first neighborhoods to develop north of the city's downtown as it grew during the 19th century. (Full article...)