---
id:"kb-2026-00414"
title:"Architecture History"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"arts"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"A Global History of Architecture (Ching, Jarzombek, Prakash)"
    type:"book"
    year:2017
    url:"https://www.wiley.com/en-us/A+Global+History+of+Architecture%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781118981337"
    institution:"Wiley"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Architecture history spans from megalithic structures (Stonehenge, ~3000 BCE) to contemporary skyscrapers. Major styles: Classical (Greek/Roman columns), Gothic (pointed arches, flying buttresses), Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Modernist (Bauhaus, Le Corbusier), Postmodern, Parametric (Zaha Hadid). Form follows function vs. ornament as crime.

## Core Explanation

Greek orders: Doric (simple), Ionic (scrolls), Corinthian (leaves). Gothic cathedrals: Chartres, Notre-Dame — structural innovations enabled soaring height and stained glass. Modernism: 'Less is more' (Mies van der Rohe). Frank Lloyd Wright: Fallingwater (organic architecture). Burj Khalifa: 828m (2010, tallest building). Sagrada Familia: Gaudi's masterpiece, started 1882, still under construction.

## Further Reading

- [A Global History of Architecture (Ching, Jarzombek, Prakash)](https://www.wiley.com/en-us/A+Global+History+of+Architecture%2C+3rd+Edition-p-9781118981337)