# Architecture History
Confidence: high
Last verified: 2026-05-22
Generation: ai_assisted


## 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)