If you don’t know your Baroque from your Rococo, or the difference between Art Nouveau and Art Deco, or where Modernism ends and Postmodernism begins, then don’t fear, you’re not alone. Understanding Architecture will reveal all. From the ancient world to the present day, from medieval Cambodian temples to Paris metro stations, from American shotgun shacks to colonial villas, fascist grandeur to the latest ecologically friendly structures, the book expertly guides the reader through the world’s different architectural styles. Arranged chronologically, over two spreads a major building is used to illustrate a particular style – King’s College Chapel, Cambridge for Perpendicular Gothic, the Palace of Versailles for Baroque, the Chrysler Building for Art Deco. Each entry is illustrated with both general view photographs and close-ups, accompanied by accessible text explaining the major features of the style. Each chapter also offers a general cultural background to the major architectural movements, putting them into historical context. Illustrated with more than 200 outstanding photographs of remarkable buildings, Understanding Architectureis an excellent, accessible introduction to the history of architecture.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Architecture of the Ancient World Sumerian – Ziggurat of Ur Ancient Egyptian – Luxor Temple Mesoamerican – Chichén Itzá Assyrian – Palace of Sargon Ancient Greek – The Acropolis, Athens Ancient Rome – The Colosseum, Rome Architecture of the Middle Ages Persian/Islamic – Tomb of the Samanids, Bukhara Byzantine – Hagia Sophia, Istanbul Moorish – Alhambra, Granada Medieval Rus’ – Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, Vladimir Romanesque – Leaning tower of Pisa Norman – Norwich Cathedral Medejar – San Martin Tower, Teruel Gothic – Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris Ming China – The Forbidden City, Beijing Perpendicular Gothic – King’s College chapel, Cambridge 15th–16th Century Architecture Renaissance – Florence Cathedral Vernacular Tudor – Anne Hathaway’s cottage, Stratford-upon-Avon Manueline – Santa Cruz Monastery, Coimbra High Renaissance – The Tempietto, Rome Mannerism – Palazzo Te, Mantua Middle Muscovite – Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow Elizabethan – Burghley House, Stamford 17th Century Architecture Baroque – Palace of Versailles Jacobean – Hatfield House Palladian – Queen’s House, Greenwich Late Muscovite – Church of the Intercession at Fili, Moscow Rococo – Schönbrunn Palace Mughal – Taj Mahal, Agra 18th Century Architecture Petrine Baroque – Grand Menshikov Palace, Oranienbaum American Colonial – Old State House, Boston Queen Anne – Bluecoat Chambers, Liverpool Georgian – The Circus, Bath Neoclassical – Vilnius Cathedral Gothic Revival – Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Ostend Pombaline – Praça do Comércio, Lisbon Federal – Old Town Hall, Salem Jeffersonian – Monticello, Charlottesville 19th Century Architecture British Regency – Park Crescent, London Beaux-Arts – Sainte- Geneviève Library, Paris Victorian – Manchester Town Hall Art Nouveau – Museum of Applied Arts Arts and Crafts – Red House, Bexleyheath Antoni Gaudí – Sagrada Família, Barcelona Parkitecture – Crater Lake Lodge, Oregon 20th Century Architecture Edwardian – Moseley Road Baths, Birmingham Bauhaus – Bauhaus Dessau Art Deco – Chrysler Building, New York City Futurist – Fiat Tagliero Service Station, Fascist – Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, Rome Pueblo Revival – New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe International Style – Willis Tower, Chicago Stalinist – Moscow State University Brutalist – Cité Radieuse, Marseille Postmodern – Berlin Philharmonie High Tech – Lloyd’s Building, London Masters of the 20th Century Frank Lloyd Wright – Taliesin West, Scottsdale Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Seagram Building, New York City Le Corbusier – Villa Savoye, Poissy I.M.Pei – Suzhou Museum Oscar Niemeyer – Cathedral of Brasília Frank O. Gehry – Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao Álvaro Siza – Llobregat Sports Centre, Barcelona Norman Foster – 30 St Mary Axe, London Zaha Hadid – London Aquatics Centre Santiago Calatrava – Lisbon Oriente Station 21st Century Architecture Passivhaus – The Enterprise Centre, University of East Anglia Biomimetic – Supertrees, Singapore Reinvention – Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art, Cape Town Modern Arab Islamic – Louvre Abu Dhabi