Architecture The process and product of planning, designing and construction The word architecture comes from the ancient Greek word: arkhitekton, meaning “chief” and “builder

Depending on the context of the word, it’s basic definition can have the following meanings; The art of designing buildings, physical structures, objects and spaces A method or style of building or structural design A plan or drawing to organize the space of a building or structure

The activity of design, from a large scale such as urban and landscape design, to a smaller scale such as building construction details The term used in relation to the profession of an architect, whose services include the design and construction of a building or a group of buildings, including the space within and around the building or group of buildings

A generic term to describe a man-made building or structure, or a collective of buildings and structures

Influences on Architecture Architecture is influenced by a great range of different aspects of human behaviour and environment, leading to differing building forms.

Climate One of the most significant influences on the architecture is the macro climate of the area in which the building is constructed Buildings in cold climates invariably have high thermal mass or significant amounts of insulation

Climate They are usually sealed in order to prevent heat loss, and openings such as windows tend to be small or non-existent Buildings in warm climates, by contrast, tend to be constructed of lighter materials and to allow significant cross-ventilation through openings in the fabric of the building.

Buildings for a continental climate must be able to cope(MANAGE) with significant variations in temperature, and may even be altered by their occupants according to the seasons. Buildings take different forms depending on precipitation levels in the region

Flat roofs are rare in areas with high levels of precipitation(rainfall). Areas with high winds will lead to specialised buildings able to cope with them, and buildings will be oriented to present minimal area to the direction of prevailing winds.

Culture The way of life of building occupants, and the way they use their shelters, is of great influence on building forms The size of family units, who shares which spaces, how food is prepared and eaten, how people interact and many other cultural considerations will affect the layout and size of dwellings

For example, the family units of several East African tribes live in family compounds, surrounded by marked boundaries, in which separate single-roomed dwellings are built to house different members of the family

Religious influences Religions form the foundation of cultural identity and have decisively shaped world civilizations Sacred, religious and holy structures often evolved over centuries and were the largest buildings in the world, prior to the modern skyscraper

Indian architecture Temple architecture embodies(expresses) the faith with sanctuary walls accommodating statues, sacred emblems(distinctive badge of a nation, organization, or family), and myths(a traditional story) of the Hindu religion Indian architecture comprises a blend of ancient and varied native traditions, with building types, forms and technologies from West, Central Asia, and Europe.

Buddhist architecture developed in South Asia beginning in the third century BCE. Two types of structures are associated with early Buddhism: viharas and stupas. Basic form stupa is a solid dome crowned by a parasol. Stupas were initially burial mounds for relics

Brihadeeswara Temple

Islam Byzantine architecture had a great influence on early Islamic architecture with its characteristic round arches, vaults and domes Many forms of mosques have evolved in different regions of the Islamic world. Notable mosque types include the early Abbasid mosques, T-type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of Anatolia.

Mosque at cardoba spain

The earliest styles in Islamic architecture produced Arab-plan or hypostyle mosques during the Umayyad Dynasty. These mosques follow a square or rectangular plan with enclosed courtyard and covered prayer hall Most early hypostyle mosques had flat prayer hall roofs, which required numerous columns and supports.[

The Ottomans introduced central dome mosques in the 15th century that have a large dome centered over the prayer hall. A common feature in mosques is the minaret, the tall, slender tower that usually is situated at one of the corners of the mosque structure