Portal:Architecture

55 Wall Street, formerly the National City Bank Building, is an eight-story building on Wall Street between William and Hanover streets in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The lowest three stories were completed in either 1841 or 1842 as the four-story Merchants' Exchange and designed by Isaiah Rogers in the Greek Revival style. Between 1907 and 1910, McKim, Mead & White removed the original fourth story and added five floors to create the present building. Since 2006, the banking room has functioned as an event venue called the Cipriani Wall Street, while the upper stories have been a condominium development known as the Cipriani Club Residences.

55 Wall Street's granite facade includes two stacked colonnades facing Wall Street, each with twelve columns. Inside is a cruciform banking hall with a 60-foot (18 m) vaulted ceiling, Corinthian columns, marble floors and walls, and an entablature around the interior. The banking hall was among the largest in the United States when it was completed. The offices of Citibank's predecessor National City Bank were in the corners of the banking hall, while the fourth through eighth floors were used as office space. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP. (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 St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It is located on the edge of the bank of the Dnipro river, to the northeast of the Saint Sophia Cathedral. The site is in the historical administrative neighbourhood of Upper Town and overlooks Podil, the city's historical commercial and merchant quarter. The monastery has been the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine since December 2018.

Built in the Middle Ages by the Kievan Rus' ruler Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych, the monastery comprises the cathedral church, the Refectory Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, constructed in 1713, the Economic Gate, constructed in 1760, and the bell tower, which was added in the 1710s. The exterior of the structure was remodelled in the Ukrainian Baroque style during the 18th century; the interior retained its original Byzantine architecture. (Full article...)

Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet (c. 1630 – 1710), was a Scottish gentleman-architect, "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland," as Howard Colvin observes. As a key figure in introducing the Palladian style into Scotland, he has been compared to the pioneering English architects Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren, and to the contemporaneous introducers of French style in English domestic architecture, Hugh May and Sir Roger Pratt.

Bruce was a merchant in Rotterdam during the 1650s, and played a role in the Restoration of Charles II in 1659. He carried messages between the exiled king and General Monck, and his loyalty to the king was rewarded with lucrative official appointments, including that of Surveyor General of the King's Works in Scotland, effectively making Bruce the "king's architect". His patrons included John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, the most powerful man in Scotland at that time, and Bruce rose to become a member of Parliament, and briefly sat on the Privy Council of Scotland. (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...)

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...)

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 Tower House, 29 Melbury Road, is a late-Victorian townhouse in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London, built by the architect and designer William Burges as his home. Designed between 1875 and 1881, in the French Gothic Revival style, it was described by the architectural historian J. Mordaunt Crook as "the most complete example of a medieval secular interior produced by the Gothic Revival, and the last". The house is built of red brick, with Bath stone dressings and green roof slates from Cumbria, and has a distinctive cylindrical tower and conical roof. The ground floor contains a drawing room, a dining room and a library, while the first floor has two bedrooms and an armoury. Its exterior and the interior echo elements of Burges's earlier work, particularly Park House in Cardiff and Castell Coch. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1949.

Burges bought the lease on the plot of land in 1875. The house was built by the Ashby Brothers, with interior decoration by members of Burges's long-standing team of craftsmen such as Thomas Nicholls and Henry Stacy Marks. By 1878 the house was largely complete, although interior decoration and the designing of numerous items of furniture and metalwork continued until Burges's death in 1881. The house was inherited by his brother-in-law, Richard Popplewell Pullan. It was later sold to Colonel T. H. Minshall and then, in 1933, to Colonel E. R. B. Graham. The poet John Betjeman inherited the remaining lease in 1962 but did not extend it. Following a period when the house stood empty and suffered vandalism, it was purchased and restored, first by Lady Jane Turnbull, later by the actor Richard Harris and then by the musician Jimmy Page. (Full article...)

The Surrogate's Courthouse (also the Hall of Records and 31 Chambers Street) is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Completed in 1907, it was designed in the Beaux Arts style. John Rochester Thomas created the original plans while Arthur J. Horgan and Vincent J. Slattery oversaw the building's completion. The building faces City Hall Park and the Tweed Courthouse to the south, as well as the Manhattan Municipal Building to the east.

The Surrogate's Courthouse is a seven-story steel-framed structure with a granite facade and elaborate marble interiors. The architects used a fireproof frame so the structure could safely accommodate the city's paper records. The exterior is decorated with 54 sculptures by Philip Martiny and Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, as well as three-story colonnades with Corinthian columns along Chambers and Reade Streets. The basement houses the New York City Municipal Archives. The fifth floor contains the New York Surrogate's Court for New York County, which handles probate and estate proceedings for the New York State Unified Court System. (Full article...)

The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (originally the New York Custom House) is a government building, museum, and former custom house at 1 Bowling Green, near the southern end of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Designed by Cass Gilbert in the Beaux-Arts style, it was erected from 1902 to 1907 by the government of the United States as a headquarters for the Port of New York's duty collection operations. The building contains the George Gustav Heye Center museum, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, and the New York regional offices of the National Archives. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP.

The Custom House is a seven-story steel-framed structure with a stone facade and elaborate interiors. The exterior is decorated with nautical motifs and sculptures by twelve artists. The second through fourth stories contain colonnades with Corinthian columns. The main entrance consists of a grand staircase flanked by Four Continents, a set of four statues by Daniel Chester French. The second-story entrance vestibule leads to a transverse lobby, a rotunda, and offices. The rotunda includes a skylight and ceiling murals by Reginald Marsh. The George Gustav Heye Center, a branch of the National Museum of the American Indian, operates on the ground and second stories, while the upper stories contain U.S. government offices. (Full article...)

Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an English architect who supervised the construction of Holkham Hall, and became one of the best-known architects of his generation, despite coming from modest origins. Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand townhouse. As a result, he is often overlooked today, remembered principally for his Palladian remodelling of numerous country houses, many of them situated in the East Anglia area of Britain. As Brettingham neared the pinnacle of his career, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and neoclassicism was introduced, championed by the young Robert Adam.

Born in Norwich, into a family of craftsmen, Brettingham worked initially as a surveyor, gaining experience through jobs for the city's civic authorities. Work included restorations at Norwich Cathedral, at the castle, at the local prison and the shire hall. His professional ascent began in 1743 with his appointment to the post of Clerk of Works at Holkham. The succeeding decades saw many aristocratic commissions, predominantly in East Anglia, but including work at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire. (Full article...)

Castell Coch (Welsh for 'red castle'; Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkas.tɛɬ koːχ]) is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff and control the route along the River Taff. Abandoned shortly afterwards, the castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, which he built between 1267 and 1277 to control his freshly annexed Welsh lands. This castle may have been destroyed in the native Welsh rebellion of 1314. In 1760, the castle ruins were acquired by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, as part of a marriage settlement that brought the family vast estates in South Wales.

John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, with interests in architecture and antiquarian studies, he employed the architect William Burges to rebuild the castle, "as a country residence for occasional occupation in the summer", using the medieval remains as a basis for the design. Burges rebuilt the outside of the castle between 1875 and 1879, before turning to the interior; he died in 1881 and the work was finished by Burges's remaining team in 1891. Bute reintroduced commercial viticulture into Britain, planting a vineyard just below the castle, and wine production continued until the First World War. He made little use of his new retreat, and in 1950 his grandson, the 5th Marquess of Bute, placed it into the care of the state. It is now controlled by the Welsh heritage agency Cadw. (Full article...)

The New York Stock Exchange Building (also NYSE Building) is the headquarters of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is composed of two connected structures occupying much of the city block bounded by Wall Street, Broad Street, New Street, and Exchange Place. The central section of the block contains the original structure at 18 Broad Street, designed in the Classical Revival style by George B. Post. The northern section contains a 23-story office annex at 11 Wall Street, designed by Trowbridge & Livingston in a similar style.

The marble facade of 18 Broad Street contains colonnades facing east toward Broad Street and west toward New Street, both atop two-story podiums. The Broad Street colonnade, an icon of the NYSE, contains a pediment designed by John Quincy Adams Ward and Paul Wayland Bartlett, depicting commerce and industry. The facade of 11 Wall Street is simpler in design but contains architectural details similar to those at 18 Broad Street. Behind the colonnades at 18 Broad Street is the main trading floor, a 72-foot-tall (22 m) rectangular space. An additional trading floor, nicknamed the Garage, is at 11 Wall Street. There are offices and meeting rooms in the upper stories of 18 Broad Street and 11 Wall Street. (Full article...)

The construction of the first World Trade Center complex in New York City was conceived as an urban renewal project to help revitalize Lower Manhattan spearheaded by David Rockefeller. The project was developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Built primarily between 1966 and 1975, it was dedicated on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed on September 11, 2001. The idea for the World Trade Center arose after World War II as a way to supplement existing avenues of international commerce in the United States.

The World Trade Center was originally planned to be built on the east side of Lower Manhattan, but the New Jersey and New York state governments, which oversee the Port Authority, could not agree on this location. After extensive negotiations, the New Jersey and New York state governments agreed to support the World Trade Center project, which was built at the site of Radio Row in the Lower West Side of Manhattan, New York City. To make the agreement acceptable to New Jersey, the Port Authority agreed to take over the bankrupt Hudson & Manhattan Railroad, which brought commuters from New Jersey to the Lower Manhattan site and, upon the Port Authority's takeover of the railroad, was renamed PATH. (Full article...)

The Tweed Courthouse (also known as the Old New York County Courthouse) is a historic courthouse building at 52 Chambers Street in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. It was built in the Italianate style with Romanesque Revival interiors. William M. "Boss" Tweed – the corrupt leader of Tammany Hall, a political machine that controlled the New York state and city governments when the courthouse was built – oversaw the building's erection. The Tweed Courthouse served as a judicial building for New York County, a county of New York state coextensive with the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the second-oldest city government building in the borough, after City Hall.

The structure comprises pavilions to the east and west of a central section, as well as a rear wing to the south. Architect John Kellum and political appointee Thomas Little designed the first portion of the building, which was constructed from 1861 to 1872. Construction was interrupted in 1871 when Kellum died and the corruption involved in the building's construction was exposed to the public. The project was completed by architect Leopold Eidlitz, who added the rear wing and finished the interior between 1877 and 1881. (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) as of 2026. Of these, 11 have a height greater than 492 ft (150 m). Minneapolis has the second largest skyline in the Midwestern United States, after Chicago, with the second most buildings taller than 300 ft (91 m) or 492 ft (150 m) in the region. The tallest building in Minneapolis is the 57-story IDS Center, which rises 792 feet (241 m) and was designed by architect Philip Johnson. It is also the tallest building in Minnesota. Minneapolis and neighboring Saint Paul form the core of the Twin Cities, a metropolitan area of 3.7 million. Saint Paul has a smaller high-rise skyline of its own, approximately 8 miles east of Downtown Minneapolis. 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 Minneapolis began with the construction of the Lumber Exchange Building, now known as the Edison Building, in 1886; at 165 feet (50 m) and 12 floors, it is often regarded as the first skyscraper in Minnesota and one of the first fire-proof buildings in the country. The Lumber Exchange Building 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. This period saw the construction of the Lumen Technologies Building and the Foshay Tower, which was modelled after the Washington Monument. The Foshay Tower overtook the City Hall as the city's tallest building. Due to the Great Depression, few tall buildings were completed from the 1930s to 1950s. (Full article...)

There are 27 scheduled monuments in Maidstone, Kent, England. In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is an archaeological site or historic building of "national importance" that has been given protection against unauthorised change by being placed on a list (or "schedule") by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Historic England takes the leading role in identifying such sites. Scheduled monuments are defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983. They are also referred to as scheduled ancient monuments. There are about 20,000 scheduled monument entries on the list and more than one site can be included in a single entry. While a scheduled monument can also be recognised as a listed building, Historic England considers listed building status as a better way of protecting buildings than scheduled monument status. If a monument is considered by Historic England to "no longer merit scheduling" it can be removed from the schedule.

The borough of Maidstone is a local government district in the English county of Kent. The Maidstone 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 had a population of approximately 166,400 in 2016. The monuments range in date from a Neolithic standing stone to a tiny 18th-century mortuary, but the majority are medieval. (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, trailing behind Toronto. It has over 400 high-rises, 69 of which are taller than 492 feet (150 m) as of 2026, 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, with Miami overtaking Houston as the city with the largest skyline in the southern United States, and has continued into the 2020s. (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...)

Cleveland, the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio, is home to 51 completed high-rises taller than 200 feet (61 m), 21 of which have a height greater than 300 feet (91 m). By both metrics, Cleveland has the largest skyline in Ohio, ahead of Columbus and Cincinnati. The tallest building in Cleveland is the 57-story Key Tower, which rises 947 feet (289 m) on Public Square. The tower has been the tallest building in Ohio since its completion in 1991 and the tallest in the Midwestern United States outside of Chicago. The Terminal Tower, 771 feet (235 m), is the second tallest building in Cleveland and Ohio. At the time of its completion in 1927, the building was the tallest in the world outside New York City.

The history of skyscrapers in Cleveland began in 1889 with the construction of the Society for Savings Building, often called the city's first skyscraper. One of the largest cities in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, Cleveland went through an early building boom in the 1920s, during which several high-rises, most notably the Ohio Bell Building and the Terminal Tower, were constructed. The centerpiece of the Cleveland Union Terminal rail station, the Terminal Tower was more than twice the height of any other building in the city. It dominated Cleveland's skyline for decades, as high-rise development ceased in the wake of the Great Depression until the late 1950s. (Full article...)

Dallas is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest city in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 8.3 million as of 2024. Dallas is the site of 85 completed high-rise buildings over 300 feet (91 m), 20 of which stand taller than 492 ft (150 m). Dallas' skyline is one of the largest in the Southern United States. It has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in Texas, after Houston. The tallest building is the Bank of America Plaza, which rises 921 ft (281 m) in Downtown Dallas and was completed in 1985.

The history of skyscrapers in the city began with the 14-story Praetorian Building in 1909, often regarded the first in Dallas or even the entire Western United States. The 1920s saw the construction of notable office towers such as the Davis Building, Santa Fe Building, and the Magnolia Building. While Dallas' skyline was mostly unchaged during the Great Depression and World War II, the Mercantile National Bank Building was the only major office building completed during the war. Built in 1943, it was the tallest building completed during World War II. After the war, Dallas resumed high-rise construction earlier than most U.S cities. Gables Republic Tower, completed in 1958, was the first building to surpass 492 ft (150 m) in Dallas. From the mid-1950s to 1970s, the city's skyline grew steadily under a skyscraper boom downtown. Dallas' current second-tallest building, Renaissance Tower, was built during this period to a height of 710 ft (216 m). Its height was later increased to 886 ft (270 m) in 1986. (Full article...)

South Somerset is a former local government district in the English county of Somerset. The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles (958 km²), stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district had a population of about 158,000, and Yeovil was its administrative centre.

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. (Full article...)

Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, is home to many extremely tall modern high-rises, 108 of which stand taller than 180 metres (591 ft). The tallest building in Dubai is the Burj Khalifa, which rises 828 metres (2,717 ft) and contains 163 floors. The tower has stood as both the tallest building in the world and the tallest human-made structure of any kind in the world since its completion in January 2010. The second-tallest building in Dubai is the 425-metre (1,394 ft) Marina 101, which also stands as the world's fourth tallest residential skyscraper. The skyscrapers of Dubai are, for the most part, clustered in three different locations. The land along E 11 Road was the first to develop, followed by the Dubai Marina neighborhood and the Business Bay district.

Overall, Dubai has 18 completed and topped-out supertalls (buildings that rise at least 300 metres (984 ft) in height), which is more than any other city in the world. Dubai has 73 completed and topped-out buildings that rise at least 200 metres (656 ft) in height. Based on the average height of the ten tallest completed buildings, Dubai has the tallest skyline in the Middle East and the world. As of 2012^[update], the skyline of Dubai is ranked fifth in the world with 248 buildings rising at least 100 metres (330 ft) in height. (Full article...)

Hong Kong has over 9,000 high-rise buildings, of which over 1,000 are skyscrapers standing taller than 100 m (328 ft) with 567 buildings above 150 m (492 ft) as of 2025, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.^[A] The tallest building in Hong Kong is the 108-storey International Commerce Centre, which stands 484 m (1,588 ft) and is the 13th tallest building in the world. The total built-up height (combined heights) of these skyscrapers is approximately 333.8 km (207 miles), making Hong Kong the world's tallest urban agglomeration. Furthermore, reflective of the city's high population densities, Hong Kong has more inhabitants living at the 15th floor or higher, and more buildings of at least 100 m (328 ft) and 150 m (492 ft) height, than any other city in the world.

Most of Hong Kong's buildings are concentrated on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the new towns (satellite towns) of the New Territories, such as Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin. Additional high-rises are located along Hong Kong Island's southern shoreline and areas near the stations of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). (Full article...)

The number of Shinto shrines in Japan today has been estimated at more than 150,000. Single structure shrines are the most common. Shrine buildings might also include oratories (in front of main sanctuary), purification halls, offering halls called heiden (between honden and haiden), dance halls, stone or metal lanterns, fences or walls, torii and other structures. The term "National Treasure" has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897.
The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. The shrine structures in this list were designated national treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. As such they are eligible for government grants for repairs, maintenance and the installation of fire-prevention facilities and other disaster prevention systems. Owners are required to announce any changes to the National Treasures such as damage or loss and need to obtain a permit for transfer of ownership or intended repairs. The items are selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology based on their "especially high historical or artistic value". This list presents 43 entries of national treasure shrine structures from 12th-century Classical Heian period to the early modern 19th-century Edo period. The number of structures listed is actually more than 43, because in some cases groups of related structures are combined to form a single entry. The structures include main halls (honden), oratories (haiden), gates, offering halls (heiden), purification halls (haraedono) and other structures associated with shrines. (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...)

San Francisco, a major city in the U.S state of California, has over 480 high-rises, 124 of which are at least 300 feet (91 m) tall as of 2026. The tallest building in the city is Salesforce Tower, the city's sole supertall skyscraper. Headquarters of software company Salesforce, it was 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. San Francisco has the second largest skyline in the Western United States. It has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in California, with 27, after Los Angeles. When ranked by buildings that reach 300 ft (91 m), San Francisco has more skyscrapers than Los Angeles, and is tied with Atlanta as having the fifth-most in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Houston.

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...)

London, the capital and largest city of the United Kingdom, has 133 completed buildings that are at least 100 metres (328 feet) tall as of 2026, 42 of which have a height greater than 150 metres (492 ft). London has one of the largest skylines in Europe; it has the most skyscrapers taller than 150 m (492 ft) in the United Kingdom and in Western Europe, and the third most of any city in Europe overall, after Moscow and Istanbul. London's skyline has undergone immense transformation in the early 21st century. Since 2013, the tallest building in London and the United Kingdom has been The Shard, London's only supertall skyscraper. The pyramid-shaped building in Southwark rises to a height of 306 m (1,004 ft). London has two primary skyscraper clusters: the City of London in central London, and Canary Wharf with the Isle of Dogs in East London, alongside numerous smaller groupings throughout Greater London.
For two centuries since 1710, St Paul's Cathedral was the tallest structure in London. While early skyscrapers sprouted in the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States, London—then the world's largest city—avoided this trend. In 1894, after work on the 12-storey Queen Anne’s Mansions, the London Building Act imposed a height limit of 30 m (98 ft) or less across the city. This restriction was lifted in the 1950s, permitting the construction of high-rises taller than St. Paul's. The destruction during The Blitz allowed more room for modern development. Early skyscrapers were built on the west side of central London, most notably the BT Tower in Fitzrovia in 1965. A concentration of tall buildings arose in the City of London, including office towers such as St Helen's and Tower 42, and Barbican Estate, a three-towered residential complex that is a prominent example of brutalism. The London Docklands in the Isle of Dogs, which had become disused in the 1960s, underwent a significant redevelopment plan in the 1980s, resulting in the financial district of Canary Wharf. Among the first skyscrapers built there was One Canada Square in 1991. At 236 m (774 ft), it surpassed Tower 42 to be London's tallest building; it is currently the city's third-tallest building and still the tallest in Canary Wharf. (Full article...)

Tokyo is the most populated of Japan's 47 prefectures. Mainland Tokyo is divided into two sections: Western Tokyo and the special wards of Tokyo. The prefecture's tallest structures are within the 23 special wards, which comprise the area formerly incorporated as Tokyo City. As of May 2025, there are over 200 structures in Tokyo that stand at least 150 metres (490 ft) tall, of which 49 are at least 200 metres (660 ft) tall, including those that are still under construction but have been topped out. Most of these structures are buildings; however, there are other types of structures among the tallest in the prefecture, such as freestanding towers and incineration smokestacks.

The tallest structure in the prefecture is Tokyo Skytree, a megatall lattice tower that rises 634 metres (2,080 feet), which was completed in 2012. It also stands as the tallest structure in Japan, the tallest tower in the world, and the third-tallest freestanding structure in the world. The second-tallest structure in Tokyo is the 333-metre-tall (1,093-foot) Tokyo Tower, a lattice tower completed in 1958. The tallest building and third-tallest overall structure is the 325-metre-tall (1,066-foot) Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, completed in 2023 and being Tokyo's only supertall skyscraper. It is also the tallest building in Japan and the world's largest skyscraper by floor area. The second-tallest building and fourth-tallest structure is the 284-metre-tall (932-foot) Nihonbashi 1-Chōme Central District Redevelopment (tentative name), which is topped out and scheduled for completion in 2026. Including topped-out buildings, Tokyo is home to 17 of the 25 tallest freestanding structures and 18 of the 25 tallest buildings in Japan. (Full article...)

John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His output included new churches, alterations to and restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, much of his work incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. Douglas is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, in particular half-timbering. Of particular importance to Douglas' church furniture is his use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving.

John Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant. He established an office in Chester in either 1855 or 1860, from where he practised throughout his career. Initially he ran the office himself but in 1884 he appointed his assistant, Daniel Porter Fordham, as a partner. When Fordham retired in 1897, he was succeeded by Charles Howard Minshull. In 1909 this partnership was dissolved and Douglas ran the office alone until his death in 1911. As his office was in Chester, most of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales, although some were further afield, in Lancashire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Scotland. (Full article...)

Hadleigh Castle is a ruined fortification in the English county of Essex, overlooking the Thames Estuary from south of the town of Hadleigh. Built after 1215 during the reign of Henry III by Hubert de Burgh, the castle was surrounded by parkland and had an important economic and defensive role. The castle was significantly expanded and remodelled by Edward III, who turned it into a grander property, designed to defend against a potential French attack, as well as to provide the King with a convenient private residence close to London. Built on a soft hill of London clay, the castle has often been subject to subsidence; this, combined with the sale of its stonework in the 16th century, has led to it now being ruined. The remains are now preserved by English Heritage and protected under UK law as a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument. (Full article...)

The United States Institute of Peace Headquarters was built to house staff offices and other facilities for the government-funded think tank focused on peacemaking and conflict avoidance. The building was the first permanent home for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), established in 1984. The building is at a prominent location near the National Mall and Potomac River in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The environmentally friendly building, noted for its unique roof, was designed by architect Moshe Safdie and completed in 2011. Critics' reviews of the building's design have been mixed. (Full article...)

Kenzō Tange (丹下 健三, Tange Kenzō; 4 September 1913 – 22 March 2005) was a Japanese architect. Born in Sakai and raised in China and southern Japan, Tange was inspired from an early age by the work of Le Corbusier and designed his first buildings under Imperial Japan. He first achieved recognition for his projects to reconstruct the destroyed cities of postwar Japan, particularly Hiroshima, where he designed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. His engagement with the Congres Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne in the 1950s made him one of the first Japanese architects to achieve international recognition.

Renowned for synthesizing traditional Japanese styles with modernism, Tange's work was emblematic of the Japanese postwar boom. However, he built major projects on five continents. He was a forerunner, mentor, and patron of the metabolist movement. He was also known as an ambitious, original urban planner whose ideas inspired the reconstruction of cities including Skopje. Tange would continue designing buildings until his death in 2005. (Full article...)

Bowes Castle is a medieval castle in the village of Bowes in County Durham, England. Built within the perimeter of the former Roman fort of Lavatrae, on the Roman road that is now the A66, the early timber castle on the site was replaced by a more substantial stone structure between 1170 and 1174 on the orders of Henry II. A planned village was built alongside the castle. Bowes Castle withstood Scottish attack during the Great Revolt of 1173–74 but was successfully looted by rebels in 1322. The castle went into decline and was largely dismantled after the English Civil War. The ruins are now owned by English Heritage and managed as a tourist attraction. There is free admission during daylight hours. (Full article...)

Old St Paul's Cathedral was the cathedral of the City of London that, until the Great Fire of 1666, stood on the site of the present St Paul's Cathedral. Built in 1087 and from 1255 to 1314, it was dedicated in honour of Paul the Apostle. The building was perhaps the fourth such St Paul's cathedral church at this site on Ludgate Hill, going back to the 7th century.

Work on the cathedral began after a fire in 1087, which destroyed the previous church. Work took more than 200 years, and over that time the architecture of the church changed from Norman Romanesque to early English Gothic. The church was consecrated in 1240, enlarged in 1256 and again in the early 14th century. At its completion in the mid-14th century, the cathedral was one of the longest churches in the world, had one of the tallest spires and some of the finest stained glass. (Full article...)

The Midnight Sun Mosque, also known as the Inuvik Mosque or Little Mosque on the Tundra, is a non-denominational Islamic house of worship located in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. The mosque was built in 2010 for the town's small Muslim community. It is the northernmost mosque in the Western Hemisphere and the only one in North America above the Arctic Circle.

Inuvik's Muslim community outgrew its original worship centre, a truck trailer, by the late 2000s. They had bought land for a mosque, but construction costs were too great. A Winnipeg-based Islamic charity funded a prefabricated mosque that was taken by truck to Hay River, twice nearly falling into a creek. From Hay River, it was floated via barge across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River to Inuvik, where it was moved to its permanent location on the northern edge of the town. (Full article...)

Crown Fountain (sometimes known as the "Squirting Faces") is an interactive work of public art and video sculpture featured in Chicago's Millennium Park, which is located in the Loop community area. Designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa and executed by Krueck and Sexton Architects, it opened in July 2004. The fountain is composed of a black granite reflecting pool placed between a pair of glass brick towers. The towers are 50 feet (15.2 m) tall, and they use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to display digital videos on their inward faces. Construction and design of the Crown Fountain cost $17 million. The water operates from May to October, intermittently cascading down the two towers and spouting through a nozzle on each tower's front face.

Residents and critics have praised the fountain for its artistic and entertainment features. It highlights Plensa's themes of dualism, light, and water, extending the use of video technology from his prior works. Its use of water is unique among Chicago's many fountains, in that it promotes physical interaction between the public and the water. Both the fountain and Millennium Park are highly accessible because of their universal design. (Full article...)

Dunstaffnage Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal Dhùn Stadhainis) is a partially ruined castle in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland. It lies 3 miles (5 km) NNE of Oban, situated on a platform of conglomerate rock on a promontory at the south-west of the entrance to Loch Etive, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea. The castle and the nearby chapel ruin have been a Historic Scotland property since 1958. Both are Scheduled Ancient Monuments.

The castle dates back to the 13th century, making it one of Scotland's oldest stone castles, in a local group which includes Castle Sween and Castle Tioram. Guarding a strategic location, it was built by the MacDougall lords of Lorn, and has been held since the 15th century by the Clan Campbell. To this day there is a hereditary Captain of Dunstaffnage, although they no longer reside at the castle. Dunstaffnage is maintained by Historic Environment Scotland, and is open to the public, although the 16th-century gatehouse is retained as the private property of the Captain. The prefix dun in the name means "fort" in Gaelic, while the rest of the name derives from Norse stafa nes, "headland of the staves". (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...)

The buildings and architecture of Bath, a city in Somerset in the south west of England, reveal significant examples of the architecture of England, from the Roman Baths (including their significant Celtic presence), to the present day. The city became a World Heritage Site in 1987, largely because of its architectural history and the way in which the city landscape draws together public and private buildings and spaces. The many examples of Palladian architecture are purposefully integrated with the urban spaces to provide "picturesque aestheticism". In 2021, the city was added to a second World Heritage Site, a group of historic spa towns across Europe known as the "Great Spas of Europe". Bath is the only entire city in Britain to achieve World Heritage status, and is a popular tourist destination.

Important buildings include the Roman Baths; neoclassical architect Robert Adam's Pulteney Bridge, based on an unused design for the Rialto Bridge in Venice; and Bath Abbey in the city centre, founded in 1499 on the site of an 8th-century church. Of equal importance are the residential buildings designed and built into boulevards and crescents by the Georgian architects John Wood, the Elder and his son John Wood, the Younger – well-known examples being the Royal Crescent, built around 1770, and The Circus, built around 1760, where each of the three curved segments faces one of the entrances, ensuring that there is always a classical facade facing the entering visitor. (Full article...)

The Marquette Building, completed in 1895, is a Chicago Landmark that was built by the George A. Fuller Company and designed by architects Holabird & Roche. The building is currently owned by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. It is located in the community area known as the "Loop" in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

The building was one of the early steel frame skyscrapers of its day, and is considered one of the best examples of the Chicago School of architecture. The building originally had a reddish, terra cotta exterior that, prior to restoration, was somewhat blackened due to decades of Loop soot. It is noted both for its then cutting edge frame and its ornate interior. (Full article...)

One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, the Allied Chemical Tower or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, 363-foot-high (111 m) skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz in the neo-Gothic style, the tower was built in 1903–1904 as the headquarters of The New York Times. It takes up the city block bounded by Seventh Avenue, 42nd Street, Broadway, and 43rd Street. The building's design has been heavily modified throughout the years, and all of its original architectural detail has since been obscured or removed. One Times Square's primary design features are the advertising billboards on its facade, added in the 1990s. Due to the large amount of revenue generated by its signage, One Times Square is one of the most valuable advertising locations in the world.

The surrounding Longacre Square neighborhood was renamed "Times Square" during the tower's construction, and The New York Times moved into the tower in January 1905. Quickly outgrowing the tower, eight years later, the paper's offices and printing presses moved to nearby 229 West 43rd Street. One Times Square remained a major focal point of the area due to its annual New Year's Eve "ball drop" festivities and the introduction of a large lighted news ticker near street-level in 1928. The Times sold the building to Douglas Leigh in 1961. Allied Chemical then bought the building in 1963 and renovated it as a showroom. Alex M. Parker took a long-term lease for the entire building in October 1973, buying it two years later. One Times Square was sold multiple times in the 1980s and continued to serve as an office building. (Full article...)

The Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos are located in the Santa Cruz department in eastern Bolivia. Six of these former missions (all now secular municipalities) collectively were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. Distinguished by a unique fusion of European and Amerindian cultural influences, the missions were founded as reductions or reducciones de indios by Jesuits in the 17th and 18th centuries to convert local tribes to Christianity.

The interior region bordering Spanish and Portuguese territories in South America was largely unexplored at the end of the 17th century. Dispatched by the Spanish Crown, Jesuits explored and founded eleven settlements in 76 years in the remote Chiquitania – then known as Chiquitos – on the frontier of Spanish America. They built churches (templos) in a unique and distinct style that combined elements of native and European architecture. The indigenous inhabitants of the missions were taught European music as a means of conversion. The missions were self-sufficient, with thriving economies, and virtually autonomous from the Spanish crown. (Full article...)

The Smederevo Fortress (Serbian: Cмeдepeвcκa твpђaвa / Smederevska tvrđava) is a medieval fortified city in Smederevo, Serbia, which was the temporary capital of Serbia in the Middle Ages. It was built between 1427 and 1430 on the order of Despot Đurađ Branković, the ruler of the Serbian Despotate. It was further fortified by the Ottoman Empire, which had taken the city in 1459.

The fortress withstood several sieges by Ottomans, surviving relatively unscathed. During World War II it was heavily damaged by explosions and bombing, despite which the fortress remained "one of the rare preserved courts of medieval Serbian rulers." (Full article...)

The Isidore H. Heller House is a house at 5132 South Woodlawn Avenue in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Constructed in 1896 for the family of the merchant Isidore H. Heller, the house was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The design is credited as one of the turning points in Wright's shift to geometric, Prairie School architecture, which is defined by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, and an integration with the landscape, which is meant to evoke native Prairie surroundings.

The work demonstrates Wright's shift away from emulating the style of his mentor, Louis Sullivan. The facade is made of brick and is topped by a roof with a raised monitor section. Richard Bock, a Wright collaborator and sculptor, provided some of the ornamentation, including a plaster frieze. The house's first floor includes a living room, dining room, kitchen, and pantry, arranged around a stair and elevator. The second floor was devoted to bedrooms and bathrooms, while the third floor (originally used as servants' quarters and a bedroom) has been split into its own apartment. (Full article...)