Building

Short visual history of architectural styles (from left to right): the Ishtar Gate (Mesopotamian); the Temple of
Isis from Philae (Ancient Egyptian); the Maison Carrée (Greco-Roman); the Kandariya Mahadeva Temple
(Indian); the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests of the Temple of Heaven (Chinese); the Basilica of San Vitale
(Byzantine); Badshahi Mosque (Islamic); the Durham Cathedral (Romanesque); Sainte-Chapelle (Gothic); the
Tempietto (Renaissance); Château de Maisons (Baroque); boiserie from the Hôtel de Varengeville (Rococo);
the Petit Trianon (Neoclassical); Grand Central Terminal, Midtown Manhattan, New York City (Beaux-Arts); the
Castel Béranger (Art Nouveau); the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Art Deco); the Fagus Factory (Modern); and
the Neue Staatsgalerie (Postmodern)

A building or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in
one place,[1] such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings).[1] Buildings come in a
variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of
factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific
uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding
structures.
Buildings serve several societal needs – occupancy, primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space,
privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical
division of the human habitat, a place of comfort and safety and the outside, a place that at times may be
harsh and harmful.

Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artistic
expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become an
intentional part of the design process of many new buildings and other structures, usually a green building.

Definition
The word building is both a noun and a verb: the structure itself
and the act of making it. As a noun, a building is 'a structure that
has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one
place';[1] "there was a three-storey building on the corner"; "it was
an imposing edifice". In the broadest interpretation a fence or wall
is a building.[2] However, the word structure is used more broadly
than building including natural and man-made formations[3] and
does not necessarily have walls. Structure is more likely to be used
for a fence. Sturgis' Dictionary included that "[building] differs
from architecture in excluding all idea of artistic treatment; and it The skyscrapers under construction
differs from construction in the idea of excluding scientific or in Kalasatama, Helsinki, Finland
highly skilful treatment."[4] As a verb, building is the act of (2021)
construction.

Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from street-
level. Depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may not be included in this height.
Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included. The definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise
building is a matter of debate, but generally three stories or less is considered low-rise.[5]

History
There is clear, evidence of homebuilding from around 18,000 BC.[6] Buildings became common during the
Neolithic (see Neolithic architecture).[7]

Types

Residential

Single-family residential buildings are most often called houses or homes. Multi-family residential buildings
containing more than one dwelling unit are called a duplex or an apartment building. A condominium is an
apartment that the occupant owns rather than rents. Houses may also be built in pairs (semi-detached), in
terraces where all but two of the houses have others either side; apartments may be built round courtyards
or as rectangular blocks surrounded by a piece of ground of varying sizes. Houses which were built as a
single dwelling may later be divided into apartments or bedsitters; they may also be converted to another
use e.g. an office or a shop. hotels, especially of the extended stay variety (like apartels) can also be classed
as residential.
Building types may range from huts to multimillion-dollar high-rise
apartment blocks able to house thousands of people. Increasing
settlement density in buildings (and smaller distances between
buildings) is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from
many people wanting to live close to work or similar attractors.
Other common building materials are brick, concrete or
combinations of either of these with stone.

Residential buildings have different names for their use depending

if they are seasonal include holiday cottage (vacation home) or
timeshare; size such as a cottage or great house; value such as a
shack or mansion; manner of construction such as a log home or
mobile home;, architectural style such as a mock castle or Victorian A timber-framed house in Marburg,
house, proximity to the ground or water such as Earth sheltering the Germany
earth sheltered house, stilt house, or houseboat \ floating home.
Also if the residents are in need of special care, or society considers
them to dangerous to have freedom, there's residential total
institutions such as nursing homes, orphanages, psychiatric
hospitals or prison; or in group housing like barracks or
dormitories.

Historically many people lived in communal buildings called

longhouses, smaller dwellings called pit-houses and houses
combined with barns sometimes called housebarns.

Buildings are defined to be substantial, permanent structures so

other dwelling forms such as yurts, and motorhomes are dwellings Belle Époque city-house on Strada
but not buildings. Arthur Verona in Bucharest,
Romania, currently part of a
bookshop
Commercial

A commercial building is one in which at least one business is

based, but where people don't live. Examples include stores,
restaurants, and hotels.

Industrial

Industrial buildings are those in which heavy industry is done, such

as manufacturing. These edifices include warehouses and factories.

The Mitilineu House, a city-house in

Agricultural Bucharest, dating from 1898

Agricultural buildings are the outbuildings located on farms, like

barns.

Mixed use
Some buildings incorporate several or multiple different uses, most commonly are those that combine
commercial and residential uses.

Complex

Sometimes a group of inter-related (and possibly inter-connected)

builds are referred to as a complex – for example a housing
complex,[8] educational complex,[9] hospital complex, etc.

Creation
The practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is
most usually a collective effort of different groups of professionals
and trades. Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a Aluminum panel framed steel
particular building project, the project team may include: building, in Korea.

A real estate developer who secures funding for the

project;
One or more financial institutions or other investors that provide the funding
Local planning and code authorities
A surveyor who performs an ALTA/ACSM and construction surveys throughout the project;
Construction managers who coordinate the effort of different groups of project participants;
Licensed architects and engineers who provide building design and prepare construction
documents;
The principal design Engineering disciplines which would normally include the following
professionals: Civil, Structural, Mechanical building services or HVAC (heating Ventilation
and Air Conditioning) Electrical Building Services, Plumbing and drainage. Also other
possible design Engineer specialists may be involved such as Fire (prevention), Acoustic,
façade engineers, building physics, Telecoms, AV (Audio Visual), BMS (Building
Management Systems) Automatic controls etc. These design Engineers also prepare
construction documents which are issued to specialist contractors to obtain a price for the
works and to follow for the installations.
Landscape architects;
Interior designers;
Other consultants;
Contractors who provide construction services and install building systems such as climate
control, electrical, plumbing, decoration, fire protection, security and telecommunications;
Marketing or leasing agents;
Facility managers who are responsible for operating the building.

Regardless of their size or intended use, all buildings in the US must comply with zoning ordinances,
building codes and other regulations such as fire codes, life safety codes and related standards.

Vehicles—such as trailers, caravans, ships and passenger aircraft—are treated as "buildings" for life safety
purposes.

Ownership and funding

Mortgage loan
 Real estate developer

Building services

Physical plant

Any building requires a certain general amount of internal infrastructure to

function, which includes such elements like heating / cooling, power and
telecommunications, water and wastewater etc. Especially in commercial
buildings (such as offices or factories), these can be extremely intricate
systems taking up large amounts of space (sometimes located in separate
areas or double floors / false ceilings) and constitute a big part of the regular
maintenance required.

Conveying systems

Systems for transport of people within buildings:

The BB&T Building in
Elevator Macon, Georgia is
Escalator constructed of aluminum.

Moving sidewalk (horizontal and inclined)

Systems for transport of people between interconnected buildings:

Skyway
Underground city

Building damage
Buildings may be damaged during the construction of the building
or during maintenance. There are several other reasons behind
building damage like accidents[10] such as storms, explosions,
subsidence caused by mining, water withdrawal[11] or poor
foundations and landslides.[12] Buildings also may suffer from fire
damage[13] and flooding in special circumstances. They may also
become dilapidated through lack of proper maintenance or
alteration work improperly carried out.
A building in Massueville (Quebec,
Canada), engulfed by fire
Hypothetical future buildings

Advances in construction technology, ideologies, etc may allow (or necessitate) the construction of new
kinds of buildings and complexes, like an arcology.

See also
Architecture
portal
 Autonomous building
Commercial modular construction
Earthquake engineering
Float glass
Green building
Hurricane-proof building
List of buildings and structures
List of largest buildings in the world
List of tallest buildings in the world
Natural building
Natural disaster and earthquake
Skyscraper
Steel building
Tent

References
1. Max J. Egenhofer (2002). Geographic Information Science: Second International
Conference, GIScience 2002, Boulder, CO, USA, September 25–28, 2002. Proceedings (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=kH8gcJvVWfIC&pg=PA110). Springer Science &
Business Media. p. 110. ISBN 978-3-540-44253-0.
2. Building def. 2. Whitney, William Dwight, and Benjamin E. Smith. The Century dictionary
and cyclopedia. vol. 1. New York: Century Co., 1901. 712. Print.
3. Structure. def. 2. Merriam-Webster's dictionary of synonyms: a dictionary of discriminated
synonyms with antonyms and analogous and contrasted words.. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-
Webster, 1984. 787. Print.
4. Building. def 1. Sturgis, Russell. A dictionary of architecture and building: biographical,
historical, and descriptive. vol. 1. New York: The Macmillan Co.; 1901. 2236. Print.
5. Paul Francis Wendt and Alan Robert Cerf (1979), Real estate investment analysis and
taxation, McGraw-Hill, p. 210
6. Rob Dunn (Aug 23, 2014). "Meet the lodgers: Wildlife in the great indoors" (https://www.new
scientist.com/article/mg22329830.500-meet-the-lodgers-wildlife-in-the-great-indoors.html?fu
ll=true). New Scientist: 34–37. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031849/htt
p://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329830.500-meet-the-lodgers-wildlife-in-the-great-ind
oors.html?full=true) from the original on 2014-11-29.
7. Pace, Anthony (2004). "Tarxien". In Daniel Cilia (ed.). Malta before History – The World's
Oldest Free Standing Stone Architecture. Miranda Publishers. ISBN 978-9990985085.
8. "plans to convert housing complex" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125715/http://ww
w.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/plans-to-convert-former-housing-complex-into-flats/story-30042482-
detail/story.html#). Archived from the original (http://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/plans-to-conv
ert-former-housing-complex-into-flats/story-30042482-detail/story.html) on 2017-01-10.
Retrieved 2017-02-23.
9. "isye building complex" (https://www.isye.gatech.edu/about/maps-directions/isye-building-co
mplex). Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170103001851/https://www.isye.gatech.ed
u/about/maps-directions/isye-building-complex) from the original on 2017-01-03.
10. "Building Damage" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140214231334/http://www.pb.unimelb.ed
u.au/emergency/emergencies/internal/buildingdamage.html). Pb.unimelb.edu.au. Archived
from the original (http://www.pb.unimelb.edu.au/emergency/emergencies/internal/buildingda
mage.html) on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
11. Bru, G.; Herrera, G.; Tomás, R.; Duro, J.; Vega, R. De la; Mulas, J. (2013-02-01). "Control of
deformation of buildings affected by subsidence using persistent scatterer interferometry".
Structure and Infrastructure Engineering. 9 (2): 188–200.
doi:10.1080/15732479.2010.519710 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F15732479.2010.519710).
ISSN 1573-2479 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1573-2479). S2CID 110521863 (https://api.s
emanticscholar.org/CorpusID:110521863).
12. Soldato, Matteo Del; Bianchini, Silvia; Calcaterra, Domenico; Vita, Pantaleone De; Martire,
Diego Di; Tomás, Roberto; Casagli, Nicola (2017-07-12). "A new approach for landslide-
induced damage assessment" (https://flore.unifi.it/bitstream/2158/1094374/2/A%20new%20
approach%20for%20landslide%20induced%20damage%20assessment.pdf) (PDF).
Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk. 8 (2): 1524–1537.
doi:10.1080/19475705.2017.1347896 (https://doi.org/10.1080%2F19475705.2017.134789
6). ISSN 1947-5705 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1947-5705). S2CID 73697187 (https://ap
i.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:73697187).
13. Brotóns, V.; Tomás, R.; Ivorra, S.; Alarcón, J. C. (2013-12-17). "Temperature influence on the
physical and mechanical properties of a porous rock: San Julian's calcarenite". Engineering
Geology. 167 (Supplement C): 117–127. doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2013.10.012 (https://doi.org/1
0.1016%2Fj.enggeo.2013.10.012).

External links
The dictionary definition of building at Wiktionary
Media related to Buildings at Wikimedia Commons
Quotations related to Building at Wikiquote

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