Architecture Timeline

11,600 BCE to 3,500 BCE — Prehistoric Times

Stonehenge in Amesbury, United Kingdom. Jason Hawkes/Getty Images

• moved earth and stone into geometric forms

• imitate the sun and the moon

3,050 BCE to 900 BCE — Ancient Egypt

The Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren) in Giza, Egypt. Lansbricae (Luis Leclere)/Getty Images (cropped)

The development of the pyramid form allowed Egyptians to build enormous tombs for their
kings.
An innovative Egyptian named Imhotep is said to have designed one of the earliest of the
massive stone monuments, the Step Pyramid of Djoser (2,667 BCE to 2,648 BCE)
850 BCE to CE 476 — Classical

The Pantheon, A.D. 126, Rome, Italy. Werner Forman Archive/Heritage Images/Getty Images (cropped)

The Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius, use mathematical principles when constructing
temples.
700 to 323 BCE — Greek: Parthenon in Athens.
323 to 146 BCE — Hellenistic:
44 BCE to 476 CE — Roman: Roman Colosseum and the Pantheon in Rome.
527 to 565 — Byzantine

Church of Hagia Eirene in the First Courtyard of the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey. Salvator Barki/Getty Images (cropped)

After Constantine moved the capital of the Roman empire to Byzantium (Istanbul in Turkey)
in 330 CE.Emperor Justinian (527 to 565) led the way, used brick instead of stone, domed
roofs, elaborate mosaics, and classical forms.
Eastern and Western traditions combined in the sacred buildings of the Byzantine
period. Buildings were designed with a central dome that eventually rose to new heights by
using engineering practices refined in the Middle East. This era of architectural history was
transitional and transformational.
800 to 1200 — Romanesque

Romanesque Architecture of the Basilica of St. Sernin (1070-1120) in Toulouse, France. Anger O./AgenceImages courtesy Getty
Images

As Rome spread across Europe, heavier, stocky Romanesque architecture with rounded arches
emerged.Byzantine-domed apse and an added Gothic-like steeple. The floor plan is that of the
Latin cross, Gothic-like again, with a high alter and tower at the cross intersection.
1100 to 1450 — Gothic

The Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres, France. Alessandro Vannini/Getty Images (cropped)

Innovations such as pointed arches, flying buttresses, and ribbed vaulting. supported taller,
more graceful architecture. Gothic architecture began mainly in France where builders began
to adapt the earlier Romanesque style. Builders were also influenced by the pointed arches and
elaborate stonework of Moorish architecture in Spain.
1400 to 1600 — Renaissance

Villa Rotonda (Villa Almerico-Capra), near Venice, Italy, 1566-1590, Andrea Palladio. Massimo Maria Canevarolo via Wikimedia
Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

inspired by the carefully proportioned buildings of ancient Greece and Rome.

"age of awakening" in Italy, France, and England
Italian Renaissance master Andrea Palladio- I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, or The Four
Books of Architecture. Classical rules could be used not just for grand temples but also for
private villas.
Roman architect Vitruvius- The Five Orders of Architecture
1600 to 1830 — Baroque

The Baroque Palace of Versailles in France. Loop Images Tiara Anggamulia/Getty Images (cropped)

• Italy and France

Baroque was characterized by complex shapes, extravagant ornaments, opulent paintings, and
bold contrasts.
lavished buildings, irregular shapes and extravagant ornamentation.
1650 to 1790 — Rococo

Catherine Palace Near Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saravut Eksuwan/Getty Images

During the last phase of the Baroque period, builders constructed graceful white buildings with
sweeping curves. Rococo art and architecture is characterized by elegant decorative designs
with scrolls, vines, shell-shapes, and delicate geometric patterns.
Rococo architects applied Baroque ideas with a lighter, more graceful touch
• Dominikus Zimmermann
1730 to 1925 — Neoclassicism

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Architect of the Capitol

French and American revolutions returned design to Classical ideals—including equality and
democracy—emblematic of the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome
These buildings were proportioned according to the classical orders with details borrowed
from ancient Greece and Rome.
1890 to 1914 — Art Nouveau

The 1910 Hôtel Lutetia in Paris, France. Justin Lorget/chesnot/Corbis via Getty Images

New Style in France, Art Nouveau was first expressed in fabrics and graphic design,as a revolt
against industrialization turned people's attention to the natural forms and personal
craftsmanship of the Arts and Crafts Movement. surfaces with curved, plant-like designs and
mosaics.
• William Morris
• The works of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) are said to be influenced by
Art Nouveau or Modernismo, and Gaudi is often called one of the first modernist
architects.
1925 to 1937 — Art Deco

The Art Deco Chrysler Building in New York City. CreativeDream/Getty Images

With their sleek forms and ziggurat designs, Art Deco architecture embraced both the machine
age and ancient times.Zigzag patterns and vertical lines create dramatic effect on jazz-age,
1900 to Present — Modernist Styles

De La Warr Pavilion, 1935, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, United Kingdom. Peter Thompson Heritage Images/Getty Images

• Modern-day trends include Art Moderne and the Bauhaus school coined by Walter
Gropius,
• Deconstructivism, Formalism, Brutalism, and Structuralism
• Berthold Luberkin (1901–1990)
modern architects’ rebel against traditional styles. For examples of Modernism in architecture,
see works by Rem Koolhaas, I.M. Pei, Le Corbusier, Philip Johnson, and Mies van der
Rohe.
1972 to Present — Postmodernism

Postmodern Architecture at 220 Celebration Place, Celebration, Florida. Jackie Craven

Re-invented historical details and familiar motifs.

Philip Johnson's AT&T Headquarters is often cited as an example of postmodernism.
Combining new ideas with traditional forms, postmodernist buildings may startle, surprise,
and even amuse.
• Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown;
• Michael Graves;
• Philip Johnson,
1997 to Present — Neo-Modernism and Parametricism

Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Centre, 2012, Baku, Azerbaijan. Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Neo-Modernism. Some call it Parametricism, but the name for computer-driven design is up
for grabs.
• Frank Gehry's sculpted designs- Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao
• Moshe Safdie's 2011 Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore