Gothic, Romanesque, Modernist, Metabolist... The variety of styles through architectural history can be bewildering. Whether it be a Gothic crocket or a simple Modernist join, this book illustrates all the key architectural styles from around the world using beautiful, specially commissioned drawings to identify key features and details.

It begins with the earliest styles of the ancient civilizations – Egypt, Greece and Rome – before travelling through Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque and into the modern world via the panoply of 19th century revivalist styles. Also covered is the traditional architecture of China, India, Japan and Pre-Columbian America. A final section gathers together key architectural elements from different periods – columns, towers, doorways, windows.

Filled with hundreds of drawings by an expert architectural illustrator, this book is ideal for anyone with a general interest in architecture as well as for students.

From ancient palaces and glorious cathedrals, to futuristic homes and striking skyscrapers, architecture continues to play an important role in the development of history and culture. Architecture Inside + Out examines fifty of the world's most impressive buildings and uncovers their structural secrets through detailed illustrations, while clear and accessible text places each building in its context. By researching original plans, notes and drawings, this book reveals the expertise and original intentions behind these magnificent creations, simulating the experience of spending time with the architects themselves. However, a building truly comes alive once it is inhabited, and Architecture Inside + Out also looks beyond the bricks and mortar to explore the principal spaces within. Photographs of striking interiors enable readers to scrutinize the most awe-inspiring aspects of these structures. The reader will discover how ancient wonders, such as the Parthenon and Colosseum, were constructed; learn the colour-coding behind the exposed skeleton of the Centre Pompidou in Paris; understand the vision behind the Brutalist housing complex, Habitat 67, in Canada; and take a tour through the Capitol Building in Washington, the seat of the United States Congress.

A hand-drawn guide to architectural styles throughout history Architectural Styles is an incomparable guide to architectural styles across the centuries and around the world. Modeled after an architect's plein air sketchbook, the volume features hundreds of detailed drawings by esteemed architectural illustrator Robbie Polley alongside incisive and informative descriptions. This unique guidebook takes readers from Europe and the Americas to Egypt, China, and India. It covers a host of historical and contemporary architectural styles, from ancient and classical to Pre-Columbian, Romanesque, Renaissance, Palladian, art nouveau, Brutalist, and biomorphic. It describes the histories and characteristics of the building traditions of each era and region of the world, and looks at key architectural elements such as buttresses, spandrels, curtain walls, and oculi. The book also includes a section on building parts-from domes and columns to towers, arches, roofs, and vaulting-along with a detailed glossary and bibliography. Comprehensive and authoritative, Architectural Styles is an essential resource for architects and designers and a must-have illustrated guide for anyone interested in architecture or drawing.

Fifty of the world’s most important buildings seen through specially commissioned isometric illustrations and detailed photographs and plans, providing the perfect introduction to architecture for students and anyone interested in buildings. Taking readers behind architecture’s facades and finishes, this charmingly illustrated book explores how some of the most important buildings in the world were constructed. Specially commissioned isometric drawings present the essential structural elements of the world’s masterpiece buildings that are not visible to the naked eye. These illustrations are displayed alongside plans, details, and photographs, all of which are clear and accessible, yet accurate and elegant enough to satisfy the most discerning eye. This fascinating book explores the thinking and expertise behind architects’ designs and offers a means by which to better understand buildings already visited as well as those on the must-see list. Selections range from domestic structures such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and skyscrapers such as the Chrysler Building, to iconic classics such as the Louvre and Barcelona’s famed Sagrada Familia Cathedral. The buildings have been chosen for their importance and interest, their role in the development of architectural thinking, and the structural secrets that intricate 3-D drawings can reveal.