De architectura is a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus, as a guide for building projects. As the only treatise on architecture to survive from antiquity, it has been regarded since the Renaissance as the first known book on architectural theory, as well as a major source on the canon of classical architecture.
A 1521 Italian language edition of De architectura, translated and illustrated by Cesare Cesariano
Manuscript of Vitruvius; parchment dating from about 1390
Greek house plan after Vitruvius
The Pont du Gard Roman aqueduct in southern France
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. The term comes from Latin architectura; from Ancient Greek ἀρχιτέκτων (arkhitéktōn) 'architect'; from ἀρχι- (arkhi-) 'chief', and τέκτων (téktōn) 'creator'. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilisations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
In adding the dome to the Florence Cathedral (Italy) in the early 15th century, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi not only transformed the building and the city, but also the role and status of the architect.
Illustration of bracket arm clusters containing cantilevers from Yingzao Fashi, a text on architecture by Li Jue (1065–1110)
Plan of the second floor (attic storey) of the Hôtel de Brionne in Paris – 1734.
The National Congress of Brazil, designed by Oscar Niemeyer
