Study guides, Class notes & Summaries

Ancient Egyptian architecture is often associated closely with the pyramids of Giza but was actually quite diverse, taking a number of forms in the construction of administrative buildings, temples, tombs, palaces, and the private homes of nobility and commoner. Ornamentation of these various structures also varied according to their purpose and the resources of the builder.

Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day.

Chinese architecture demonstrates an architectural style that developed over millennia in China, before spreading out to influence architecture throughout East Asia. Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space to be customized for different occasions.

Hindu architecture is the traditional system of Indian architecture for structures such as temples, monasteries, statues, homes, market places, gardens and town planning as described in Hindu texts. Buddhist religious architecture developed in the Indian subcontinent. Three types of structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism: monasteries, places to venerate relics, and shrines or prayer halls, which later came to be called temples in some places.

Spanning from the 10th millennium BC to the 6th century BC, the architecture of Mesopotamia encompasses several distinct cultures and primarily existed in the region of the Tigris-Euphrates river system (also known as Mesopotamia). The architectural styling consisted of Sumerian masonry which meant that the structures were typically mortarless and used rounded bricks for the design.

Traditional Malay houses are light timber-framed structures with elevated floors and sloping thatched roofs made from atap (nipa palm) leaves. They are usually built on stilts, which allow the dual benefits of ventilation in hot tropical weather and mitigating the effects of floods.

The buildings that survived from prehistoric times and are considered architectural works were cult structures. Homes were built with less durable materials, such as mud bricks and wood. Religious motives led to significant achievements throughout the history of architecture beginning with prehistory.