ARCHITECTURAL STYLES Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region

and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture. Ten architectural styles grouped in four clusters: Modern, High-Tech and Postmodern East Asian, South Asian and Spanish Islamic Gothic Classical Modern architecture is a term applied to an overarching movement and period in architectural history during the 20th century, with its exact definition and scope varying widely. Gaining popularity after the Second World War, architectural modernism was adopted by many influential architects and architectural educators, and continues as a dominant architectural philosophy for institutional and corporate buildings into the 21st century Notable architects important to the history and development of the modernist movement include Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier,Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius and Louis I Kahn. High-tech architecture, also known as Late Modernism or Structural Expressionism, is an architectural style that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high-tech industry and technology into building design. High-tech architecture appeared as a revamped modernism, an extension of those previous ideas aided by even more advances in technological achievements The style's premier practitioners include the British architects Sir Norman Foster, Sir Richard Rogers, Sir Michael Hopkins, Italian Architect Renzo Piano andSpanish architect Santiago Calatrava, known for his skeleton-like designs. Postmodern architecture, as with many cultural fashions, some of Postmodernism's most pronounced and visible ideas can be seen in architecture. The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist style are replaced by diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound. Perhaps most obviously, architects rediscovered the expressive and symbolic value of architectural elements and forms that had evolved through centuries of building which had been abandoned by the modern style. This eclecticism is often combined with the use of non-orthogonal angles and unusual surfaces, most famously in the State Gallery of Stuttgart (New wing of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart) by James Stirling and the Piazza d'Italia by Charles Moore. East Asian / Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details. Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. Throughout the 20th Century, however, Western-trained Chinese architects have attempted to combine traditional Chinese designs into modern architecture (usually government), with only limited success. Moreover, the pressure for urban development throughout contemporary China required higher speed of construction and higher floor area ratio, which means that in the great cities the demand for traditional Chinese buildings, which are normally less than 3 levels, has declined in favor of modern architecture. However, the traditional skills of Chinese architecture, including major and minor carpentry, masonry, and stone masonry, are still applied to the construction of vernacular architecture in the vast rural area in China.

South Asian / architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Indian architecture progressed with time and assimilated the many influences that came as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past.[1] The architectural methods practiced in India are a result of examination and implementation of its established building traditions and outside cultural interactions. Though old, this Eastern tradition has also incorporated modern values as India became a modern nation state. The economic reforms of 1991 further bolstered the urban architecture of India as the country became more integrated with the world's economy. Traditional Vastu Shastra remains influential in India's architecture during the contemporary era Spanish Islamic / Moorish architecture is the western term used to describe the articulated Islamic architecture of North Africa and Al-Andalus. Characteristic elements include muqarnas, horseshoe arches, voussoirs, domes, crenellated arches, lancet arches, ogee arches, courtyards, and decorative tile work. Among the surviving examples are the Mezquita in Cordoba (784-987, in four phases); the Alhambra (mainly 1338-1390[1]) and Generalife (13029 and 1313-24) inGranada and the Giralda in Seville ; Paderne Castle in the Algarve, Portugal; the mosque of Tin Mal in Morocco; the Great Mosque of Algiers and the Great Mosque of Tlemcen in Algeria; and the Mosque of Uqba in Kairouan, Tunisia. The term is sometimes used to include the products of the Islamic civilisation of Southern Italy. The Palazzo dei Normanni in Sicily was begun in the 9th century by the Emir of Palermo. Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. Originating in 12th century France and lasting into the 16th century, Gothic architecture was known during the period as "the French Style," (Opus Francigenum), with the term Gothic first appearing during the latter part of the Renaissance. Its characteristic features include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and churches of Europe. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings. Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance. Classical architecture has inspired many more recent architects and has led to revivals such as neoclassical architecture from the mid-18th century and the Greek Revival of the 19th century. After a brief period of eclecticism, the classical style reigned again from the late 19th century until the second world war, though it continues to inform many architects to this day. The term,"Classical Architecture", also applies to any mode of architecture that has evolved to a highly refined state, such as Classical Chinese Architecture, or Classical Mayan Architecture. It can also refer to any architecture that employs Classical Aesthetic Philosophy.