Portal:Architecture

The Surrogate's Courthouse (also the Hall of Records and 31 Chambers Street) is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Completed in 1907, it was designed in the Beaux Arts style. John Rochester Thomas created the original plans while Arthur J. Horgan and Vincent J. Slattery oversaw the building's completion. The building faces City Hall Park and the Tweed Courthouse to the south, as well as the Manhattan Municipal Building to the east.

The Surrogate's Courthouse is a seven-story steel-framed structure with a granite facade and elaborate marble interiors. The architects used a fireproof frame so the structure could safely accommodate the city's paper records. The exterior is decorated with 54 sculptures by Philip Martiny and Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, as well as three-story colonnades with Corinthian columns along Chambers and Reade Streets. The basement houses the New York City Municipal Archives. The fifth floor contains the New York Surrogate's Court for New York County, which handles probate and estate proceedings for the New York State Unified Court System. (Full article...)

The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, 604-foot (184 m) Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street "canyon". Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading venue of the CBOT and later the CME Group, formed in 2007 by the merger of the CBOT and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 2012, the CME Group sold the CBOT Building to a consortium of real estate investors, including GlenStar Properties LLC and USAA Real Estate Company.

The CBOT has been located at the site since 1885. A building designed by William W. Boyington stood at the location from 1885 to 1929, being the tallest building in Chicago from its construction until its clock tower was removed in 1895. The Boyington building became unsound in the 1920s and was demolished in 1929, replaced by the current building designed by Holabird & Root. The current building was itself Chicago's tallest until 1965, when it was surpassed by the Richard J. Daley Center. (Full article...)

Castell Coch (Welsh for 'red castle'; Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkas.tɛɬ koːχ]) is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff and control the route along the River Taff. Abandoned shortly afterwards, the castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, which he built between 1267 and 1277 to control his freshly annexed Welsh lands. This castle may have been destroyed in the native Welsh rebellion of 1314. In 1760, the castle ruins were acquired by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, as part of a marriage settlement that brought the family vast estates in South Wales.

John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, with interests in architecture and antiquarian studies, he employed the architect William Burges to rebuild the castle, "as a country residence for occasional occupation in the summer", using the medieval remains as a basis for the design. Burges rebuilt the outside of the castle between 1875 and 1879, before turning to the interior; he died in 1881 and the work was finished by Burges's remaining team in 1891. Bute reintroduced commercial viticulture into Britain, planting a vineyard just below the castle, and wine production continued until the First World War. He made little use of his new retreat, and in 1950 his grandson, the 5th Marquess of Bute, placed it into the care of the state. It is now controlled by the Welsh heritage agency Cadw. (Full article...)

Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in the parish of Belton near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England, built between 1685 and 1687 by Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet. It is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies within a larger wooded park. Belton has been described as a compilation of all that is finest of Carolean architecture, said to be the only truly vernacular style of architecture that England had produced since the Tudor period. It is considered to be a complete example of a typical English country house; the claim has even been made that Belton's principal façade was the inspiration for the modern British motorway signs which give directions to stately homes.

For about three centuries until 1984, Belton House was the seat of the Brownlow family, which had first acquired land in the area in the late 16th century. Their heirs, the Cust family, were created Baron Brownlow in 1776. Despite his great wealth Sir John Brownlow, 3rd Baronet, chose to build a comparatively modest house rather than one of the grand Baroque palaces being built by others at the time. The contemporary, if provincial, Carolean style was the selected choice of design. Nevertheless, the new house was fitted with the latest innovations, such as sash windows for the principal rooms, and followed the latest thinking on house-planning, in seeking to separate those parts of the building that were for the use of the family from the areas where servants carried out their domestic duties. Successive generations made changes to the interior of the house which reflected their changing social position and tastes, yet the fabric and design of the house changed little. (Full article...)

Charles Henry Holden FRIBA MRTPI RDI (12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was an English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway, for the University of London's Senate House and for Bristol Central Library. He created many war cemeteries in Belgium and northern France for the Imperial War Graves Commission.

After working and training in Bolton and Manchester, Holden moved to London. His early buildings were influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, but for most of his career he championed an unadorned style based on simplified forms and massing that was free of what he considered to be unnecessary decorative detailing. Holden believed strongly that architectural designs should be dictated by buildings' intended functions. After the First World War, he increasingly simplified his style and his designs became pared-down and modernist, influenced by European architecture. He was a member of the Design and Industries Association and the Art Workers' Guild. He produced complete designs for his buildings including the interior design and architectural fittings. (Full article...)

House with Chimaeras (Ukrainian: Будинок з химерами, romanized: Budynok z khymeramy) or Horodetsky House (named for Władysław Horodecki) is an Art Nouveau building located in the historic Lypky neighborhood of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Situated across the street from the President of Ukraine's office at No. 10, Bankova Street, the building has been used as a presidential residence for official and diplomatic ceremonies since 2005. The street in front of the building is closed off to all automobile traffic, and is now a patrolled pedestrian zone due to its proximity to the Presidential Administration building.

The Polish architect Władysław Horodecki originally constructed the House with Chimaeras for use as his own upmarket apartment building during 1901–1902. However, as the years went by, Horodecki eventually had to sell the building due to financial troubles, after which it changed ownership numerous times before finally being occupied by an official Communist Party polyclinic until the early 2000s. When the building was vacated, its interior and exterior decor were fully reconstructed and restored according to Horodecki's original plans. (Full article...)

55 Wall Street, formerly the National City Bank Building, is an eight-story building on Wall Street between William and Hanover streets in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The lowest three stories were completed in either 1841 or 1842 as the four-story Merchants' Exchange and designed by Isaiah Rogers in the Greek Revival style. Between 1907 and 1910, McKim, Mead & White removed the original fourth story and added five floors to create the present building. Since 2006, the banking room has functioned as an event venue called the Cipriani Wall Street, while the upper stories have been a condominium development known as the Cipriani Club Residences.

55 Wall Street's granite facade includes two stacked colonnades facing Wall Street, each with twelve columns. Inside is a cruciform banking hall with a 60-foot (18 m) vaulted ceiling, Corinthian columns, marble floors and walls, and an entablature around the interior. The banking hall was among the largest in the United States when it was completed. The offices of Citibank's predecessor National City Bank were in the corners of the banking hall, while the fourth through eighth floors were used as office space. The facade and part of the interior are New York City designated landmarks, and the building is listed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Wall Street Historic District, listed on the NRHP. (Full article...)

Sanssouci (German pronunciation: [ˈsãːsusi]) is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it is similarly notable for the numerous temples and follies in the surrounding park. The palace was designed and built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to meet Frederick's need for a private residence where he could escape the pomp and ceremony of the royal court. The palace's name is a French phrase (sans souci) meaning "without worries" or "carefree", emphasising that the palace was meant as a place of relaxation rather than a seat of power.

Sanssouci is little more than a large, single-storey villa—more like the Château de Marly than Versailles. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the centre of the park. The influence of King Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterised as "Frederician Rococo", and his feelings for the palace were so strong that he conceived it as "a place that would die with him". Because of a disagreement about the site of the palace in the park, Knobelsdorff was fired in 1746. Jan Bouman, a Dutch architect, finished the project. (Full article...)

St. Michael's Cathedral (German: Kathedrale St. Michael; simplified Chinese: 圣弥爱尔大教堂; traditional Chinese: 聖彌愛爾大教堂; pinyin: Shèng Mí'ài'ěr Dàjiàotáng), also called the Zhejiang Road Catholic Church (Chinese: 浙江路天主教堂), is a Catholic church in Qingdao (Tsingtao), Shandong Province, China, and is the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Qingdao (Tsingtao). It is located in the oldest part of Qingdao, at 15 Zhejiang Road (formerly Bremen Straße), on the east side of Zhongshan Road (formerly Friedrich Straße) in Shinan District. Built by German missionaries, the cathedral stands at the top of a hill in the center of the old German-built part of the city. It is the largest example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the province, resembling a German cathedral of the 12th century.

St. Michael's Cathedral is the product of a strong German presence in Shandong Province in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. The Divine Word Missionaries built a church in the Jiaozhou Bay concession in Shandong in 1902, and in 1934 erected the cathedral, which remained nominally under their administration until 1964. In 1942 it came under the control of the Japanese Army, returning to Chinese control when the Japanese left Qingdao in 1945. In the early 1950s, all foreign missionaries, including the Bishop of Qingdao, were either imprisoned or expelled from China, and during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) the cathedral was defaced and abandoned. In 1981, it was repaired by the government and reopened for services, and in 1992 it was listed as a Provincial Historic Building by the government of Shandong Province. (Full article...)

Buckingham Palace (UK: /ˈbʌkɪŋəm/) is the official residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom in London. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focal point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and mourning.

Originally known as Buckingham House, the building at the core of today's palace was a large townhouse built for the Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703 on a site that had been in private ownership for at least 150 years. It was acquired by George III in 1761 as a private residence for Queen Charlotte and became known as The Queen's House. In the early 19th century it was enlarged by the architects John Nash and Edward Blore, who constructed three wings around a central courtyard. Buckingham Palace became the London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. (Full article...)

Hoysala architecture is the building style in Hindu temple architecture developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries, in the region known today as Karnataka, a state of India. Hoysala influence was at its peak in the 13th century, when it dominated the Southern Deccan Plateau region. Large and small temples built during this era remain as examples of the Hoysala architectural style, including the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. These three temples were accorded UNESCO world heritage site status in 2023. Other examples of Hoysala craftsmanship are the temples at Belavadi, Amruthapura, Hosaholalu, Mosale, Arasikere, Basaralu, Kikkeri and Nuggehalli. Study of the Hoysala architectural style has revealed a negligible North Indian influence while the impact of Southern Indian style is more distinct.

Temples built prior to Hoysala independence in the mid-12th century reflect significant Western Chalukya influences, while later temples retain some features salient to Western Chalukya architecture but have additional inventive decoration and ornamentation, features unique to Hoysala artisans. Some three hundred temples are known to survive in present-day Karnataka state and many more are mentioned in inscriptions, though only about seventy have been documented. The greatest concentration of these are in the Malnad (hill) districts, the native home of the Hoysala kings. (Full article...)

Cragside is a Tudor Revival country house near the town of Rothbury in Northumberland, England. Dating to the Victorian era, it was the home of William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, founder of the Armstrong Whitworth armaments firm. An industrial magnate, scientist, philanthropist and inventor of the hydraulic crane and the Armstrong gun, Armstrong also displayed his inventiveness in the domestic sphere, making Cragside the first house in the world to be lit using hydroelectric power. The estate was technologically advanced: the architect of the house, Richard Norman Shaw, wrote that it was equipped with "wonderful hydraulic machines that do all sorts of things". In the grounds, Armstrong built dams and lakes to power a sawmill, a water-powered laundry, early versions of a dishwasher and a dumb waiter, a hydraulic lift and a hydroelectric rotisserie. In 1887, Armstrong was raised to the peerage, the first engineer or scientist to be ennobled, and became Baron Armstrong of Cragside.

The original building consisted of a small shooting lodge which Armstrong built between 1862 and 1864. In 1869, he employed the architect Richard Norman Shaw to enlarge the site, and in two phases of work between 1869 and 1882, they transformed the house into a northern Neuschwanstein. The result was described by the architect and writer Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel as "one of the most dramatic compositions in all architecture". Armstrong filled the house with a significant art collection; he and his wife were patrons of many 19th-century British artists. Cragside became an integral part of Armstrong's commercial operations: honoured guests under Armstrong's roof, including the Shah of Persia, the King of Siam and two future Prime Ministers of Japan, were also customers for his commercial undertakings. (Full article...)

John Douglas (11 April 1830 – 23 May 1911) was an English architect who designed over 500 buildings in Cheshire, North Wales, and northwest England, particularly on the Eaton Hall estate. He was trained in Lancaster and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester. Initially he ran the practice on his own, but from 1884 until two years before his death he worked in partnerships with two of his former assistants.

Douglas's output included new churches, restoration and renovation of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic. Douglas worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, and many of his works incorporate elements of the English Gothic style. He was also influenced by architectural styles from the mainland of Europe and included elements of French, German and Dutch architecture. However, he is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, in particular half-timbering, influenced by the black-and-white revival in Chester. Other vernacular elements he incorporated include tile-hanging, pargeting and the use of decorative brick in diapering and the design of tall chimney stacks. Of particular importance is Douglas's use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving. (Full article...)

Ieoh Ming Pei (/ˌjoʊ mɪŋ ˈpeɪ/ YOH ming PAY; Chinese: 貝聿銘; pinyin: Bèi Yùmíng; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was a Chinese-American architect.

Born in Guangzhou into a Chinese family, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the garden villas at Suzhou, the traditional retreat of the scholar-gentry to which his family belonged. In 1935, he moved to the United States and enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania's architecture school, but quickly transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Unhappy with the focus on Beaux-Arts architecture at both schools, he spent his free time researching emerging architects, especially Le Corbusier. (Full article...)

El Lissitzky (Russian: Эль Лиси́цкий, born Lazar Markovich Lissitzky Russian: Ла́зарь Ма́ркович Лиси́цкий, listen; 23 November [O.S. 11 November] 1890 – 30 December 1941) was a Russian and Soviet artist, active as a painter, illustrator, designer, printmaker, photographer, and architect. He was an important figure of the avant-garde, helping develop suprematism with his mentor, Kazimir Malevich, and designing numerous exhibition displays and propaganda works for the Soviet Union.

Lissitzky began his career illustrating Yiddish children's books in an effort to promote Jewish culture. He started teaching at the age of 15, maintaining his teaching career for most of his life. Over the years, he taught in a variety of positions, schools, and artistic media, spreading and exchanging ideas. He took this ethic with him when he worked with Malevich in heading the suprematist art group UNOVIS, when he developed a variant suprematist series of his own, Proun, and further still in 1921, when he moved to Weimar Republic. In his remaining years he brought significant innovation and change to typography, exhibition design, photomontage, and book design, producing critically respected works and winning international acclaim for his exhibition design. This continued until his deathbed, where in 1941 he produced one of his last works – a Soviet propaganda poster rallying the people to construct more tanks for the fight against Nazi Germany. (Full article...)

Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artistic, cultural, and social values. Once a site is designated as a landmark, it is subject to the Chicago Landmarks Ordinance, which requires that any alterations beyond routine maintenance, up to and including demolition, must have their permit reviewed by the Landmarks Commission. Many Chicago Landmarks are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, providing federal tax support for preservation, and some are further designated National Historic Landmarks, providing additional federal oversight. (Full article...)

John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His output included new churches, alterations to and restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, much of his work incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. Douglas is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, in particular half-timbering. Of particular importance to Douglas' church furniture is his use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving.

John Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant. He established an office in Chester in either 1855 or 1860, from where he practised throughout his career. Initially he ran the office himself but in 1884 he appointed his assistant, Daniel Porter Fordham, as a partner. When Fordham retired in 1897, he was succeeded by Charles Howard Minshull. In 1909 this partnership was dissolved and Douglas ran the office alone until his death in 1911. As his office was in Chester, most of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales, although some were further afield, in Lancashire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Scotland. (Full article...)

This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Greater Manchester ranks buildings in Greater Manchester, England, by height. Greater Manchester is the second-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom after Greater London, with a population of over 2.5 million. The region's tallest buildings are concentrated in central Manchester and the adjacent borough of Salford, which together form a single, continuous urban core along the River Irwell.

Since the late 2010s, central Manchester has experienced a major high-rise boom, with the number of buildings over 100 metres (330 ft) increasing from just four in 2017 to 28 in 2026. An additional seven towers exceeding 100 metres are currently under construction. This represents the largest concentration of high-rises in any UK metropolitan area outside London. The tallest to date is the South Tower at Deansgate Square, completed in 2018 at 201 metres (659 ft), making it the tallest building in the UK outside London. (Full article...)

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S state of Michigan, with a metropolitan area population of 4.4 million. As of 2026, Detroit is home to 39 buildings taller than 300 feet (91 m), nine of which are skyscrapers with a height of 492 ft (150 m) or more. Detroit has one of the largest skylines in the Midwestern United States, with the third most skyscrapers above 492 ft (150 m) in the region, after Chicago and Minneapolis. The tallest skyscraper in Detroit is the 70-story Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, which rises 727 ft (221.5 m) along the Detroit International Riverfront in the city's downtown.^[A] The skyscraper is one of seven towers in the Renaissance Center complex, which served as the headquarters of General Motors from 1996 to 2026, reflecting the city's role in the automotive industry. The Detroit Marriott is the tallest building in Michigan and was the tallest hotel building in the world upon completion in 1977; it is currently the second tallest in all of North America.

Detroit's history of skyscrapers began in 1889, with completion of the historic 10-story Hammond Building—considered the city's first steel-framed skyscraper. Detroit grew to become the fourth-largest city in the United States by the 1920s, and witnessed a massive building boom during the Roaring Twenties. Many ornate skyscrapers were built during this period, including the Penobscot, Guardian, Fisher, Buhl, and David Stott buildings. This resulted in Detroit having one of the world's largest skylines at the time outside of New York City and Chicago. By 1930, the city had thirteen 300-foot buildings. The Great Depression brought an end to the boom. (Full article...)

South Somerset is a former local government district in the English county of Somerset. The South Somerset district occupies an area of 370 square miles (958 km²), stretching from its borders with Devon and Dorset to the edge of the Somerset Levels. The district had a population of about 158,000, and Yeovil was its administrative centre.

In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, severe restrictions are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or its fittings. In England, the authority for listing under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 rests with Historic England, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; local authorities have a responsibility to regulate and enforce the planning regulations. (Full article...)

Miami is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Florida, while its metropolitan area, with a population of 6.4 million, is the largest in the state. Miami has the third-largest skyline in the United States, after New York City and Chicago, and the fourth largest in North America, trailing behind Toronto. It has over 400 high-rises, 69 of which are taller than 492 feet (150 m) as of 2026, with nine more that are topped out. The tallest building in the city is the 85-story Panorama Tower, completed in 2017, which rises 868 feet (265 m) in Miami's Brickell district. The top ten tallest buildings in Florida are located in Miami, and the top twenty are all in the city's metropolitan area.

The first significant tall building in Miami is considered to be the six-story Burdine's Department Store, built in 1912, while the 17-story, Mediterranean Revival Freedom Tower, completed in 1925, is the city's best-known early skyscraper. For much of the 20th century, Miami had a relatively modest skyline compared to other major American cities. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Miami underwent a large residential high-rise boom that transformed its skyline, and expanded it to the Brickell and Edgewater neighborhoods. Development accelerated in the mid-2000s, until the Great Recession brought an end to the boom. The skyscraper boom resumed in the mid-2010s, owing to the city's continued population growth and investment, with Miami overtaking Houston as the city with the largest skyline in the southern United States, and has continued into the 2020s. (Full article...)

West Somerset is a former local government district in the English county of Somerset. In the United Kingdom, the term listed building refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance; Grade I structures are those considered to be "buildings of exceptional interest". Listing was begun by a provision in the Town and Country Planning Act 1947. Once listed, severe restrictions are imposed on the modifications allowed to a building's structure or its fittings. In England, the authority for listing under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 rests with Historic England, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; local authorities have a responsibility to regulate and enforce the planning regulations.

The district of West Somerset covers a largely rural area, with a population, according to the 2011 census, of 35,300 in an area of 740 square kilometres (290 sq mi). The largest centres of population are the coastal towns of Minehead and Watchet. The council's administrative headquarters are in the village of Williton. (Full article...)

There are 27 scheduled monuments in Maidstone, Kent, England. In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is an archaeological site or historic building of "national importance" that has been given protection against unauthorised change by being placed on a list (or "schedule") by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; Historic England takes the leading role in identifying such sites. Scheduled monuments are defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the National Heritage Act 1983. They are also referred to as scheduled ancient monuments. There are about 20,000 scheduled monument entries on the list and more than one site can be included in a single entry. While a scheduled monument can also be recognised as a listed building, Historic England considers listed building status as a better way of protecting buildings than scheduled monument status. If a monument is considered by Historic England to "no longer merit scheduling" it can be removed from the schedule.

The borough of Maidstone is a local government district in the English county of Kent. The Maidstone district covers a largely rural area of 152 square miles (394 km²) between the North Downs and the Weald with the town of Maidstone, the county town of Kent, in the north-west. The district had a population of approximately 166,400 in 2016. The monuments range in date from a Neolithic standing stone to a tiny 18th-century mortuary, but the majority are medieval. (Full article...)

John Douglas (1830–1911) was an English architect based in Chester, Cheshire. His designs included new churches, alterations to and restoration of existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses. He also designed a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic, but as he worked during the period of the Gothic Revival, much of his work incorporates elements of the English Gothic style. Douglas is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular elements in his buildings, especially half-timbering. Of particular importance is Douglas' use of joinery and highly detailed wood carving.

Douglas was born in the Cheshire village of Sandiway and was articled to the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley, later becoming his chief assistant. He established an office in Chester in either 1855 or 1860, from where he practised throughout his career. Initially he ran the office himself but in 1884 he appointed a former assistant, Daniel Porter Fordham, as a partner. When Fordham retired in 1897, he was succeeded by Charles Howard Minshull. In 1909 this partnership was dissolved and Douglas ran the office alone until his death in 1911. As his office was in Chester, most of his work was carried out in Cheshire and North Wales, although some was further afield in regions including Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Shropshire. (Full article...)

San Francisco, a major city in the U.S state of California, has over 480 high-rises, 124 of which are at least 300 feet (91 m) tall as of 2026. The tallest building in the city is Salesforce Tower, the city's sole supertall skyscraper. Headquarters of software company Salesforce, it was completed in 2018 at a height of 1,070 ft (326.1 m). It is the 18th-tallest building in the United States and the second tallest in California. San Francisco has the second largest skyline in the Western United States. It has the second most skyscrapers taller than 492 ft (150 m) in California, with 27, after Los Angeles. When ranked by buildings that reach 300 ft (91 m), San Francisco has more skyscrapers than Los Angeles, and is tied with Atlanta as having the fifth-most in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Houston.

The history of skyscrapers in San Francisco began with the 218-foot (66 m), ten-story Chronicle Building, which was completed in 1890. During the 1920s, San Francisco underwent one of the largest pre-war skyscraper booms in the United States, constructing ten structures greater than 300 ft (91 m), including the Telephone Building and the Russ Building. The Great Depression and World War II halted skyscraper development for two decades until the 1950s. Many of San Francisco's tallest buildings, particularly its office skyscrapers, were built in a major construction boom between the 1960s and the late 1980s. This included the iconic Transamerica Pyramid in 1972, which rises to 853 feet (260 m). (Full article...)

Runcorn is an industrial town in Halton, Cheshire, England, on the south bank of the River Mersey where it narrows at Runcorn Gap. In the town are the 61 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings in the current urban area of Runcorn, including the districts of Runcorn, Halton, Weston, Weston Point, and Norton. Two of these are classified as being in Grade I, nine in Grade II*, and 51 in Grade II.

In the United Kingdom, the term "listed building" refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. These buildings are in three grades: Grade I consists of buildings of outstanding architectural or historical interest; Grade II* includes particularly significant buildings of more than local interest; Grade II consists of buildings of special architectural or historical interest. Buildings in England are listed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on recommendations provided by English Heritage, which also determines the grading. (Full article...)

Cleveland, the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio, is home to 51 completed high-rises taller than 200 feet (61 m), 21 of which have a height greater than 300 feet (91 m). By both metrics, Cleveland has the largest skyline in Ohio, ahead of Columbus and Cincinnati. The tallest building in Cleveland is the 57-story Key Tower, which rises 947 feet (289 m) on Public Square. The tower has been the tallest building in Ohio since its completion in 1991 and the tallest in the Midwestern United States outside of Chicago. The Terminal Tower, 771 feet (235 m), is the second tallest building in Cleveland and Ohio. At the time of its completion in 1927, the building was the tallest in the world outside New York City.

The history of skyscrapers in Cleveland began in 1889 with the construction of the Society for Savings Building, often called the city's first skyscraper. One of the largest cities in the United States in the first half of the 20th century, Cleveland went through an early building boom in the 1920s, during which several high-rises, most notably the Ohio Bell Building and the Terminal Tower, were constructed. The centerpiece of the Cleveland Union Terminal rail station, the Terminal Tower was more than twice the height of any other building in the city. It dominated Cleveland's skyline for decades, as high-rise development ceased in the wake of the Great Depression until the late 1950s. (Full article...)

Singapore is a highly urbanised country with over 10,000 completed high-rises, the majority of which are located in the Downtown Core, its central business district (CBD). In the CBD, there are over 100 skyscrapers. The Guoco Tower currently holds the title of the tallest building in Singapore. It stands at 290 m (950 ft), exempted from the height restriction of 280 m (920 ft) in the CBD. A supertall tower, the Skywaters Residences is being built at the current AXA Tower site. Standing at 305 m (1,001 ft), it is expected to be completed by 2028.

Singapore's history of skyscrapers began with the 1939 completion of the 17-storey Cathay Building. The 70-metre (230 ft) structure was, at the time of its completion, the tallest building in Southeast Asia; it was superseded by the 87-metre (285 ft) Asia Insurance Building in 1954, which remained the tallest in Singapore for more than a decade. Singapore went through a major building boom in the 1970s and 1980s that resulted from the city's rapid industrialisation. During this time OUB Centre (present-day One Raffles Place) became the tallest building in the city-state; the 280 m (919 ft) structure was also the tallest building in the world outside of North America from its 1986 completion until 1989. The skyscraper-building boom continued during the 1990s and 2000s, with 30 skyscrapers at least 140 m (459 ft) tall, many of them residential towers, constructed from 1990 through 2008. (Full article...)

Tulsa, the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, is the site of 26 completed high-rises over 200 feet (61 m), 4 of which stand taller than 492 feet (150 m). The tallest building in the city is the BOK Tower, which rises 667 feet (203 m) in Downtown Tulsa and was completed in 1975. It also stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Oklahoma. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city is the Cityplex Central Tower, which rises 648 feet (198 m) and was completed in 1979. The First Place Tower, completed in 1975 and rising 516 feet (157 m), is the third-tallest building in Tulsa. Five of the ten tallest buildings in Oklahoma are located in Tulsa. (Full article...)

The city of Shanghai, China has one of the largest skylines in the world, with 193 completed skyscrapers that reach a height of 150 metres (492 feet) as of 2025, making it the city with the sixth-most skyscrapers in the world. It also has the third most skyscrapers in mainland China, after Shenzhen and Guangzhou. As the largest urban area in China, with an urban area population of over 21.9 million residents as of 2020, Shanghai is home to some of China's tallest buildings.

Shanghai's first high-rise building boom occurred in the 1920s and 1930s, during the city's heyday as a multinational center of business and finance. The city's international concessions permitted foreign investment, and with it came architectural styles influenced by the West, as seen today in areas such as the French Concession and the Bund. After the Communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai's urban development was stifled, punished for its earlier capitalist excesses. (Full article...)