architecture

/ˌɑrkəˈtɛktʃər/

/ˈɑkɪtɛktʃə/

Other forms: architectures

Architecture is the process, or profession, of designing buildings and their environments. Architecture also refers to the product of this design and work.

The root of the word architecture is the Greek arkhitekton ("master builder"), which makes sense because the ancient Greeks were very skilled at architecture — think of all those columns and stadiums and temples. The Parthenon, which was begun in 447 BC, is one of the greatest examples of architecture from Classical Greece.

Definitions of architecture

1. noun

   the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings
   “architecture and eloquence are mixed arts whose end is sometimes beauty and sometimes use”

   types:

   landscape architecture

   the branch of architecture dealing with the arrangement of land and buildings for human use and enjoyment

   urban planning

   the branch of architecture dealing with the design and organization of urban space and activities

   interior design

   the branch of architecture dealing with the selection and organization of furnishings for an architectural interior

   type of:

   bailiwick, discipline, field, field of study, study, subject, subject area, subject field

   a branch of knowledge

   beaux arts, fine arts

   the study and creation of visual works of art
2. noun

   the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their esthetic effect
   type of:

   profession

   an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences)
3. noun

   an architectural product or work
   type of:

   building, edifice

   a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
4. noun

   (computer science) the structure and organization of a computer's hardware or system software
   “the architecture of a computer's system software”

   synonyms: computer architecture

   types:

   CISC, complex instruction set computer, complex instruction set computing

   (computer science) a kind of computer architecture that has a large number of instructions hard coded into the CPU chip

   RISC, reduced instruction set computer, reduced instruction set computing

   (computer science) a kind of computer architecture that has a relatively small set of computer instructions that it can perform

   type of:

   structure

   the manner of construction of something and the arrangement of its parts