Noun

Singular architecture

Plural countable and uncountable; plural architectures

architecture (countable and uncountable; plural architectures)

1. The art and science of designing buildings and other structures.

   The architecture throughout NYC is amazing.

2. The profession of an architect.
3. Any particular style of building design.
4. A unifying structure.
5. (computing) A specific model of a microchip or CPU.

   The Intel architectures have more software written for them.

6. The structure and design of a system or product.

   The architecture of the company's billing system is designed to support its business goals.

Related terms

• architectonic

Architecture (from Greek word ἀρχιτεκτονική - arkhitektonike) is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment, from the macro level of how a building integrates with its surrounding context (see town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture) to the micro level of architectural or construction details and, sometimes, furniture and hardware. Wider still, architecture is the activity of designing any kind of system.

As a profession, architecture refers to the professional services provided by architects.

Architecture is also experienced through the senses, which therefore gives rise to aural, visual, olfactory, and tactile architecture. As people move through a space, architecture is experienced as a time sequence. Even though our culture considers architecture to be a visual experience, the other senses play a role in how we experience both natural and built environments. Attitudes towards the senses depend on culture. The design process and the sensory experience of a space are distinctly separate views, each with its own language and assumptions.

Architectural works are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and, sometimes, as works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Such buildings as the pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Colosseum are cultural symbols, and are an important link in public consciousness, even when scholars have discovered much about a past civilization through other means. Cities, regions and cultures continue to identify themselves with (and are known by) their architectural monuments.