This two-volume encyclopedia covers buildings and sites of global significance from prehistoric times to the present day, providing students with an essential understanding of architectural development and its impact on human societies.

This two-volume encyclopedia provides an in-depth look at buildings and sites of global significance throughout history. The volumes are separated into four regional sections: 1) the Americas, 2) Europe, 3) Africa and the Middle East, and 4) Asia and the Pacific. Four regional essays investigate the broader stylistic and historical contexts that describe the development of architecture through time and across the globe. Entries explore the unique importance of buildings and sites, including the megalithic wonder of Stonehenge and the imposing complex of Angkor Wat.



Entries on Spanish colonial missions in the Americas and the medieval Islamic universities of the Sahara connect to broader building traditions. Other entries highlight remarkable stories of architectural achievement and memory, like those of Tuskegee University, a site hand-built by former slaves, or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which was built at the site of the atomic detonation. Each entry focuses on the architectural but includes strong consideration of the social impact, importance, and significance each structure has had in the past and in the present.









Provides readers with a deep historical and stylistic context for many of the world's most famous buildings and sites, while at the same time highlighting the importance of lesser-known monuments



Includes entries written by more than 50 specialist scholars, architects, and educators from around the globe



Creates an intellectual framework for comparing the different stylistic forms of world architecture and the historical circumstances that facilitated the construction of the world's most influential and important buildings and sites



Includes numerous sidebars that explore important social issues, building techniques, and legacies of architecture around the world



Broadens the reader's knowledge of long-lasting historical trends that have a direct impact on our worldview today



Includes a chronology that covers important achievements in architecture through time