Timeline of architecture explained
This is a timeline of architecture, indexing the individual year in architecture pages. Notable events in architecture and related disciplines including structural engineering, landscape architecture, and city planning. One significant architectural achievement is listed for each year.
Contents | Summary of events in architecture – by year |
21st Century: | 2000s – 2010s – 2020s |
20th Century: | 1900s – 1910s – 1920s – 1930s – 1940s – 1950s – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s |
19th Century: | 1800s – 1810s – 1820s – 1830s – 1840s – 1850s – 1860s – 1870s – 1880s – 1890s |
18th Century: | 1700s – 1710s – 1720s – 1730s – 1740s – 1750s – 1760s – 1770s – 1780s – 1790s |
Pre-18th Century: | 1000s – 1100s – 1200s – 1300s – 1400s – 1500s – 1600s |
| 3rd millennium BC – 2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – 1st millennium AD | |
__FORCETOC__Articles for each year (in bold text, below) are summarized here with a significant event as a reference point.
2020s
2010s
- 2019 – Notre-Dame fire
- 2017 – Apple's new headquarters Apple Park, designed by Norman Foster, opened in Cupertino, California.
- 2016 – MahaNakhon opens in Bangkok, Zaha Hadid dies.
- 2015 – Shanghai Tower in Shanghai, the tallest building in China and the second-tallest building in the world, gets completed, Charles Correa dies.
- 2014 – One World Trade Center opens in New York City.
- 2013 – Gran Torre Santiago is completed in Santiago.
- 2012 – The Tokyo Skytree opens in Tokyo, The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is open in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Oscar Niemeyer dies.
- 2011 – Al Hamra Tower, the tallest skyscraper in Kuwait, is completed.
- 2010 – Burj Khalifa became the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 828m (2,717feet).
2000s
- 2009 – CityCenter opens on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. This project is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States.
- 2008 – "Water Cube", "Bird's Nest", South railway station, and other buildings in Beijing, completed for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
- 2007 – Tarald Lundevall completes the Oslo Opera House in Oslo, Norway.
- 2006 – Construction begins on the Freedom Tower, on the site of the former World Trade Center.
- 2005 – Casa da Música opens in Porto, Portugal, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas with Office for Metropolitan Architecture.
- 2004 – 30 St Mary Axe (also known as "the Gherkin" and the Swiss Re Building), designed by Norman Foster, completed in the City of London.
- 2003 – Taipei 101, designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010 is topped out.
- 2002 – Simmons Hall dormitory, designed by architect Steven Holl, completed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- 2001 – Jewish Museum Berlin designed by Daniel Libeskind opens to the public.
- 2000 – The Emirates Towers are both completed in Dubai, The London Eye is open in London.
1990s
- 1999 – Jewish Museum Berlin, designed by Daniel Libeskind is completed.
- 1998 – Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, designed by César Pelli completed (world tallest building 1998–2004). Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art by Steven Holl opens to public.
- 1997 – Guggenheim Museum Bilbao designed by Frank Gehry. Sky Tower (Auckland) completed.
- 1996 – Oscar Niemeyer completes the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum in Brazil.
- 1996 – Aronoff Center for Design and Art, University of Cincinnati completed by Peter Eisenman.
- 1995 – Steven Holl Architects begin construction of St. Ignatius Chapel at Seattle University.
- 1994 – Building of the Basel Signal Box by Herzog and de Meuron
- 1993 – The Umeda Sky Building in Osaka City, Japan is completed.
- 1992 – The Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina is completed.
- 1991 – Stansted Airport terminal building in Essex, England, designed by Norman Foster, is completed.
- 1990 – Frederick Weisman Museum of Art, University of Minnesota completed by Frank Gehry.
1980s
1970s
- 1979 – Charles Moore designs the Piazza d'Italia in New Orleans.
- 1978 – United Nations City in Vienna, Austria is completed.
- 1977 – The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, designed by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini, is opened.[1]
- 1976 – The Barbican Estate, designed by Chamberlin, Powell and Bon, opens in the City of London.
- 1976 – The CN Tower in Toronto opens as the tallest freestanding structure on land.
- 1975 – Completion of the Seoul Tower in Seoul, South Korea.
- 1974 – National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh is completed.
- 1973 – The World Trade Center towers, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, are opened in New York.
- 1972 – The Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California, designed by William Pereira, is completed.
- 1971 – Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas, designed by Mark Rothko and Philip Johnson is completed.
- 1970 – Construction begins on the Sears Tower in Chicago, designed by Bruce Graham and Fazlur Khan (of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill).
1960s
1950s
- 1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum in New York City is finished after 16 years of work on the project.
- 1958 – The Seagram Building in New York designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson is completed.
- 1957 – The Interbau 57 exposition in Berlin features structures by Alvar Aalto, Walter Gropius and his The Architects' Collaborative (TAC), and an unité by Le Corbusier.
- 1956 – Crown Hall at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, designed by Mies van der Rohe, is finished.
- 1955 – Completion of Le Corbusier's Notre Dame du Haut chapel at Ronchamp, France and Disneyland (the world's first theme park) in Anaheim, California.
- 1954 – Louis Kahn finishes his Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, US.
- 1953 – Completion of the United Nations Headquarters in New York by a design team headed by Wallace Harrison and Max Abramowitz.
- 1952 – Le Corbusier completes his Unité d'Habitation in Marseilles.
- 1951 – Mies van der Rohe's Lake Shore Drive Apartments completed in Chicago.
- 1950 – Eames House completed in Santa Monica, California, designed by Charles and Ray Eames.
1940s
1930s
- 1939 – The 1939 World's Fair in New York includes the Finnish Pavilion by Alvar Aalto and the Brazilian Pavilion by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer.
- 1938 – Frank Lloyd Wright purchases 800acres of land 26 miles away from Phoenix, and begins to build Taliesin West, his winter home, in Scottsdale, Arizona, US
- 1937 – Wright completes his house Fallingwater, at Bear Run, Pennsylvania.
- 1936 – Frank Lloyd Wright designs his monumental inward-looking Johnson Wax Headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, US.
- 1935 – Cass Gilbert's United States Supreme Court Building is posthumously finished.
- 1934 – Frank Lloyd Wright draws up plans for his Broadacre City, a decentralized urban metropolis.
- 1933 – The Bauhaus closes under Nazi pressure.
- 1932 – The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York holds its exhibition on modern architecture, coining the term "International Style."
- 1931 – The Empire State Building, designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, becomes the tallest building in the world.
- 1930 – William Van Alen completes the Chrysler Building, an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, US.
1920s
- 1929 – Barcelona Pavilion designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
- 1929 – Villa Savoye designed by Le Corbusier.
- 1928 – Hector Guimard builds his last house in Paris.
- 1927 – The Weissenhof Estate, an exhibition of apartment houses designed by leading modern architects, held at Stuttgart, Germany.
- 1926 – Bauhaus Dessau building, designed by Walter Gropius, opened. Antoni Gaudí and Louis Majorelle die.
- 1925 – Government House of Thailand, in Bangkok, opened
- 1924 – Gerrit Rietveld completes the Schröder House in Utrecht.
- 1923 – Le Corbusier publishes Vers une architecture (Toward an Architecture), a summary of his ideas.
- 1922 – Monument to the Third International designed by Vladimir Tatlin (unbuilt).
- 1921 – Frank Lloyd Wright completes his Hollyhock House for Aline Barnsdall in Los Angeles, begun in 1917.
- 1920 – The Einstein Tower in Potsdam, designed by Erich Mendelsohn, is completed.
1910s
1900s
1890s
- 1899 – Hector Guimard is commissioned to design the edicules for the Paris Métropolitain, which have become a hallmark of Art Nouveau design.
- 1898 – Victor Horta designs his own house, later the Horta Museum.
- 1897 – Hendrik Berlage designs his Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
- 1896 – Eugène Vallin completes his own house and studio in Nancy (France), which is the first of many Art Nouveau structures built there by the members of the École de Nancy.
- 1895 – The Biltmore Estate, the largest house in the US, is completed for the Vanderbilt family in Asheville, North Carolina.
- 1894 – Louis Sullivan builds the Guaranty Building in Buffalo, NY, US.
- 1893 – Victor Horta builds what is widely considered the first full-fledged Art Nouveau structure, the Hôtel Tassel, in Brussels.
- 1892 – Birth of Modernist architect Richard Neutra.
- 1891 – Louis Sullivan completes his Wainwright Building in Saint Louis.
- 1890 – Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler build the Auditorium Building in Chicago.
1880s
1870s
1860s
1850s
1840s
1830s
1820s
1810s
- 1819 – Birth of English architect Horace Jones.
- 1818 – Birth of American architect James Renwick Jr.
- 1817 – Dulwich Picture Gallery in London is designed by Sir John Soane as the first purpose-built art gallery.
- 1816 – Regent's Bridge, crossing the River Thames in central London, designed by James Walker, is opened.
- 1815 – Brighton Pavilion is redesigned by John Nash for the future King George IV.
- 1814 – British troops burn the White House in Washington, D.C., gutting it completely.
- 1813 – Death of Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart.
- 1812 – The Egyptian Hall in London, designed by P. F. Robinson, is completed.
- 1811 – The United States Capitol, designed by Benjamin Latrobe, is completed. Birth of George Gilbert Scott.
- 1810 – Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange, designed by Jean-François Thomas de Thomon, is completed.
1800s
- 1809 – Birth of city planner Baron Haussmann.
- 1808 – Construction begins on the Paris Bourse, designed by Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart.
- 1807 – The Templo de la Virgen del Carmen in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico is completed.
- 1806 – Arc de Triomphe, Paris from Jean Chalgrin commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte.
- 1805 – The Ellesmere Canal, designed by Thomas Telford, is completed.
- 1804 – Completion of the Government House in the Bahamas.
- 1803 – The Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, West Bengal, India is finished.
- 1802 – The Temple of Saint Philip Neri in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico is completed.
- 1801 – Birth of Henri Labrouste.
- 1800 – The White House in Washington, D.C. is completed by team of client George Washington, planner Pierre L'Enfant, and architect James Hoban.
1790s
- 1799 – Death of French neoclassicist Étienne-Louis Boullée.
- 1798 – Karlsruhe Synagogue, usually regarded as the first building of the Egyptian Revival architecture, built by Friedrich Weinbrenner in Karlsruhe.
- 1797 – Ditherington Flax Mill, in Shrewsbury, England, the world's oldest surviving iron-framed building, is completed.
- 1796 – Somerset House in London, designed by William Chambers, is completed.
- 1795 – Birth of English architect Charles Barry.
- 1794 – Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Korea, begins.
- 1793 – Old East, the oldest public uniir John Soane's Museum.
- 1791 – Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is completed
- 1790 –
1780s
1770s
1760s
1750s
1740s
1730s
1720s
1710s
1700s
17th century
- 1690s – Potala Palace is completed in Tibet.
- 1690s – The city of Noto, Italy, on Sicily, is devastated by an earthquake (1693), and a rebuilding program begins in the Baroque style.
- 1680s – Church of Les Invalides, Paris is built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart.
- 1670s – The Royal Greenwich Observatory in London, designed by Christopher Wren is completed (1676).
- 1660s – Louis XIV, with the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart, begins to enlarge the Palace of Versailles (1661); foundation stone of Petersberg Citadel, Erfurt, Germany laid (1665).
- 1650s – Completion of the church Sant'Agnese in Agone in Rome, designed by Borromini and Carlo Rainaldi.
- 1640s – Borromini builds the church Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza in Rome.
- 1630s – Emperor Shah Jahan construct Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
- 1630s – Borromini builds the church San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome.
- 1620s – St. Peter's Basilica is completed in Vatican City (1626).
- 1610s – Mohammadreza Isfahani builds Naghsh-i Jahan Square in Isfahan, Iran.
- 1600s – 33 pol bridge is constructed in Isfahan, Iran.
16th century
15th century
14th century
13th century
12th century
11th century
1st millennium AD
- 905 – Aachen Cathedral consecrated (major renovations in the 10th century).
- 900s – Akhtala Monastery built, intended as a fortress.
- 800s –
- 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
- 848 – San Miguel de Lillo built in the Asturian pre-romanesque style of Spain.
- 700s – Seokguram of Korea is constructed.
- 605 – Anji Bridge, China, the world's oldest known open-spandrel segmental stone arch bridge, is completed.
- 600s – St. Hripsime Church, Echmiadzin, one of the world's oldest surviving churches, constructed.
- 500s – Hagia Sophia built in its present form. Oldest known surviving roof truss in Saint Catherine's Monastery.
- 495–504 – Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna.[3]
- 470 – Basilica of St. Martin, Tours.[3]
- 432–40 – Santa Maria Maggiore[3] and Santa Sabina in Rome.[3]
- 400s – Mahabalipuram, an ancient port city of south east India, constructed under Mahendravarman I & his son Narasimhavarman I of the Pallava Kingdom, Tamil Nadu, South India.
- 391 – Serapeum of Alexandria is destroyed in a conflict between Christians and pagans.
- c.330 – Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome.[3]
- 325 – Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.[3]
- 320 – Construction of Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome, begun using standards that will be followed in future basilica designs.[3]
- 315 – Arch of Constantine in Rome dedicated to the Battle of Milvian Bridge.
- 312 – Aula Palatina (Basilica of Constantine) at Trier, the brick audience hall, completed.[4]
- 307–312 – Basilica of Maxentius[4] and Catacomb of the Via Latina in Rome begun.
- 300s – Nalanda, an ancient center of higher learning, is built in Gupta Empire in India.
- 296–306 – Baths of Diocletian in Rome.[4]
- 262 – Arch of Gallienus in Rome completed.
- 231 – Dura-Europos church in Syria, a house built c.200 converted into a Christian Church.[3]
- 224 – Dura-Europos synagogue one of the oldest synagogues.
- 211 – Arch of Drusus in Rome completed.
- 203 – Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome completed.
- 212–16 – Baths of Caracalla in Rome.[4]
- 200s –
- 200 – Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan is constructed.
- 193 – Column of Marcus Aurelius dedicated in Rome.
- 134 – Ponte Sant'Angelo across the Tiber in Rome completed.
- 118–28 – Pantheon, Rome is completed, an early full dome.[4]
- 113 – Trajan's Column in Rome dedicated.
- 104–6 – Alcántara Bridge, a Roman multiple arched bridge over the Tagus River in Spain.
- 82 – Arch of Titus in Rome an artifact from the 'Temple Period' and the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora.
- 100s – Pantheon, Rome is completed.
- 70–80 – Colosseum in Rome built under Emperors Vespasian and Titus.
- 60–69 – Domus Aurea in Rome begun.
- 52 – Porta Maggiore (Porta Prenestina) in Rome built. A subterranean Neopythagorean basilica nearby also dates to this century.
- 47–50 – Romans establish the city of Londinium in Britain.
- 40 – Lighthouse at Boulogne built.
- 3 – Gungnae City of Goguryeo completed.
1st millennium BC
- 1-99 BC – Vitruvius writes De architectura (c. 15 BC). Expansion of Herod the Great's temple begins (c. 37 BC). Pont du Gard (c. 50 BC), Provence, France.[4] Pons Fabricius, oldest functional stone Roman bridge in Rome, Italy (62 BC). Maison Carrée Roman temple is constructed (c. 16 BC). Mausoleum of Augustus is completed (28 BC).
- 100s – Across the Tiber in Italy: Ponte Milvio is the second bridge at this location (115 BC); Pons Aemilius is the oldest stone Roman bridge in Rome (126 BC).
- 200s – Erechtheion in Athens completed (206 BC). Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt completed and is the tallest man-made structure in existence at the time (c. 246 BC). The city of Djenné-Djenno is first occupied (250 BC). Colossus of Rhodes is completed (280 BC).
- 300s – University of ancient Taxila, one of the first institutes of learning (according to some historians), built in the Indian Subcontinent. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is completed (350 BC). Alexander the Great founds the city of Alexandria and plans its layout (331 BC). The city of Antioch is founded (300 BC).
- 400s – Completion of the final form of the Parthenon in Athens (432 BC). Construction of Pataliputra (modern day Patna) in the Magadha empire (Indian Subcontinent) begun (490 BC).
- 500s – Construction of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus begins (c. 500 BC). Second Temple in Jerusalem completed (February 25, 515 BC). Work begins on Persepolis (515 BC). Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus completed in Rome (509 BC).
- 600s – Port city of Naucratis is founded in Egypt (c. 625 BC). Massalia (modern-day Marseille) is founded (c. 600 BC).
- 700s – According to legend, the city of Rome is founded (753 BC).
- 800s –
- 900s – The earliest Greek temple built at Samos with some timber framing based on the Mycenaean megaron[5]
2nd millennium BC
3rd millennium BC
Neolithic
- 4th millennium BC – Harappa ancient city built.
- 5th millennium BC – (5000–3000 BC) Yangshao culture in China.
- 6th millennium BC – (6000–2000 BC) Emergence of wooden frames in Chinese architecture including the use of mortise and tenon joinery to build wood beamed houses.
- 7th millennium BC – Çatalhöyük in Anatolia constructed without streets.
- 8th millennium BC – Lahuradewa architecture in Ganges plains of India. Early Mehrgarh settlement sites in Indian subcontinent. Earliest town sites with simple residential neighbourhoods in Jarmo, Jericho, and Ain Ghazal on the Levant.
- 10th millennium BC – Göbekli Tepe in Turkey, an ancient structure believed to be the first place of worship.
See also
Notes and References
- http://www.fondazionerenzopiano.org/project/83/centre-georges-pompidou/genesis/ Fondazione Renzo Piano
- Book: Guest, Ivor. 149. Ivor Forbes Guest. Dr. John Radcliffe and His Trust. London. The Radcliffe Trust. 1991. 0-9502482-1-5.
- Book: Calkins, Robert G.. Medieval Architecture in Western Europe, From A.D. 300 to 1500. Oxford University Press. New York. 1998. 2, Early Christian Buildings. 14–30.
- Book: Calkins, Robert G.. Medieval Architecture in Western Europe, From A.D. 300 to 1500. Oxford University Press . New York . 1998 . 1, Classical Antecedents . 1–13.
- Norwich, John Julius, ed.. great architecture of the world: from ancient times to the present, with more than 800 diagrams, drawings, and photographs. 2001. 68.
- [Stonehenge#After the monument (1600 BC on)]