Introduction

Architecture (Latin architectura, from the Greek ἀρχιτέκτων arkhitekton "architect", from ἀρχι- "chief" and τέκτων "creator") is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.

The practice, which began in the prehistoric era, has been used as a way of expressing culture for civilizations on all seven continents. For this reason, architecture is considered to be a form of art. Over the years, the field of architectural construction has branched out to include everything from ship design to interior decorating.

Architecture is defined as the art and science of designing buildings and structures. A wider definition would include within this scope the design of any built environment, structure or object, from town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to furniture and objects. It could also be defined as the manipulation of shapes, forms, space and light to change our environment.

Doing architecture requires strong technical knowledge in the fields of engineering, logistics, geometry, building techniques, functional design and ergonomics. It also requires a certain sensibility to arts and aesthetics. Finally, it also requires a preoccupation for human questions and society's problems. Architecture is a very broad and humanistic field that is at the same time technical, artistic and social. Traditionally, architecture courses are always found at the crossing of those domains. The profession of architect demands a certain ability to synthesize information coming from very different areas, and architects often assume the position of leader, mediator or centralizer in groups made of very different specialists.