Amiens Cathedral was built starting in 1220, by order of Bishop Richard de Gerberoy. He decided to demolish the previous Romanesque church, which had been damaged by fire, and build a cathedral big enough to receive the large number of pilgrims who flocked to see the relics that the Crusaders had brought back from the Holy Land in 1206. (more…)

Regarded as one of the iconic symbols of the state of Rajasthan, the Hawa Mahal – Palace of Winds – sits peacefully in the centre of the busy city of Jaipur. Built as an extension to the women’s chambers of the city palace, it was intended as a viewing screen. Through this screen women of the royal family and harem could freely view the bazaar and its vibrant proceedings unseen. (more…)

The Desert De Retz is a witty and playful conceit in the form of an 18th century France jardin Anglo-chinois, designed between 1774 and 1789 as a philosophical and poetic entertainment. The ornamental park originally extended over 40 hectares of botanical and horticultural gardens around the ruined village and church of St. Jacques de Retz. It was the creation of Francois Racine de Monville, a wealthy aristocrat, assisted by a young architect, Francois Barbier, who designed and built 17 follies to create an Arcadian and idyllic environment for reflection and contemplation. (more…)

On the shore of Ontario’ Silver Lake, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, a philanthropic private research institute, is built on land donated by the city of Waterloo. The impressive four-storey building is an important example of contemporary Canadian architecture and was awarded a Governor General’s Medal for Architecture in 2006. (more…)

Bath’s Royal Crescent is one of Europe’s finest crescents and lays claim to be the first to be built as a terrace. Built in the Palladian style from pale gold Bath stone, it consists of thirty houses that follow a full semi-ellipse so that the end houses face each other, all fronted by a great open lawn. (more…)

Le Corbusier’s work in Chandigarh is concentrated in Sector 1 – the Capitol Park stands aloof like a modern Acropolis, dominating the city with the four huge solitaires of the Secretariat, the Assembly, the Governor’s Palace, and the High Court. The latter was the first completed building in Chandigarh and consists solely of reinforced concrete, demonstrating the sculptural possibilities of this building material. (more…)