Style guide · 124 styles
Building styles
From the fieldstone churches of the Middle Ages to the Million Programme – learn to tell them apart, and find every style in the buildings around you.
No style matches your search.
01. Antiquity
c. 2100 BC–AD 400Temples, forums and vaults – the model Europe will copy for two thousand years.
02. The Middle Ages
c. 1050–1530Churches and castles in fieldstone and brick – built to last a thousand years.
- Byzantine architecturec. 330–1453 in the Eastern Roman Empire
- Moorish architecture8th–15th century in al-Andalus and North Africa1 place in the app
- Carolingian architecturec. 780–900 in the Frankish Empire
- Novgorod and Pskovc. 1045–1600 in north-western Russia1 place in the app
- Norman architecturec. 1050–1200 in Normandy, England and Sicily
- Romanesquec. 1050–1250 in Sweden
- Mudéjarc. 1100–1600 in Spain and Portugal2 places in the app
- Gothicc. 1235–1530 in Sweden7 places in the app
- Brick Gothicc. 1250–1530 in Sweden
- Late Gothicc. 1400–1530 in Sweden1 place in the app
- Manuelinec. 1490–1530 in Portugal
03. Renaissance and Baroque
c. 1520–1720Castles, symmetry and royal power.
- TudorEngland · 1485–1603Text coming soon
- PlateresqueSpain · c. 1490–1560Text coming soon
- Mannerismc. 1520–1600Text coming soon
- Renaissancec. 1520–1650 in Sweden3 places in the app
- Palladian architecturec. 1550–1800
- ElizabethanEngland · 1558–1603Text coming soon
- Dutch Renaissancec. 1560–1650 in the Netherlands and Flanders2 places in the app
- Baroquec. 1640–1730 in Sweden5 places in the app
- Carolean Baroquec. 1680–1720
- Petrine BaroqueRussia · c. 1700–1730Text coming soon
04. The 18th century
c. 1730–1810Lightness, light and the ideals of antiquity.
05. The 19th century
c. 1810–1900History as a construction kit – every era gets its revival.
- RegencyEngland · c. 1795–1837Text coming soon
- French Empirec. 1800–1815Text coming soon
- Greek Revivalc. 1800–1860Text coming soon
- Karl Johan stylec. 1810–1850
- Biedermeierc. 1815–1848Text coming soon
- Russian Revivalc. 1830–1917Text coming soon
- Victorian architecture1837–1901 in Britain and the Empire
- Italianatec. 1840–1885Text coming soon
- Neo-Byzantinec. 1840–1920Text coming soon
- Gothic Revivalc. 1840–1910 in Sweden7 places in the app
- Neo-Rocococ. 1840–1900Part of Historicism →
- Historicismc. 1840–1900, peaking in the 1890s7 places in the app
- Industrial architecturec. 1850–19501 place in the app
- Neo-Renaissancec. 1850–19002 places in the app
- Romanesque Revivalc. 1850–1900Part of Historicism →
- Swiss chalet stylec. 1850–19002 places in the app
- Châteauesquec. 1860–1910Text coming soon
- Queen Annec. 1870–1910Text coming soon
- Landshövdingehus1875–19451 place in the app
- Neo-Baroquec. 1880–19102 places in the app
06. The turn of the century
c. 1890–1920The break: Art Nouveau, National Romanticism and a love of craft.
- Beaux-Artsc. 1830–1920, peaking c. 1880–1920
- Arts and Craftsc. 1860–1920Text coming soon
- Dragon stylec. 1880–1910Text coming soon
- Catalan ModernismeBarcelona · c. 1888–1911Text coming soon
- National Romanticismc. 1890–192010 places in the app
- Art Nouveauc. 1896–1914 in Sweden13 places in the app
07. The interwar years
c. 1910–1950From elegant 1920s classicism to the white boxes of Functionalism.
- Amsterdam Schoolc. 1910–1930Text coming soon
- Art Decoc. 1910–19401 place in the app
- Expressionismc. 1910–1930Text coming soon
- Futurismc. 1910–1930Text coming soon
- 1910s Neoclassicismc. 1910–1920
- De Stijl1917–1931Text coming soon
- Bauhaus1919–1933
- Constructivismc. 1920–1935Text coming soon
- Swedish Gracec. 1920–19303 places in the app
- International Stylec. 1925–1965Text coming soon
- Italian Rationalismc. 1926–1943Text coming soon
- Functionalismc. 1930–1950
- Socialist classicismc. 1933–19554 places in the app
08. The post-war years
c. 1940–todayThe people's home, concrete and new forms.
- Post-war Swedish modernismc. 1940–19602 places in the app
- Organic architecturec. 1940–1970Text coming soon
- Brutalismc. 1950–1975
- The Record Yearsc. 1955–1975
- Soviet Modernismc. 1955–1991Text coming soon
- PlattenbauEastern Europe · c. 1960–1990Text coming soon
- The Million Programme1965–1974
- High-tech1970s onwardsText coming soon
- Critical Regionalism1980s onwardsText coming soon
- DeconstructivismFrom the 1980s1 place in the app
- Postmodernismc. 1980–1995
- Parametric architecture2000s onwardsText coming soon
09. Vernacular building
Stone Age–20th centuryBuilt without architects: longhouses, log houses, half-timbering and goahti.
- LonghouseStone Age to Viking Age, until the early Middle Ages
- Log houseThe Middle Ages onwards
- Raised storehouseIron Age to 20th century; the oldest surviving from the Middle Ages
- Swedish vernacularc. 1600–1900
- Croft and cottagec. 1700–1900
- Decorated farmhouses of Hälsinglandc. 1700–1900, richest in the 19th century
- Half-timberingThe Middle Ages to the 19th century
- Sámi goahtiFrom prehistory to the present day
- FachwerkGermany · Middle Ages–19th centuryText coming soon
10. The Americas
c. 1600–1975From saltbox to ranch – the houses on the other side of the Atlantic.
- Spanish Colonialc. 1600–1850Text coming soon
- Dutch Colonialc. 1625–1800Text coming soon
- SaltboxNew England · c. 1650–1830Text coming soon
- Cape CodNew England · c. 1690–1850Text coming soon
- Federal styleUSA · c. 1780–1830Text coming soon
- Creole cottageLouisiana · c. 1790–1850Text coming soon
- Monterey ColonialCalifornia · 1830s–1950sText coming soon
- Carpenter Gothicc. 1840–1880Text coming soon
- Stick stylec. 1860–1890Text coming soon
- Chicago Schoolc. 1880–1910Text coming soon
- Shingle stylec. 1880–1900Text coming soon
- Mission Revivalc. 1890–1920Text coming soon
- American Foursquarec. 1895–1930Text coming soon
- Prairie stylec. 1900–1920Text coming soon
- Craftsmanc. 1905–1930Text coming soon
- Pueblo Revivalc. 1905–1940Text coming soon
- Ranchc. 1935–1975Text coming soon
11. Around the world
Antiquity–todayMosques, pagodas and tower houses – building traditions beyond Europe.
- Umayyad architecture661–750Text coming soon
- Abbasid architecture750–1258Text coming soon
- Khmer architectureAngkor · c. 800–1430Text coming soon
- Seljuk architecturec. 1040–1300 in Iran, Central Asia and Anatolia1 place in the app
- Mamluk architectureEgypt and Syria · 1250–1517Text coming soon
- Ottoman architecturec. 1300–1923Text coming soon
- Mughal architectureIndia · 1526–1857Text coming soon
- Persian architectureIran, from antiquity to 17th-century Isfahan1 place in the app
- British Colonialc. 1700–1950 in the British Empire1 place in the app
- NagaraNorthern India · Hindu templesText coming soon
- Chinese pagodaChinaText coming soon
- Japanese templeJapanText coming soon
- MinkaJapan · farmhouses and town housesText coming soon
- HanokKoreaText coming soon
- Thai architectureThailandText coming soon
- WindcatcherIran and the Persian GulfText coming soon
- Yemeni tower housesYemen · Shibam and SanaaText coming soon
- Najdi architectureCentral Arabian PeninsulaText coming soon
Often confused
Styles that are easy to mix up – and how to tell them apart.
- Art Nouveau vs National RomanticismArt Nouveau is light, soft and international; National Romanticism is dark, heavy and wants to be Swedish. Engelbrekt Church in Stockholm has traits of both.
- Renaissance vs Neo-RenaissanceThe 19th-century revival. A "Renaissance" palace or apartment block in a town centre from the 1880s is almost always Neo-Renaissance.
- Swedish Grace vs FunctionalismSwedish Grace still has columns, symmetry and ornament, however little. Functionalism strips all of it away.
- Gothic vs Gothic RevivalThe 19th-century copy. Gothic Revival churches are usually built in machine-made brick with perfectly regular details, often with a tall, slender spire. If the church was built after 1840, it is Gothic Revival.
In the app
Find the styles around the corner
Everyday Grandeur shows the buildings on a map, with style, year and architect. Check in, collect badges and add your own finds.
All styles A–Z
- Ancient Greek architecture
- Art Deco
- Art Nouveau
- Baroque
- Bauhaus
- Beaux-Arts
- Brick Gothic
- British Colonial
- Brutalism
- Byzantine architecture
- Carolean Baroque
- Carolingian architecture
- Croft and cottage
- Deconstructivism
- Decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland
- Dutch Renaissance
- Functionalism
- Georgian architecture
- Gothic
- Gothic Revival
- Gustavian
- Half-timbering
- Historicism
- Industrial architecture
- Karl Johan style
- Landshövdingehus
- Late Gothic
- Log house
- Longhouse
- Manueline
- Moorish architecture
- Mudéjar
- Nabataean architecture
- National Romanticism
- Neoclassicism
- Neo-Baroque
- Neo-Renaissance
- Norman architecture
- Novgorod and Pskov
- Palladian architecture
- Persian architecture
- Postmodernism
- Post-war Swedish modernism
- Raised storehouse
- Renaissance
- Rococo
- Romanesque
- Roman architecture
- Seljuk architecture
- Socialist classicism
- Swedish Grace
- Swedish vernacular
- Swiss chalet style
- Sámi goahti
- The Million Programme
- The Record Years
- Victorian architecture
- Ziggurat
- 1910s Neoclassicism
Glossary
What is a pediment – or a wimperg? The glossary explains the words used on the style pages.
Open the glossary →