Architecture, The Timeless Gem

e many other practical professions, architecture is anidentified each period of time: Doric, Ionic, and
ancient discipline responsible for the design ofCorinthian.
structures and buildings whose roots can be tracedThe Romans inherited from the Greeks most of their
back to thousands of years B.C.traditions, beliefs, and customs, including architecture,
Architectural history can take you through the evolutionbut they also developed their own: as an example the
of those structures that served as a landmark toVia Appia in Rome, and other surviving structures
remote civilizations, such as the Phoenicians and therunning from Italy to Great Britain.
legendary Tower of Babel, or the Egyptians and theirArchitectural history was influenced by artistic,
incredible mortuary architecture, reflected in pyramids,economic, politic, and socio-cultural events throughout
tombs, and many other ancient buildings along the Nilethe centuries, and Europe became the cradle of many
River.renowned architects in the years following the fall of
In fact, the first big architectural design recorded inthe Roman Empire.
history was the work of Imhotep, Egyptian vizier,From Baroque to Art Nouveau, passing through Gothic,
doctor, high priest, and scribe to King Djoser. ImhotepRomanesque, Renaissance, Churrigueresque, and
designed and built the complex that took the name ofmany other architectural styles, we can enjoy today
his king, between the years 2630 to 2611 BC.an eclectic blending of buildings, homes, and other
Vestiges of the most varied architecture speak forstructures that present to us their past.
themselves about the most varied civilizations,Curiously, other human disciplines have been also
traditions, and beliefs around the world. Withoutassociated with architecture, such as metaphysics, by
architecture, the history of mankind would bethe hand of fraternal organizations such as the
incomplete.Freemasonry, established in London as a secret
Many surviving buildings of the ancient world aresociety in 1717.
examples of the great things that architecture can doNaming themselves the Order of the Free and
for the world. Among them, we can name the GreatAccepted Masons, this fraternity encompasses
Pyramid of Giza, listed as one of the seven wondersnowadays a large number of international lodges under
of the ancient world, and the Great Wall of China, builtthe symbol of a square and compasses with a letter
between the years 221 to 206 BC."G" associated with the building of the Temple of King
Time evolved and all buildings and design began toSolomon.
take special characteristics, becoming symbols ofAs time passes, the actual architecture differs in
different eras identified as architectural styles. Inshape, materials, construction methods, and designing
ancient Greece, where buildings seemed to always begoals, but the work of the architects will endure for
the same, there were three types of columns togenerations to come.