Architecturally, what is the most important building ever constructed?

[xzmattzx]

What is the most important building in history, architecturally speaking?

I have a book about architecture, and this question is asked. The book mentions the Crystal palace in London as the most important building, because of the extensive use of glass changed the way we let light into buildings.

But then does that mean that the first Gothic church is the most important building ever? Or would the first church to use flying buttresses be the most important?

Is the most important building one that head the way with height? Or lead the way with building materials? Or lead the way with an architectural style?

[Crawford]

The Pantheon in Rome. No other building was as influential re. architecture , design and construction techniques, at least in the West.

But not among the most iconic buildings, obviously.

[sopas ej]

Isn't "important" entirely subjective?

And let's see how many western-centric examples we'll get...

[the urban politician]

Great Pyramid of Giza

[badrunner]

The Eiffel Tower is a precursor to all modern steel-framed buildings

[mousquet]

There must be hundreds of such historically significant buildings that heavily influenced later ones, all over the world.

As for Gothic churches and the extensive use of glass, the Sainte-Chapelle on the Île de la Cité in Central Paris is a fine example of that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle

It was built really fast by that time (probably less than 10 years to erect it, a record in the 13th century), but it's not a large church to crush anything around. Not a cathedral at all, it would rather feel like something intimate if it wasn't filled with tourists or locals feeling curious at the remarkable medieval stained glass.

That's just an example among many others. For instance, outside our Western world, I'm pretty sure if we took a close look at traditional Indian or Islamic architecture (the latter being widely related to the former), we'd find some buildings that were significantly influential on the global stage as well.

In the US, I guess the 1st high-rises built from the 1890s to the 1920s are important too.
Not that all of them really were innovative in their styles from an artistic standpoint. I guess Art Deco ones are the most original, by far.
But they stand as an engineering breakthrough of their time anyway, having set new construction standards, probably widely inspired by the Eiffel tower that's never been a building. Just a showcase of construction engineering.

[davee930]

Yeah too many types to mention. What about the most influential building per century?

[dubu]

renaissance architecture. there isnt one building, pick a random cool one in england.

[Hudson11]

Most important skyscraper i'd probablly go with Sears Tower for the bundled-tube concept that recurs in most "world's tallest" concepts and of course Burj Khalifa. If there's ever another future world's tallest or anything in that superlative 2000' height range, chances are it will look something like these.

Most important building? Heck if I know. That's a crowded field.





The latest in Vietnam, 1500' tall

[Boisebro]

the outhouse.

architecturally awesome and useful.

[Steely Dan]

Narrowing this down to one lone single solitary example is a fool's errand.

That said, if longevity counts for "importance" (and I think it should), then the giza pyramids are probably the most spectacular "buildings" that humankind has ever constructed.

Talk about "built to last".

[mrnyc]

teotihuacan in the americas.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I wouldn't go with the pyramids. Important, but they are really just tombs for the dead. I would go with a structure that had more social importance than "hey I'm an important dead person and you're not." Something like the Parthenon or something of that era.

[iheartthed]

Architecturally, it's whatever inspired the neoclassical architecture style. Historically, it's either this place or this place.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I wouldn't go with the pyramids. Important, but they are really just tombs for the dead. I would go with a structure that had more social importance than "hey I'm an important dead person and you're not." Something like the Parthenon or something of that era.

teotihuacan is not like egypt, it was not a tomb for the dead, it was a ritualistic death machine and the largest city of the first millenium.

[BnaBreaker]

I mean, really, I guess the answer is whichever building was the first to incorporate a roof and four walls in order to keep that structure separated from the ground. So... some mud hut in Tanzania somewhere?

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Crawford

The Pantheon in Rome. No other building was as influential re. architecture , design and construction techniques, at least in the West.

But not among the most iconic buildings, obviously.

yes, that was what I was going to say too.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

So... some mud hut in Tanzania somewhere?

Yeah, I'm sure we'd all be interested in seeing something like that.
Holy crap, it would've been the first thing registered by UNESCO, preserved as a gem.

But unfortunately, it definitely fell apart long before the oldest books of the Bible were even thought of.

Stuff was probably meant to be only practical and very temporary back then, prior to ancient Egypt itself.
I mean, life was certainly rougher than anything we can think of, like human life expectancy would have been of 30 years at best, maybe? At age 20, you were a grandpa already.

I don't know. It'd surely be fascinating to see what the real early ancient roots of human life looked like, but it's lost anyway.
It would also be naive to think that it was all made overnight. The process of human evolution and development must have actually taken forever. Like from some kind of apes to today's homo sapiens (ourselves, some kind of different apes with bigger brains).

We're lucky for things to go much much faster nowadays.

[sopas ej]

I would think the buildings at Machu Picchu would be significant. The Incans were able to build masonry wall buildings able to withstand frequent earthquakes, and with no mortar. I find it all very amazing.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

yes, that was what I was going to say too.

Actually, I don't think it was a building. The Pantheon was important because of the dome. But predecessor of the dome was the arch and the arch really was perfected for the aquaduct:


https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/p...mage/599508228