BUILDING TYPES
Architecture seem to be most often discussed with respect to the design of a limited number of building types, including: single-family detached houses, apartment buildings, office towers, museums, churches, airports, and stadiums. However, there are far more opportunities to shape our built environment than you can imagine. Below is a comprehensive and nearly exhaustive list of building types sorted into the following broad categories: residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, infrastructural, agricultural, & institutional buildings.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
Single-family detached
Single-family attached (small multi-family)
Large multi-family (apartments/flats/condos)
Public
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
Commercial buildings, generally, are buildings used by businesses to sell their products to consumers.
Office
Office buildings are generally categorized by size and by quality (e.g., "a low-rise Class A building")
Retail
Retail buildings are categorized by their configuration and size
Hotels
Special-purpose
INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS
Industrial buildings are primarily used for the production and storage/distribution of goods, among other uses.
Manufacturing
Warehouse/distribution
Flex space
INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDINGS
Infrastructure buildings house equipment and facilities related to public infrastructure.
AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS
Medical
Architecture seem to be most often discussed with respect to the design of a limited number of building types, including: single-family detached houses, apartment buildings, office towers, museums, churches, airports, and stadiums. However, there are far more opportunities to shape our built environment than you can imagine. Below is a comprehensive and nearly exhaustive list of building types sorted into the following broad categories: residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, infrastructural, agricultural, & institutional buildings.
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
Single-family detached
- Bungalow
- Central-passage house (North America)
- Chattel house (Caribbean)
- Château (France)
- Cottage (various)
- Courtyard house (various)
- Konak (Asia)
- Log house (various)
- Mansion (various)
- Housebarn (various)
- Split level home (various)
- Upper Lusatian house (Europe)
Single-family attached (small multi-family)
- Duplex, semi-detached, double-decker, or two-family
- Triplex, triple-decker or three-family
- Quadplex, quadruple, or four-family
- Townhouse or terraced house
Large multi-family (apartments/flats/condos)
- Garden or walk-up apartments: 1–5 stories, 50–400 units, no elevators[1]
- Mid-rise apartments/condos: 5–9 stories, 30–110 units, with elevators[1]
- High-rise apartments/condos: 9+ stories, 100+ units, professionally managed[1]
- Special-purpose group housing[1]
- Retirement home
- Nursing home
- Dormitory
Public
- Official residence
- Palace
- Archbishop's Palace
- Bishop's palace
- Electoral Palace
- Episcopal Palace
- Presidential palace
- Residenz
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS
Commercial buildings, generally, are buildings used by businesses to sell their products to consumers.
Office
Office buildings are generally categorized by size and by quality (e.g., "a low-rise Class A building")
- Office buildings by size
- Low-rise (less than 7 stories)
- Mid-rise (7–25 stories)
- High-rise (more than 25 stories), including skyscrapers (over 40 stories)
- Office buildings by quality
- Trophy or 5-star building: A landmark property designed by a recognized architect
- Class A or 4-star building: Rents in the top 30-40% of the local market; well-located; above-average upkeep and management; usually older than a trophy/5-star building
- Class B or 3-star building: Rents between Class A and Class C; fair-to-good locations; average upkeep and management
- Class C or 2-star building: Rents in the bottom 10-20% of the local market; less-desirable locations; below-average upkeep and management
- 1-star building: Does not meet the needs of typical tenants; may be obsolete and/or in need of significant renovation
- Trophy or 5-star building: A landmark property designed by a recognized architect
Retail
Retail buildings are categorized by their configuration and size
- Non-freestanding (also known as shopping centers or shopping malls)
- Super-regional shopping center: enclosed space; 800,000+ sqft; 5+ anchor stores with other tenants that sell a very large variety of goods
- Regional shopping center: enclosed space; 400,000–800,000 sqft; 1–5 anchor stores with other tenants that sell a large variety of goods
- Community shopping center: open space; 125,000–400,000 sqft; provides general merchandise and commodities (e.g., supermarket, discount department store)
- Neighborhood shopping center: open space; 3,000–125,000 sqft; provides commodities to nearby neighborhoods (e.g. drug store)
- Strip or convenience shopping center: open space; less than 30,000 sqft; located along suburban transportation arteries on shallow land parcels; a strip may be configured in a straight line, or have an "L" or "U" shape
- Lifestyle center: "Main Street" concept with pedestrian circulation in core and vehicular circulation along perimeter; upscale national chain specialty stores, dining or entertainment (e.g. The Grove, Los Angeles, CA; Americana at Brand, Glendale, CA)
- Freestanding: any stand-alone retail structure that is not part of a complex
- Big box: freestanding category-dominant retailer; 50,000+ sqft (e.g. The Home Depot, Target, Walmart)
- Power center: among the largest types of retail properties; 3+ big box anchor stores; multiple large buildings with parking lot in front and loading in back; smaller retailers usually clustered in a community shopping center configuration
- Retail outlet: manufacturers' outlet stores; 50,000–400,000 sqft
- Pop-up retail: a retail location designed to only be in a location temporarily (e.g., a retail store that only opens during a holiday season)
Hotels
- Full service hotel
- Travelers' hotel
- Motel
- Choultry
- Caravanserai
- Extended stay hotel
- Boutique hotel
- Casino
- Resort
- Bunkhouse
Special-purpose
- Theme or amusement park
- Aquarium
- Bar (establishment)
- Bowling alley
- Car wash
- Funeral home
- Marina
- Movie theater
- Self-storage
- Theater
- Zoo
INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS
Industrial buildings are primarily used for the production and storage/distribution of goods, among other uses.
- Factory
- Physical plant
- Mill
Manufacturing
- Light manufacturing
- Heavy manufacturing
Warehouse/distribution
- Warehouses
- Bulk
- Ice house
- Cold/cool/refrigerator/freezer storage
- High-cube
- Warehouse store
- Distribution/fulfillment centers
- Container terminals
Flex space
- Office building
- Laboratory
- Data center
- Call center
- Showroom
- Tension fabric building
INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDINGS
Infrastructure buildings house equipment and facilities related to public infrastructure.
- Composting
- Desalination plant
- Waste transfer
- Power generation
- Power plant
- Thermal power plant
- Fossil-fuel power station
- Nuclear power plant
- Geothermal power
- Biomass power plant
- Renewable energy power station
- Power distribution
- Substation
- Converter hall
- Rotary converter plant
- Transmitter building
- Dams
- Pump house
- Fake building
AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS
- Abattoir
- Barn
- Chicken coop or chickenhouse
- Cow-shed
- Farmhouse
- Granary, Hórreo
- Greenhouse
- Hayloft
- Pigpen or sty
- Root cellar
- Shed
- Silo
- Slaughterhouse
- Stable
- Storm cellar
- Well house
- Crib
- Windmill
- Workshop
INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS
Medical
- Hospital
- Nursing homes
- Mental hospital
- Sanatorium
- Academy
- Archive
- College
- Elementary schools
- Middle school
- Orphanage
- Secondary School
- School
- University
- Nursery school
- Arena (or stadium)
- Library
- Mudhif: a traditional reed house made by the Madan people of Iraq
- Museum
- Observatory
- Community hall
- Research institute
- Think tank
- Church
- Basilica
- Cathedral
- Duomo
- Chapel
- Oratory
- Martyrium
- Imambargah
- Monastery
- Mithraeum
- Shrine
- Synagogue
- Temple
- Pagoda
- Gurdwara
- Hindu temple
- Mosque
- Town hall
- Guildhall
- Consulate
- Courthouse
- Embassy
- Fire station
- Meeting house
- Moot hall
- Parliament house
- Police station
- Post office
- Assembly
- Arsenal
- Barracks
- Bunker
- Blockhouse
- Citadel
- Missile launch facility
- Airport
- Bus station
- Metro (subway, underground) station
- Taxi station
- Railway station (or, primarily in US, Railroad station)
- Signal box
- Lighthouse
- Shipyard
- Spaceport
- Hovercraft
- Passenger terminal
- Boathouse
- Parking garage
- Hangar
- Communal oven
- Aul
- Bathhouse
- Film studio
- Folly
- Gym
- Pavilion
- Shelter