Architectural Styles - A visual guide

Architectural Styles is an incomparable guide to architectural styles across the centuries and around the world. Modeled after an architect’s plein airsketchbook, the volume features hundreds of detailed drawings by esteemed architectural illustrator Robbie Polley alongside incisive and informative descriptions. This unique guidebook takes readers from Europe and the Americas to Egypt, China, and India. It covers a host of historical and contemporary architectural styles, from ancient and classical to Pre-Columbian, Romanesque, Renaissance, Palladian, art nouveau, Brutalist, and biomorphic. It describes the histories and characteristics of the building traditions of each era and region of the world, and looks at key architectural elements such as buttresses, spandrels, curtain walls, and oculi. The book also includes a section on building parts—from domes and columns to towers, arches, roofs, and vaulting—along with a detailed glossary and bibliography.

Comprehensive and authoritative, Architectural Styles is an essential resource for architects and designers and a must-have illustrated guide for anyone interested in architecture or drawing.

About the authors

Margaret Fletcher is associate professor of architecture at Auburn University. Her books include Constructing the Persuasive Portfolio: The Only Primer You'll Ever Need. 

Robbie Polley is an architectural illustrator who has worked on major architecture projects around the world. His books include Architecture Inside-Out: Understanding How Buildings Work.