Bright architecture. All architectural styles from A to Z, list with photos Vivid architecture

Architectural style is a set of characteristic features and attributes of architecture.
Characteristic features of a certain time and place, manifested in the features of the functional, constructive and artistic aspects: the purpose of buildings, Construction Materials and designs, techniques of architectural composition - form the architectural style.

Architectural styles - full list:

≡ Navigation 40 styles

English façade: solid and durable

A modern English house combines several subtypes of style: Georgian, Victorian, Tudor.
The main features of such buildings are two floors, a steep roof slope, brickwork(usually red), a balcony with a balustrade, lattice windows, the presence of wild stone and forged parts in the decoration.
Signs of a home in English are an indispensable lawn at the entrance, as well as ivy or picturesque grapes on the walls. The British set up garages separately, under awnings. British design style is all about restraint, solidity and durability.

Barnhouse: simple but stylish

Barnhouse (from English - “barn house”) is an architectural style of the 20th-21st centuries.
The fashion for barnhouses originated in Western Europe - at the intersection of minimalism, loft and bio-tech. Externally, such a house looks simple: rectangular, gable roof (often without overhangs), laconic exterior decoration, no frills. At the same time, it is quite practical and convenient for life.

Baroque in the exterior: monumental splendor

Michelangelo is considered the trendsetter of Baroque fashion. In any case, Baroque houses are grandiose and pompous, like his sculptures. The scope, sinuosity, unity of construction and meticulous decoration - this is a brief overview of Baroque architecture.
Such a house requires space and funds, because the style includes bay windows with balconies, pilasters, recessed ceilings, arched openings, and even towers. And also rich decoration: molded rosettes, garlands, wreaths.
Windows in Baroque houses are often semicircular in shape, and the doors are framed by columns.

Victorian style: prestige and elegance

Architecture, popular in the 19th century in Foggy Albion and in the colonies, does not lose ground today.
Victorian houses have 2-3 floors, asymmetry, a complex, multifaceted roof, an attic, often a round turret, a spacious porch, decoration carved wood or metal, white or beige.
However, the Victorian style has many variations, depending on the time and place of its penetration into a specific cultural environment.

Gothic in architecture: minted mystery

The style is legendary, historical, reminiscent of knights and fights. It is characterized by pointed, fan vaults, ribbed and vertical lines rushing to the sky, arches turning into pillars, coffered ceilings, elongated, often stained glass windows.
House in gothic style has a sharp “skeleton”; its colors are yellow, brown, red, blue.
Both stone and wood are used as building materials, because the style was formed in different circumstances.
A house with a Gothic “face” is strict, graphically clear and darkly solemn!

Dutch style: unpretentious peace

Dwellings in kingdom of tulips and windmills– real hearths: comfortable, practical and durable. And all thanks to the conditions: unsteady, swampy soil forced the architects to be pedantically thorough, and the lack of space forced them to search for maximum utility and functionality of housing.
The qualities of Dutch house-building are a symmetrical layout, high gables, a sharp roof with wide hip ribs, windows with wooden shutters, light plastered walls and a base trimmed with stone.
The Dutch House is an ideal “haven” for those seeking privacy.

Deconstructivism: not like everyone else

The style of deconstructivism leaves no chance for any of the architectural absolutes. It is introduced into any environment with flashy broken shapes and structures that are difficult for visual perception.
Deconstructivism is not called the direction of architecture, but its negation, however, deconstructivists still have a foothold - constructivism and postmodernism.
Architects deliberately distort the principles and compositional motifs of these styles and end up with a dynamic and individual building project.

European Style: Popular Versatility

Conservative, solid and suitable for any landscape, the European house, for the most part, has square shape and is built on 2-3 floors.
Features - a hipped, tiled roof, a plinth lined with stone or tiles, not very large, rectangular or arched windows, a balcony or bay window, a door in a contrasting color.
The decor is spare and rational, for example, wrought iron porch and balcony railings...

Italian architectural style: refined drama

Smooth, “swan” lines, arched windows, vaulted ceilings, pretty balconies and a natural palette of the facade (from gray to brown) are the signs of this style.
Italian-style houses are built from stone and wood, and in the budget version - from brick and timber. The number of floors is from one to four.
The courtyard plays a key role in creating the image of a magnificent Italian villa: it must have paved paths, living fences, several sculptures, and a fountain. The fence is usually made of textured stone.

Country style house: warmth and soulfulness

This style has many faces and is based on local regulations: Let’s say, in France “rural” houses are made of stone, and in Canada they are made of logs. In any case, country style involves traditional and natural raw materials.
Distinctive touches of such an exterior are rusticity (cladding the external walls with faceted stones), inclusion of objects handmade(this could be forged door handles or a horseshoe at the entrance), the color of the facade, reminiscent of shades of clay, wood, sand. The yard is decorated with appropriate archaic elements: bird nests on poles, flower beds on carts, a model of a mill.

Classic style in the exterior: imitation of the best

Classical architecture is based on ancient canons, on best examples Italian Renaissance, English Georgianism or Russian architecture.
Classicism in the exterior is the symmetry of the building (the main entrance is the axis around which the extensions are located), the presence of columns, triangular pediments, porticoes, balustrades, balusters and other accessories of a particular architectural era.
Classic-type houses are decorated with pilasters and moldings. The preferred material, of course, is stone, however, nowadays decorative elements are well made from plaster or polyurethane.
Classic mansions are often two-story, light in color...

Colonial style exterior: discreet charm

Wealthy immigrants and planters built their households, combining “imported” capital and comfort with local exoticism. This is how the colonial exterior came into being.
Houses in this style are monumental, with two floors. The layout is rectilinear, the entrance is supported by a colonnade. They are erected from stone, plaster neutral color. The door is massive, wooden. There is almost always a terrace available. The buildings are distinguished by large, panoramic windows that offer views of the garden or wildlife.

Perhaps the most famous subtype of colonial exterior is a bungalow, a one-story or attic mansion, with a spreading veranda along the entire width of the pediment.
Its color is traditionally white, reflective, because bungalows were built in the tropics, combining the features of a traditional English cottage, army tents and oriental tents.

Constructivism in architecture: simplicity as art

Houses in the constructivist style are distinguished by high functionality and artistic expressiveness, which is achieved not through decorative elements, but through shapes and materials.
Laconic geometry and high expediency inherent in constructivism are intertwined today with naturalness, naturalness, and an abundance of light and space in interior spaces.
The main building materials are: concrete, glass, metal, plastic and other modern raw materials.

Loft: fashionable fundamentality

The idea of ​​the style is to transform technological rooms, factory floors, garages or hangars into bohemian, luxury apartments.

A loft-style house is a very spacious, tall, distinctly geometric building, usually with a minimum number of internal partitions.
The main building materials are brick and concrete.
The loft façade does not require any finishing, nor does it require siding.
The roof is often flat, but can be hip, pitched or gable. Panoramic windows.

Art Nouveau house: delightful chic

Once upon a time, this style became the banner of the movement for a new architecture, in defiance of the “boring” classics: with stately, curved lines, a variety of shapes and decorations.
Since then, the contours of the openings in a modern house are necessarily rounded, the windows are decorated with wavy, elaborate grilles or stained glass, glazed tiles, mosaics, paintings are used in the decoration of the facade...
In general, “any whim,” since the goal of Art Nouveau is to show the individuality of the homeowner, emphasizing the originality of his nature.

Minimalism in architecture: freedom and light

Elementary and three-dimensional form, flat roof, huge windows, abundance of glass - this is what a cottage looks like in business, minimalist style.
Glass fragments are even mounted on the roof, and light plaster, stone or wood siding are used to decorate the facade.
Common colors are calm, natural: white, beige, olive, gray.

German-style houses: fabulous originality

These houses seem to have “jumped out” from the fairy tales of Hoffmann and the Brothers Grimm. They are compact and very neat in appearance.
The German style is characterized by laconicism, efficiency, lack of intricate decoration and natural color facade.
Such a dwelling has a square or rectangular shape, the base is covered with stone, and the gable roof is covered with tiles in red shades.
A German house is decorated with a balcony or attic, as well as tinted boards - elements of half-timbered wood.
An original detail is the windows, separated by lintels and protected by shutters. The door is painted in a color that stands out against the background of the house.

Norwegian style: compact and environmentally friendly

A traditional Norwegian house is usually built from a carriage, that is, from half-hewn logs.
Single-story, squat, with small windows, it is nevertheless spacious inside, helped by the lack of a straight ceiling.
The decor of the exterior is primarily the texture of the building material. Color also makes its contribution to aesthetics: Norwegian houses painted in bright and rich colors - cherry, orange, rich green.
A common occurrence is a grass roof. This is not only a folklore “twist”, but also additional protection from heat and cold.

Postmodernism in architecture

Irony and paradox, theatricality and complex figurative associations - all this is about postmodernism, whose representatives present familiar forms in an unusual context and advocate that anything can be art.

Architecture in the Provence style: rustic romanticism

Why does this style know no boundaries?
— Because Provence is the embodiment of both brilliance and naivety, and also a symbol family values. It is believed that the name of the style was given by the French region, but “Provence” means “province”: pastoralism, simplicity, leisurely and measured - these are its main “trump cards”.
In the south of France, houses are mainly built from wild stone, making extensive use of pebbles and slate. In other places they resort to imitation, gypsum panels and slabs. But the roofs are always tiled, often multi-layered, of various levels.
The northern wall is necessarily blank. The windows on the lower floor may differ in size from the rest; they are often supplemented with sashes.
Natural colors are preferred: milky white, grass, straw. Extensions are welcome - verandas, terraces, kitchens, barns. The door is wooden, weighty, with forged hinges and a viewing window. The yard is covered with paving stones.

A house in the Provencal style is unthinkable without a plot with herbs, simple flowers and lavender in terracotta pots...

Prairie style (Wright style): harmony and functionality

“Frank Lloyd Wright is an innovative American architect. He had a huge influence on the development of Western architecture in the first half of the 20th century. Created "organic architecture" and promoted open plan architecture."

Wright-style houses blend harmoniously into the surrounding landscape and decorate it.

Ranch style: thrift and thoroughness

This exterior is one of the most popular in “one-story” America. Having absorbed the nuances of other styles, features of bungalows and “prairie buildings,” it finally took shape at the beginning of the last century.
Low-rise ranch houses are “spread out” in width, complicated by extensions, plastered and painted with light colors.
The appearance of a ranch-style house reminds us that farmers began to build such housing: harsh, unpretentious people who value work, but also good rest!

Rococo in architecture: unbridled luxury

Such houses were preferred by French aristocrats. The classical order system on the basis of which they were erected is almost invisible due to the abundant, ornate decor.
The walls of the Rococo house are literally drowning in through patterns and lace details - curls, rocailles, cartouches.
Playful arches, slender colonnades, graceful cornices and railings add idleness to the premises and a pleasant lightness to life. Artistry and mannerism permeate the Rococo building like the sun through a crystal shard.
Traditional colors are soft pastel colors.

Romanesque style in architecture: my home is my fortress

The origins of this trend lie in the Middle Ages, when citadel castles arose everywhere. Their characteristic features are primitiveness silhouette, massiveness and brutality, because protection and shelter were the main task of such monasteries.
The main building material was (and still is) stone. The construction of apses, towers with domes and arched vaults was diversified.
The window openings were narrow, like loopholes.
Of course, in the modern version, the Romanesque mansion does not look as trivial and rude as in ancient engravings.
The windows have become significantly larger, wild stone replaced by elegant stylization. But the principle remained unshakable: Romanesque-style mansions should be large, bulky and inaccessible in appearance.

Russian architectural style: toy house

Exterior design in the Russian style is not as monotonous as it might seem. These are also houses typical of Slavic wooden architecture, and mansions in the style of Russian merchants, and noble estates.
Wood, of course, rules the roost.
A house in the Russian style rarely exceeds two floors, the roof is gable, the windows are small, covered with platbands, and a covered porch is highly desirable. Balconies, stairs, turrets will give the mansion a resemblance to a fairytale hut, and the intricate carved decoration, open veranda on figured supports - with boyar mansions.

Scandinavian style in the exterior: Nordic character

Among the features of this direction are: natural building materials, minimal decor, glass doors, huge windows (or an entire transparent wall), which is dictated by the lack of sunlight.
Scandinavian houses are covered with either white plaster or wooden paneling, which also fulfills an aesthetic mission: doors and windows are edged with dark wood, walls are sheathed with light wood, or vice versa.
The roof can be either flat or gable.

Mediterranean style house: glamor and bliss

Residences that could only be admired on the warm coast were also included in the design encyclopedia.
Their peculiarity is their light and joyful color (white, cream, pink); flat, tiled roof; half-open verandas covered with greenery; spacious balconies and rotundas; the presence of a swimming pool and, of course, a patio.
The building may consist of several parts flowing into each other. Windows and doorways are often horseshoe-shaped.
Preference is given to natural stone, ceramics, and wood.

Modern architectural style: freedom of choice

Its value lies in democracy. This design accepts any building materials, including the latest ones.
Such a house is distinguished by its simplicity and relevance. It does not need decoration or any stylistic tricks.
A gable roof, sufficient space, panoramic glazing and energy efficiency - perhaps all that is required...

Tudor style: noble heritage

The Tudor house is the material embodiment of a truly English character. He is imposing and a little old-fashioned, like a 100% gentleman.
Formed in the 16th century, combining touches of Gothic and Renaissance, Flemish and Italian motifs, the Tudor style still remains in demand.
Its attributes are thick walls, high chimneys, turrets, lancet openings. Well, of course, half-timbered- outer frame.
In the old days, such houses were built from stone and wood, but today they use aerated concrete, panels and blocks. Beams, cornices and shutters stand out as before dark color.
The main facade almost always contains a bay window, sometimes in the form of a turret.
It is impossible not to mention the roofing: Tudor roofs are complex, with long hips and high gables, with small dormers.
The entrance is in the form of an arch, lined with stone and decorated with the family coat of arms.
The area around the house is decorated with stone sidewalks, paved paths, wrought-iron fences and, of course, an English lawn.

Half-timbered houses: ancient flavor

Glimpses of this style appeared in the 15th century in Germany. Several centuries later, half-timbered wood “captured” the whole of Western Europe. They still turn to him today.

In essence, the half-timbered technique is frame method construction. Its basis is fastenings made of wooden beams, racks, crossbars, braces. They were once made of oak, intricately joined together with “secret” notches and wooden pins. The voids between the beams were compacted with clay, pebbles, and straw. The walls were plastered, whitewashed, and the frame was painted brown, cherry or black. It served as an ornament to the façade, dividing it into clear segments. Houses lined with wooden patterns are still called half-timbered.

Today, in the construction of modern half-timbered houses, insulated panels, double-glazed windows are used, and large panoramic windows are installed. Thus, combining ancient crafts and new technologies, they create an exclusive image of the home.

Farmhouse style: maximum air

This exterior is a broad category: its English modification differs significantly from the Italian one, and the Italian one from the North American one. Let's look at the general details.
Farm houses are often one-story, light in color, with unobtrusive decor. A notable feature is a large porch or open veranda, which, if space allows, can stretch along the perimeter of the house.
For finishing, either wood or materials imitating it are chosen. The windows are large, with good review, the door is often also glass...

Finnish style: scent of wood

Another type of wooden exterior.
For façade cladding, Finns use clapboard or planken.
The height is one and a half to two floors. The roof is gable, ceramic tile. There is often a terrace in front of the house, and above it a glazed balcony.
The color of the facade is wood shades or light paints: blue, gray, beige.
The highlight of a Finnish home is, of course, the sauna.

Fusion style: harmony of contradictions

This amazing style sweeps away laws and rules.
The architect and designer are free to use any materials, shapes, textures... And even principles!
Unlike eclecticism, which interweaves individual details of similar exteriors into a whole, fusion is a daring attempt to combine diametrically opposed things. For example, industrial design (loft) and baroque fragments. Or gothic with ethno.
In addition, the style involves the use of complex color range, variety of decor... And, of course, a subtle artistic flair that will not let you slip into architectural cacophony And design heresy.

High-tech in architecture: on the verge of fantasy

Such houses are a challenge to traditions and a demonstration of scientific achievements.
High-tech real estate is noticeable from afar thanks to wind generators and solar panels. The layout assumes significant home sizes and cubic shapes.
The walls are absolutely flat, the structure is smooth, the materials are concrete, glass, metal and plastic.
Color scheme – white, black, silver, shades of various metals.
High-tech - houses are also different large area glazing.
The terrace may be open, but the central door is also glass and sliding. Roofs are often flat, in the form of flat platforms, which are easy to adapt for recreation. The facades are equipped with lighting.

Czech house: a secluded place

The design of Czech cottages echoes European architectural traditions. Czech mansions are different correct geometry, squat, high and multifaceted tiled roofs, stone foundation.
However, instead of tiles, they are sometimes covered with straw, which harmonizes with the rural landscape. Windows and doors are streamlined, rounded...

Chalet style houses: reliable protection

It's hard to believe that in the past, the chalet was just a shepherd's house at the foot of the mountains. Cut off from civilization, this shelter had to be resilient, invulnerability, have the required level of comfort.
The foundation and first floor were built of stone, the attic was built of logs. The roof of Alpine houses is gable, flat, with significant projections turning into awnings.
The facade faces east, living rooms to the south. The chalet has at least one spacious balcony.

Chalet in modern form– not only stone and wood, but also brick and concrete, as well as panoramic windows and a large terrace...

Chateau style house: noble nest

Actually, this was the name given to the country estates of French nobles, consisting of a castle, a park and, often, a winery. The famous Versailles is essentially a chateau.

The style of this exterior is determined by classic proportions, a large number of lancet windows decorated with frames, a multi-pitched roof, elegant gables, wide terraces, spacious balconies with forged, filigree railings and bay windows.
The walls can be finished with rusticated stone, brick, or decorated with stucco.
The base is usually made of natural stone, and the roof is made of tiles.
The chateau-style façade is a proud sign of family nobility.

Swedish style: sweet naturalness

Being part Scandinavian style, Swedish "domestic" architecture continues the tradition of dramatic simplicity.
The peculiarity of the Swedish cottage is its contrasting color: its walls are painted red, and the corners, window frames and the doors are highlighted in white in relief.
The buildings are often wooden, with large windows, because sunlight is especially valued in these parts.

Ethnic style: from tower to wigwam

National style is the soul of ethnic style. This could be a house resembling a Russian log house, built using timber and topped with a ridge on the roof. Or a mansion with an oriental “accent” in the form of Arabic ornaments, Persian grilles and tiles. In other words, there are as many cultures and building traditions as there are sources that feed the diverse ethno-exterior.

Japanese style in architecture: laconicism and lightness

Japanese country houses can be seen not only in the Land of the Rising Sun. This is explained by Japanese style incredibly organic.
Its strengths are clarity, perfection, and unpretentious lines.
The materials are stone, glass and wood, the palette is restrained.
Sliding doors in such a house there are on each side; the central entrance is often complemented by a stepped deck, reminiscent of a porch and bridge.
The house can have a covered veranda with a wide view, and an open terrace.
The continuation of the Japanese home is an authentic landscape: a mini-pond, several picturesque boulders and a couple of dwarf pine trees will turn even an ordinary home into a philosopher’s refuge.

Imagine that you went on a trip to another country. You can’t do without a cultural program and tourist routes, otherwise there’s no point in going anywhere at all. You can, of course, lock yourself in a hotel for the duration of your vacation and have a great time, traditionally lying in bed.

If you prepare for your trip in advance and study the traditions of the country you are going to, then the foreign culture will become much clearer. How about we learn to differentiate architectural styles and put another tick on your self-education list? In addition, you will be able to impress girls, and this will be much more effective than, for example, the ability to distinguish between types of beer with your eyes closed.

In general, architectural styles are a rather confusing and complex topic for a beginner, and if you don’t want to study boring literature, we offer you a simplified guide to world architecture (professional architects forgive us).

1. Classicism

Classicism is a stronghold of symmetry, severity and straightness. If you see something similar, and even with long round columns, this is classicism.

2. Empire style

Empire style is when classicism decided to become pathetic to the point of impossibility, and even strives to be higher.

3. Stalin's Empire style

Of course, the leader of all nations - Comrade Stalin - lacked pathos and solemnity in the usual Empire style, and in order to show the power of the USSR in all its glory, this style was cubed. This is how the Stalinist Empire style appeared - an architectural style that frightens with its colossal size.

4. Baroque

Baroque is when a building looks like a pie with whipped cream, often decorated with gold, stone sculptures and ornate stucco that clearly says its “fi!” classicism. This architectural style spread throughout Europe, including being adopted by Russian architects.

5. Rococo

If it seemed to you that the building was designed by a woman, and there are a lot of all sorts of frills and bows covered in gold, this is Rococo.

6. Ultra-Baroque

If you look at a building and, due to the abundance of stucco moldings and sculptures, you no longer understand what is happening around you, then you can be sure that it is ultra-baroque. The main thing is not to lose consciousness when contemplating such beauty.

7. Russian Baroque

Russian Baroque is no longer a cake, it’s a real cake, painted to resemble Khokhloma.

8. Pseudo-Russian style

Pseudo-Russian style is when you tried to make it look like antiquity, but you overdid it and decorated everything too richly.

9. Neo-Gothic

Neo-Gothic is when you are afraid to cut yourself on a building just by looking at it. Thin long spiers, window openings and fear of injections.

10. Gothic

If you look at a building and there is less danger of cutting yourself, and it has a round window in the center or a stained glass window with towers on the sides, it is Gothic. On the stucco of such buildings in the architectural style they often like to torture all sorts of sinners and other asocial individuals.

11. Art Deco

Art Deco is when, when you look at a building, old American songs performed by Frank Sinatra start playing in your head, and imaginary cars from the 60s start driving through the streets.

12. Modernism

Everything is simple here. Modernism in architectural style is a house from the future, but built with notes of nostalgia for the past.

13. Modern

In modern architecture you can study ancient history. There are a lot of small details and elaborate details, which together form a whole composition.

14. Constructivism

Constructivism in architectural style is when lovers of top hats and other strict geometric shapes they start building houses. They put up some kind of trapezoid or cylinder and cut windows in it.

15. Deconstructivism

If you look at a building and see that it has been completely broken, bent and wrinkled - this is deconstructivism. A real geometric hell for a perfectionist.

16. High-tech

High-tech architecture includes buildings with a lot of glass, concrete, everything is transparent, mirrored and glitters in the sun. Maximum geometricity, rigor and angularity.

17. Postmodernism

Postmodernism is when you look at a building, like Malevich’s “Black Square”, and don’t understand what the author wanted to say, how he was allowed to build it and why he wasn’t treated for drug addiction. However, such fancy forms also have their advantages.

Of course, professional architects may consider such a list of architectural styles blasphemous and generally be offended, but make allowances for those who are not so good at history and defining styles. After all, the car mechanic will also smile indulgently as he watches the architect try to determine which side to approach the crankshaft from.

Today, through one of my friends, the news reached me about the announcement of the new forum engine XenForo. Its authors are two respected developers Mike Sullivan and Kier Darby, thanks to whom the world saw VBulletin 3.x as it is now.

Having left the team following the takeover of JelSoft by Internet Brands, they worked for over a year to bring us XenForo, a new commercial forum engine that is positioned as a serious opponent to VBulletin and InvisionPowerBoard.

VBulletin 4.0 = epic fail

The release of VBulletin 4.0 in my opinion turned out to be an epic fail. Instead of the promised major rewrite, MVC support and generally improved architecture, we received only an updated style developed by an independent design studio, which the community quickly hated, a CMS that is still (a year after release) empty home page makes ~150 requests and a huge number of critical bugs at all stages of the project.

The new team didn't treat customers very well. I would say we were a little ignored. For example, release 4.0.3 included a number of critical bugs that prevented the database from updating normally when upgrading to a new version or even viewing user profiles. Do you think they released 4.0.4 right away to make it more convenient for users? Nothing like this. The developers started a thread on the forum and posted instructions like “open this file and replace XXX with YYY in it to fix the ZZZ problem.” Very convenient, isn't it? Especially for ordinary users.

The new team of programmers includes at least a couple of strange individuals who leave comments in the engine code like “This seems like a terrible place to put this, but I don’t know where else it should go.”, which at least indicates their ignorance of the VBulletin architecture and, most strangely, the inability to get explanations from colleagues.

In general, a complete epic fail in my opinion. I have already regretted ten times that I did not leave the forum that I administer on the 3.x branch, which, however, they are also trying to ruin.

XenForo = True Web 2.0 Forum Engine

What does XenForo offer? Of course, it's best. From my point of view, the user is offered... well, just an intuitive Ajax-driven interface that is very convenient to use. By the way, despite the fact that the project is still in alpha. Subjectively, the interface is more convenient than PHPBB, VBulletin and IPB can offer. I don’t know why, after so many years of the existence of Ajax as such and a large number of libraries, with the use of which it becomes not just easy, but very easy to use, no one has released a forum comparable in convenience to XenForo (if you know one, please let me know immediately comments).

Unfortunately, you cannot touch the moderation tools with your hands yet, but there is a small video where you can see the process.

Developers will be offered a convenient API for developing addons. Something tells me that most likely a system similar to VBulletin (hook system) will be used.

In general, third-party users and Internet Brands clients (owners of VBulletin) are positive. Many people say that after the official release they will switch to XenForo with VBulletin 4.0. By the way, your humble servant is among them. For an instant assessment of the situation, simply search Google for “xenforo shit” and you will understand what the second search word refers to.

1. Making colored buildings has become easier

Passionate about sustainable technologies and natural materials, over the past decades, architects have shown themselves to be convinced “chromophobes”. Wood and concrete, glass and metal, stone and brick were considered beautiful in themselves, and their excessive decorativeness was considered unnatural and unnecessary. However, the properties of new and previously unknown possibilities of old materials seem to have once again begun to inspire designers to create truly striking buildings.

2. Color is a key factor in shaping the image of an architectural object

No one belittles the importance of working with form and space, and it would be foolish to argue with the fact that repainting a wall is much easier than moving it. However, one cannot underestimate the role of color in shaping our perception, our sense of architecture - and it is this feeling, according to most basic theories, that is the result of the architect’s work.

3. Color highlights...

In addition, color is the easiest way to distinguish a building from the crowd, to make it stand out to a certain extent, without resorting to unique volumetric-spatial and design moves.

4. ... And color unites

Finally, nothing else, as practice shows, is capable of “assembling” heterogeneous buildings into a single, logically constructed ensemble so easily and effectively.

Thus, the color more than deserved its rehabilitation - and turns out to be appropriate and even irreplaceable in almost any architectural typology.

Museums

In parallel with iconic buildings a la Hadid or outrageous reconstructions of classical palaces and mansions for which Libeskind is famous, centers like the Frank Gehry Museum in Panama began to appear - unlike his famous object in Bilbao, it not only has a complex plastic solution, but is also colorful all the colors of the rainbow. Which in this case perfectly illustrates the theme of the museum - biodiversity. Colored and dashingly curved sheets of metal, here and there creating galleries, secluded niches and simply sun visors, simultaneously convey the rich tectonics of the local rocks and the variety of types of grass cover. And most importantly, they create an iconic architectural object that stands out both from the side of the green valley and from the shore of the Gulf of Panama.

Offices

Projects for corporate headquarters and business centers are certainly much less ambitious than projects for museums. However, being often an integral element of multifunctional development, they perform a local, but similar function - to become an architectural dominant, to unite - or simply to outshine - the not always masterpiece surroundings. You can, of course, build a miracle of design thought from glass and concrete. However, if you are looking for a more democratic and at the same time non-trivial option, color comes to the rescue.

Architects Emmanuelle Moureaux called the concept of the central branch of the Sugamo Shinkin bank in Tokyo “rainbow mille-feuille”: the building is really designed like a layer cake with a colored filling. The “dough” at all ends is white - the “filling” is spread only on the upper layers and is reflected in the white gloss of the lower ones, giving them a blurry, slightly luminous color. But the real illumination turns on only in the evening, when the shade of each floor is clearly emphasized.

Architects Dirk Zimmerman and Dylan Brady (studio 505) approached the creation of a colored facade in a completely different way: an office center in Melbourne with the self-explanatory name Pixel is dressed in a colorful shell of panels, the nature of which only at first glance seems similar. These include glass elements, solar panels, and solar shutters: according to the developer’s instructions, Pixel was designed as the most advanced building for its time in matters of water collection and waste disposal. But, as we see, energy-efficient technologies could not be avoided, and a successful solution with a “patchwork” facade made it possible to skillfully disguise some of the technical equipment.

Hospitals and medical centers

In those places where people sometimes spend months, being in a not very healthy state of body and spirit, a positive charge from the surrounding space is simply necessary. It is difficult to imagine a darker place than the intensive care unit, traumatology and infectious diseases, but the building that serves as their home in Malmö does not give such an impression. Several rings superimposed on each other with multi-colored bridges rather evoke an association with a magical centrifuge, once caught in which everyone sooner or later recovers. According to the designers of the Swedish bureau C.F. Moeller, this form is due to the need to make sure that all the main blocks of the building are easily isolated from each other and in case of danger any infection can be locked away. Well, the color gives the entire structure the necessary notes of cheerfulness and embodies hope for the best.

Athletic facilities

In fact, more or less remarkable stadiums began to be built not so long ago, literally in the last decade. Before this, they were always guided by considerations of functionality, and within the framework of a limited budget, in which the host country of sports competitions inevitably finds itself, there was absolutely no time for “pretty things.”

However, at one point everything changed, and real stars are now involved in the design of stadiums, who come up with new non-standard and memorable images. Thus, in Bilbao, the ACXT bureau built a stadium symbolizing a tree: supporting branches are crowned with “foliage” of metal panels different shades of green, in the density of which climate control equipment is also hidden.

Markets and public spaces

Places of crowds of idle people and ordinary hard-working townspeople have always been real magnets for tourists, and therefore were designed as attractions. For example, the oldest indoor market in Barcelona - Santa Catarina - is visited almost more often than Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. After another reconstruction, a corrugated multi-colored roof appeared over the market, lined with ceramic mosaics - traditional Spanish materials in the form of a by no means traditional ornament. And the shape of the roof is quite close in spirit to the work of Spanish artists - the same Gaudi.

However, markets in other cities - and not only Spanish ones - are usually no less vibrant. You can verify this.

Universities

More recently, we wrote about the buildings of colleges and universities, where. Another one like this educational institution— SUTD Institute of Design and Technology — built in Singapore by the Dutch bureau UNStudio and DP Architects. The different colors used in the decoration of the facades emphasize the variety of disciplines taught, the smooth and flowing lines of the buildings highlight the interaction and interpenetration of these disciplines with each other, and all together creates a bright futuristic appearance worthy of the university’s high ratings.

Kindergartens and schools

In general, when we talk about education and children, fortunately, we almost always remember the role of color for the development and psychological comfort of a child. And if previously interior spaces were painted in “cheerful shades”, today a garden or a school can be easily distinguished by its façade - bright, individual, not similar to neighboring buildings, and even if it has a background of some neutral color - then certainly with an original one. abstract geometric patterns or artistic stylization. We looked at some examples from foreign and Russian experience in the material, and the issue of the magazine was dedicated exclusively to architecture for children.

In some cases, unusual facades serve for educational purposes - say, when they are painted in the spirit of a particular painter, Kandinsky or El-Lissitzky (as in the Moscow and Moscow region gardens and schools of the PPF “Project Realization”). In others, buildings for children become the dominant feature of a depressed area - as with a kindergarten, primary and secondary school, kitchen and student dormitory on the northern outskirts of Paris, designed by the Atelier Phileas bureau.

Initially, it was clear that a small area on the site of a former industrial zone would have to be built up very densely, so the risk of visual crowding of new volumes was truly high. However, this did not happen at Atelier Philéas, and the deliberately isolated buildings do not overlap each other’s connections with the park provided here. And if the residential buildings are decorated with ceramic slats to imitate wood, the school building stands out with bright green panels of different shades - and as if it itself becomes part of the park area.

Metro stations and airports

The façade panels used to decorate the buildings of the complex in Paris are one of those new - and well-forgotten - materials whose existence provokes the emergence of interesting and striking projects. Architectural terracotta, along with a unique palette of colors and sizes, has all the necessary performance characteristics for use in the most trafficked places, including metro stations and buildings railway stations and airports. We wrote more about this in. And one of the most recently opened metro stations in Moscow, Rumyantsevo, has been decorated glass panels, from which giant panels in the style of Piet Mondrian are assembled.

Residential buildings

If we are talking about central city blocks with historical buildings, then residential buildings have to be fit into the context rather than taken out of it. And here is the selection color scheme more often it comes down to “not getting out of the way.” Another thing is remote areas and democratic-class housing. Here, in order to somehow diversify the mostly faceless urban landscape, bright accents are vital. Especially for municipal, so-called affordable houses, for which there is no payment or very symbolic, and low-income people and from disadvantaged families live here. After all, it’s no wonder that the project of the Dutch artists Haas&Hahn, who painted a number of the poorest favelas on the outskirts of Rio in rainbow colors, turned out to be so successful in their time. The action received a lively response among the residents, and by coming into direct contact with them and carefully recording their wishes, the artists received a whole study. It almost scientifically proved that the poorer the area, the more powerful a “color injection” it needs.

However, this does not work in reverse. Bright colors will not interfere with any, even if not poor, but dull gray area. John Gollings' Viking by Crown home in Sydney, inspired by Jacob Agam's kinetic sculptures, is an architectural anti-depressant. The active effect of the facades - with already dynamic outlines - is enhanced through the loggias, which protrude both literally (at an angle forward) and figuratively: in a “combat” red and yellow color. Window shutters have no less bright colors - the only difference is that their “bulging out” from a physical point of view is regulated by apartment residents, depending on weather conditions.

Look for other examples of buildings with such “manual control”. Read about how the meaning of color in architecture has changed historically, and why in the USA the government house is “white”, and in Argentina it is pink, read in our future materials

The four-story house was built according to the design of the Tokyo bureau Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects in 2012. Since then, a couple of people have lived there. The building with a total area of ​​70 m2 turned out to be so extraordinary that the nickname “ninja house” quickly stuck to it. Indeed, it is impossible to move between the tiers and rooms of House T without the proper dexterity and courage. There are no usual walls, doors and stairs - only openings, mobile ladders and stepladders.

On the ground floor there is a living room, on the second there are four living rooms, above there is a kitchen, a dining room, and a bedroom. Although the division itself is very arbitrary. Open space allows you to change the functional purpose of rooms at the discretion of the owners. From the top tier you can get to the roof of House T, which, by the way, is literally squeezed between two other adjacent buildings.

Translucent house Lucid Stead

Even an inconspicuous barracks can become a unique art object if you apply creative hand. Proof of this is a dilapidated 70-year-old building in the middle of the Californian desert, which sparkled with incredible colors after simple manipulations by architect Phillip Smith III. The American simply covered the hut with mirror panels, creating a translucent effect.

But the matter did not stop there. The door and window openings have been added LED backlight, controlled by Arduino. Such views only intensify the impression.

Holiday Home The Skysphere

One day, New Zealand designer Jono Williams wanted to get a little closer to the indescribable beauties of his homeland. At first he planned a tree house, but a little later the idea seemed too banal to the young man. As a result, he designed a high-tech structure that looks like something between a tree and an observation deck.

Consists of a metal “trunk” and a glass “nest”. Inside there is only one circular bedchamber with multi-colored lighting, a refrigerator, wireless acoustics and an electronic door with a fingerprint scanner. All these fashionable gizmos are controlled from a smartphone and are powered by stored energy. solar panels. There is no restroom, but there is a forest nearby.

Sports house Court House

See how a home is set up where ball games are not only allowed, but encouraged. And all because the Court House was built for the needs of the future Japanese basketball player. The central area of ​​the house is occupied by a play area the size of a standard basketball court. The ring is fixed at a height of 3.05 m - everything is as it should be. The ceiling height is 6 m, which is more than enough for long-distance throws. Along the perimeter of the two-story building there are rooms that are protected from accidental hits by the ball using a metal mesh.