Copyright © 2015 Bert N. Langford (Images may be subject to copyright. Please send feedback)
Welcome to Our Generation USA!

Architecture
covers all man-made structures including buildings, bridges and tunnels used in pedestrian or vehicle transit, hydroelectric power stations (e.g., Hoover Dam) as well as statues/monuments (e.g., Mount Rushmore)
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Architecture of Buildings, Bridges, Tunnels, Monuments and Pedestrian Bridges
YouTube Video: About the Construction of the New World Trade Tower Building in New York City.
Pictured: L-R: The New World Trade Center, New York; Golden Gate Bridge: San Francisco; Mount Rushmore. South Dakota

​Architecture is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings and other physical structures.

Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.

"Architecture" can mean:
  • A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures.
  • The art and science of designing buildings and (some) non-building structures.
  • The style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures.
  • Knowledge of art, science, technology and humanity.
  • The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering professional services in connection with the design and construction of buildings, or built environments.
  • The design activity of the architect, from the macro-level (urban design, landscape architecture) to the micro-level (construction details and furniture).

​Architecture has to do with planning and designing form, space and ambience to reflect functional, technical, social, environmental and aesthetic considerations.

It requires the creative manipulation and coordination of materials and technology, and of light and shadow. Often, conflicting requirements must be resolved.

The practice of architecture also encompasses the pragmatic aspects of realizing buildings and structures, including scheduling, cost estimation and construction administration.

Documentation produced by architects, typically drawings, plans and technical specifications, defines the structure and/or behavior of a building or other kind of system that is to be or has been constructed.

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St. Louis Gateway Arch
YouTube Video: Saint Louis Gateway Arch : "A RIDE TO THE TOP" - Tour
Pictured: St. Louis Gateway Arch: LEFT: last piece being installed Oct. 28, 1965; RIGHT: framing fireworks display

​The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot (192 m) monument in St. Louis, Missouri. Built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States, it is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and has become an internationally famous symbol of St. Louis.

Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of an inverted, weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri's tallest accessible building. 

The arch sits at the site of St. Louis' founding on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

The Gateway Arch was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in 1947; construction began on February 12, 1963, and was completed on October 28, 1965, for $13 million (equivalent to $190 million in 2015). The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967.

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Residential Housing including a List of Building Materials as well as the "Tiny House Movement"
YouTube Video: How to design like an architect | A modern home
YouTube Video: The Real Scoop On Tiny House Living | CNBC
Pictured (L-R): A ranch-style house in Salinas, California, U.S.; (R) Tiny houses on display in Portland, Oregon (courtesy of DanDavidCook)

A house is a building that functions as a home, ranging from simple dwellings such as rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes and the improvised shacks in shantytowns to complex, fixed structures of wood, brick, concrete or other materials containing plumbing, ventilation and electrical systems.

Houses use a range of different roofing systems to keep precipitation such as rain from getting into the dwelling space. Houses may have doors or locks to secure the dwelling space and protect its inhabitants and contents from burglars or other trespassers.

Most conventional modern houses in Western cultures will contain one or more bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen or cooking area, and a living room. A house may have a separate dining room, or the eating area may be integrated into another room. Some large houses in North America have a recreation room.

In traditional agriculture-oriented societies, domestic animals such as chickens or larger livestock (like cattle) may share part of the house with humans. The social unit that lives in a house is known as a household.

Most commonly, a household is a family unit of some kind, although households may also be other social groups, such as roommates or, in a rooming house, unconnected individuals.

Some houses only have a dwelling space for one family or similar-sized group; larger houses called townhouses or row houses may contain numerous family dwellings in the same structure.

A house may be accompanied by outbuildings, such as a garage for vehicles or a shed for gardening equipment and tools. A house may have a backyard or front yard, which serve as additional areas where inhabitants can relax or eat.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Residential Housing: ___________________________________________________________________________

The following is a List of building materials as it applies to residential housing.

Many types of building materials are used in the building construction and construction industry to create buildings and structures.

​These categories of materials and products are used by architects and construction project managers to specify the materials and methods used for building projects.

Some building materials like cold rolled steel framing are considered modern methods of construction, over the traditionally slower methods like blockwork and timber. Many building materials have a variety of uses, therefore it is always a good idea to consult the manufacturer to check if a product is best suited to your requirements

Click here for a List of building Materials

Industry Standards:

The Construction Specifications Institute maintains the following industry standards:
  • MasterFormat – 50 standard divisions of building materials - 2004 edition (current in 2009)
  • 16 Divisions – Original 16 divisions of building materials

See Also:
Sources: ___________________________________________________________________________

The tiny house movement (also known as the "small house movement") is a description for the architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes. There is currently no set definition as to what constitutes as a tiny house; however, a residential structure under 500 square feet (46 m2) is generally accepted to be a tiny home.

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Apartments, including Rent Control in the United States
YouTube Video: How to Find an Apartment
YouTube Video: Who are Rent Control's Biggest Beneficiaries?
Pictured: Apartments Complexes as (L) Exterior; (R) Interior (with view)

An apartment is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies only part of a building, generally on a single level.

Such a building may be called an apartment building, apartment complex, flat complex, block of flats, tower block, high-rise or, occasionally, mansion block (in British English), especially if it consists of many apartments for rent. In Scotland, it is called a block of flats or, if it is a traditional sandstone building, a tenement, a term which has a pejorative connotation in the United States. Apartments may be owned by an owner/occupier, by leasehold tenure or rented by tenants(two types of housing tenure)

The term apartment is favored in North America (although in some cities flat is used for a unit which is part of a house containing two or three units, typically one to a floor.

Technically multi-story apartments sometimes referred to as mid-rise apartments and even high-rise apartments when there are many stories. Duplex description can be different depending on the part of the country but generally has two to four dwellings with a door for each and usually two front doors close together but separate - referred to as 'duplex' (or 'triplex') indicating the number of units, not the number of floors as they are usually one story at least in the Texas area.

In the United States, some apartment-dwellers own their units, either as co-ops, in which the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the public spaces.

Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment denotes a residential unit or section in a building. In some locations, particularly the United States, the word connotes a rental unit owned by the building owner, and is not typically used for a condominium.

In some countries the word "unit" is a more general term referring to both apartments and rental business suites. The word 'unit' is generally used only in the context of a specific building; e.g., "This building has three units" or "I'm going to rent a unit in this building", but not "I'm going to rent a unit somewhere". Some buildings can be characterized as 'mixed use buildings', meaning part of the building is for commercial, business, or office use, usually on the first floor or first couple of floors, and one or more apartments are found in the rest of the building, usually on the upper floors.

Click on any of the following for more about Apartments: ___________________________________________________________________________

Rent control in the United States:

Rent control in the United States refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of American residential housing. They function as a price ceiling.

Click on any of the following blue hyperlinks for more about Rent Control in the United States:
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