top ten world architecture

For a more complete list, see Top Ten World Architecture

architect	unknown
location	El Giza, Egypt
date	-2600 to -2480
style	Ancient Egyptian
construction	stone Height Roof 138.8 m, 455.2 ft (Formerly height: 146.6 m, 480.9 ft)
type	Tomb

The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom.
There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza at the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the 'Great Pyramid'.

The Acropolis

architect	various
location	Athens, Greece.
date	5th century BC
style	Doric
construction	Stone
type	Temple Government

The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (high city, The "Sacred Rock) in Greece. Although there are many other acropolises in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (512 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, Greece. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Kekrops or Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

The Taj Mahal

architect	Ustad Isa
location	Agra
date	1640s
style	Islamic Mughal
construction	marble
type	Mosque

The Tāj Mahal (Hindi: ताज महल) is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. The Mughal Emperor Shāh Jahān commissioned it as a mausoleum for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in 1648. Some dispute surrounds the question of who designed the Taj; it is clear a team of designers and craftsmen were responsible for the design, with Ustad Isa considered the most likely candidate as the principal designer.
The Taj Mahal (sometimes called "the Taj") is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Indian and Islamic architecture. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as a "universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

The Hagia Sofia

architect	Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles
location	Istanbul
date	537. The dome was ruined by the great earthquake of 989, rebuilt by the Armenian architect Tirdat.
style	Islamic Ottoman Turkish Byzantine
construction	covered by a central dome with a diameter of 31 meters (102 feet) and 56 meters high, slightly smaller than the Pantheon's
type	Mosque

Hagia Sophia, (the Church of) Holy Wisdom, now known as the Ayasofya Museum, is a former Eastern Orthodox church converted to a mosque in 1453 by the Turks, and converted into a museum in 1935. It is located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is traditionally considered one of the great buildings in history. Its conquest by the Ottomans at the fall of Constantinople is considered one of the great tragedies of Christianity by the Greek Orthodox faithful.
The name comes from the Greek name Ἁγία Σοφία, a contraction of Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, meaning "Church of the Holy Wisdom of God". It is also known as Sancta Sophia in Latin and Ayasofya in Turkish. Although it is sometimes called "Saint Sophia" in English, it is not named after a saint named Sophia — the Greek word sofia means "wisdom."

The Roman Coliseum

architect	unknown
location	Rome, Italy
date	70 to 82
style	Ancient Roman, Classical, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian engaged columns, Corinthian pilasters
construction	masonry, cut stone
type	amphitheater Theater

The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium), is the largest amphitheatre built in the Roman empire. Originally capable of seating 50,000 spectators, it was once used for gladiatorial combat. It was built in the 70s AD by Jewish slaves captured at the end of the Great Jewish Revolt.
The Colosseum is located just east of the Roman Forum.

The Great Wall

architect	unknown
location	Badaling, 50 miles northwest of Beijing city
date	mid-6th century
style	Ming Dynasty
construction	stone
type	protective wall

The Great Wall (Traditional Chinese: 長城; Simplified Chinese: 长城; pinyin: Chángchén) is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built between 5th century BC and the 17th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. The most recent set of fortifications dates from the Ming Dynasty, and its longest section stretches 6,352 km (3,948 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.[1] It is generally considered to be the longest man-made structure on earth.

Petra, Jordan

architect	unknown
location	Jordan
date	c. 100 AD
style	Graeco-Roman
construction	Stone
type	Outdoor space

Petra (from πέτρα "petra", rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, al-Bitrā) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. The long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. It famous description "a rose-red city half as old as time" is the final line of a sonnet by the minor Victorian poet John William Burgon, which won the Newdigate Prize for poetry, given at Oxford, 1845. Burgon had not actually visited Petra, which remained inaccessible to all but the most intrepid Europeans, guided by local guides with armed escorts, until after World War I.

Angkor Wat

architect	unknown
location	near Siem Riep (near the Thai border), Cambodia
date	early 12th century
style	classical style of Khmer architecture—the Angkor Wat style
construction	Stone
type	Buddhist Temple

Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. The largest and best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre—first Hindu, then Buddhist—since its foundation. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temples. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 km (2.2 miles) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. As well as for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, the temple is admired for its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

Machu Picchu, Peru

architect	unknown
location	Machu Picchu is 70 kilometers northwest of Cusco, Peru, on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu, located about 2,350 meters above sea level.
date	1440
style	Incan
construction	ocated at 2,430 m (7,970 ft)[1] on a mountain ridge Stone. polished dry-stone walls of regular shape
type	Outdoor space

Machu Picchu (Quechua: Old Peak; sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas") is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft)[1] on a mountain ridge. Machu Picchu is located above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, about 70 km (44 mi) northwest of Cusco. Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was brought back to international attention by archaeologist Hiram Bingham who rediscovered it in 1911, and wrote a best-selling work about it. Peru is pursuing legal efforts to retrieve thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site.

The Statue of Liberty

architect	Sculptor: Auguste Frederic Bartholdi, Structural Engineer: Gustave Eiffel pedestal Richard Morris Hunt
location	Liberty Island, New York Harbor.
date	1884
style	Neoclassical realistic sculpture
construction	iron frame, copper cladding
type	monumental statue and observation tower
	Click here for Statue of Liberty gallery

Liberty Enlightening the World (French: La liberté éclairant le monde), known more commonly as the Statue of Liberty (Statue de la Liberté), is a large statue that was presented to the United States by France in 1886. It stands at Liberty Island, New York in New York Harbor as a welcome to all visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans. The copper patina-clad statue, dedicated on October 28, 1886, commemorates the centennial of the United States and is a gesture of friendship from France to America. Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue and obtained a U.S. patent useful for raising construction funds through the sale of miniatures. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) engineered the internal structure. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper in the statue's construction and adoption of the repoussé technique.