Architecture is the art of modeling the human environment and designing the behavior of people in this environment, through a special functional and artistic organization of space and form, artistic work with the plasticity of elements, color.
In the modern understanding, architecture is the design of buildings, structures and their complexes, as well as the layout of populated areas and the development of small architectural forms - fountains, fences, arbors, etc.
Contrary to common misconception, the architect is not a construction engineer.
In Russia there are the following specialties of architects:
- architecture of residential and public buildings (architect-volume);
- urban planning and planning of populated areas (architect-planner);
- architecture of industrial buildings;
- Theory and history of architecture;
- design of the architectural environment (architect-designer).
The most famous architects are:
Imhotep, Leonardo Da Vinci, Rafael Santi, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Antonio Gaudi, Frank Lloyd Wright, Ivan Leonidov, Le Corbusier, Oskar Nemeyer, Konstantin Melnikov, Alexey Shchusev, Alvar Aalto, Kenzo Tange, Norman Foster, Kise Kurokawa, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Frank Gehry, Daniel Libeskind, Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava and others.