Wikipedia
Architecture
For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture.
Architecture (Latin „architectura“, from the Greek „arkitekton“, ὰρχιτεκτονική – arkhitektonike, from ὰρχι chief or leader and Τεκτονική builder or carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures.
Architecture is both the process and the product of designing and constructing spaces that reflect and functional, aesthetic and environmental considerations. Architecture requires the use of materials, technology, textures, light, and shadow. As a process, architecture also includes the pragmatic elements of design, such as planning, cost and construction. A wider definition may comprise all design activity from the macro-level (urban design, landscape architecture) to the micro-level (construction details and furniture). In fact, architecture today may refer to the activity of designing any kind of system.
Architectural works are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements.
The architect
Architects plan, design and review the construction of buildings and structures for the use of people by the creative organisation of materials and components with consideration to mass, space, form, volume, texture, structure, light, shadow, materials, program, and pragmatic elements such as cost, construction limitations and technology, to achieve an end which is usually functional, economical, practical and often artistic. This distinguishes architecture from engineering design, which has as its primary object the creative manipulation of materials and forms using mathematical and scientific principles.
As documentation produced by architects, typically drawings, plans and technical specifications, architecture defines the structure and/or behavior of a building or any other kind of system that is to be or has been con read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture