Architecture is a funny profession. On the one hand there is the hard, scientific and technical, tied up with functionality and the systemic, while on the other hand there is the soft, creative and artistic, immersed in aesthetics. Somewhere there is a balance, a deal struck between use and beauty, and when this symmetry occurs we get great buildings. But of course there is the notion of taste. What are these “great” buildings?
As the title suggests, this Web site contains listings of more than 800 great buildings from around the world and across all historical periods. While the listing itself is a significant feat, the amount of detail held for each entry is most impressive. It includes title, architect, location, date of construction, building type, construction system, climate, context, style, notes, images, drawings, 3‐D model, discussion, resources and Web‐resources. Some of these fields are hyperlinks to other resources, for example, the images field.
The discussion field in particular carries a wealth of information on practicalities, such as how to get to the building and when it is open. Also within the discussion field there appears a description of the building, taken more often than not from an academic source.
There are two main ways in which the listing can be viewed. First, it can be browsed, and it is arranged alphabetically for this purpose; second, it can be searched using a simple enquiry form. In addition there are supplemental catalogues. One covers architects and is essentially a listing of all the architects responsible for the great buildings. Usefully, architecture firms and practices are also listed. Another catalogue contains three‐dimensional models and some Web technology, allowing users to deploy special viewing software.
One of the strengths of this Web site is that it covers “the whole world and all of history”. This means, however, that its scope is rather too wide. One could quite easily put together a list of buildings that have not been included. This then raises the inevitable question, “How are the buildings chosen?’ The Web site fails to answer this. By not providing enough background detail some key questions are left unanswered. The most important of these questions is, what, in the eyes of this Web site’s administrators, makes a building truly “great”?
This review was first published in Reference Reviews Volume 16 Number 5 2002.
