From the rise of ancient Greece until the fall of the Roman empire, great buildings were constructed according to precise rules. The Classical Orders, which defined column styles and entablature designs, continue to influence building design in modern times.

As Rome spread across Europe, heavier, stocky Romanesque architecture with rounded arches emerged. Churches and castles of the early Medieval period were constructed with thick walls and heavy piers.

Pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and other innovations led to taller, more graceful architecture. Gothic ideas gave rise to magnificent cathedrals like Chartres and Notre Dame.

A return to classical ideas ushered an "age of awakening" in Italy, France, and England. Andrea Palladio and other builders looked the classical orders of ancient Greece and Rome. Long after the Renaissance era ended, architects in the Western world found inspiration in the beautifully proportioned architecture of the period.

In Italy, the Baroque style is reflected in opulent and dramatic churches with irregular shapes and extravagant ornamentation. In France, the highly ornamented Baroque style combines with Classical restraint. Russian aristocrats were impressed by Versailles in France, and incorporated Baroque ideas in the building of St. Petersburg. Elements of the elaborate Baroque style are found throughout Europe.

During the last phase of the Baroque period, builders constructed graceful white buildings with sweeping curves. These Rococo buildings are elegantly decorated with scrolls, vines, shell-shapes, and delicate geometric patterns.

A keen interest in ideas of Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio inspired a return of classical shapes in Europe, Great Britain and the United States. These buildings were proportioned according to the classical orders with details borrowed from ancient Greece and Rome.

Known as the New Style, Art Nouveau was first expressed in fabrics and graphic design. The style spread to architecture and furniture in the 1890s. Art Nouveau buildings often have asymmetrical shapes, arches and decorative surfaces with curved, plant-like designs.

Also known as Beaux Arts Classicism, Academic Classicism, or Classical Revival, Beaux Arts architecture is characterized by order, symmetry, formal design, grandiosity, and elaborate ornamentation.

In the early twentieth century, Gothic ideas were applied to modern buildings. Gargoyles, arched windows, and other medieval details ornamented soaring skyscrapers.

Zigzag patterns and vertical lines create dramatic effect on jazz-age, Art Deco buildings. Interestingly, many Art Deco motifs were inspired by the architecture of ancient Egypt.

The 20th and 21st centuries have seen dramatic changes and astonishing diversity. Modern-day trends include Art Moderne and the Bauhaus School coined by Walter Gropius, Deconstructivism, Formalism, Modernism, and Structuralism.

A reaction against the Modernist approaches gave rise to new buildings that re-invented historical details and familiar motifs. Look closely at these architectural movements and you are likely to find ideas that date back to classical and ancient times.