In this article, the first usage is generally intended unless otherwise specified.

Buildings come in a wide amount of shapes and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons.

Buildings serve several needs of society – primarily as shelter from weather and as general living space, to provide privacy, to store belongings and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat The term habitat comes from ecology, and includes many interrelated features, especially the immediate physical environment, the urban environment or the social environment (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful).

Ever since the first cave paintings Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest known European cave paintings date to Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living, buildings have also become objects or canvasess of artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which in turn depends on the well being of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources planning and building practices has also become part of the design process of many new buildings.

Definitions

Building is defined in many aspects as:

• The act of constructing, erecting, or establishing.
• The art of constructing edifices, or the practice of civil architecture.
• That which is built; a fabric or edifice constructed, as a house, a church, castle, arena/ stadium, etc
• The act of constructing or building something; "during the construction we had to take a detour"; "his hobby was the building of boats"
• The commercial activity involved in constructing buildings; "their main business is home construction"; "workers in the building trades"
• A structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a three-storey building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice"
• The occupants of a building; "the entire building complained about the noise"

To differentiate buildings in the usage of this article from other buildings and other structures that are not intended for continuous human occupancy Occupancy in building construction and building codes is the use or intended use of a building or part thereof for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely-related meaning is the number of units in such a building that are rented or leased, or otherwise in-use. The lack of occupancy in this sense is a vacancy, the latter are called non-building structures or simply structures.

Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from street-level. Depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may not be included in this height. Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included.

The definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three stories or less is considered low-rise.^{[citation needed]}

History

The first shelter on Earth constructed by a relatively close ancestor to humans is believed to be built 500,000 years ago by an early ancestor of humans Humans, known taxonomically as Homo sapiens , are the only living species in the Homo genus of bipedal primates in Hominidae, the great ape family. However, in some cases "human" is used to refer to any member of the genus Homo, Homo erectus Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that originated in Africa—and spread as far as China and Java—from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about 1.8 to 1.3 million years ago. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H. erectus, with two major alternative hypotheses:.^[1]

Types

Residential

Residential buildings are called houses A house is a home, shelter, building or structure that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures. In some contexts, "house" may mean the same as dwelling, residence, home, abode, lodging,/homes A home is a place of residence or refuge comfort. It is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and be able to store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either living in the wild or in a domesticated environment. As an, though buildings containing large numbers of separate dwelling units are often called apartment buildings / blocks to differentiate them from the more 'individual' house.

Building types may range from one-room wood-framed, masonry, or adobe Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material (sticks, straw, and/or manure), which is shaped into bricks using frames and dried in the sun. It is similar to cob and mudbrick. Adobe structures are extremely durable and account for some of the oldest existing buildings in the world dwellings to multi-million dollar high-rise buildings able to house thousands of people. Increasing settlement density in buildings (and closer distances between buildings) is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from many people wanting to live close to work or similar attractors.

Multi-storey

A multi-storey building is a building that has multiple floors A storey or story (American English) is any level part of a building that has a permanent roof and could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). The plurals are storeys and stories, respectively above ground in the building.

Multi-storey buildings aim to increase the area of the building without increasing the area of the land the building is built on, hence saving land and, in most cases, money (depending on material used and land prices in the area).

Creation

The practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is most usually a collective effort of different groups of professionals The word professional traditionally means a person who has obtained a degree in a professional field. The term professional is used more generally to denote a white collar working person, or a person who performs commercially in a field typically reserved for hobbyists or amateurs and trades A tradesman is a skilled manual worker in a particular trade or craft. Economically and socially, a tradesman's status is considered between a laborer and a professional, with a high degree of both practical and theoretical knowledge of their trade. In cultures where professional careers are highly prized there can be a shortage of skilled manual. Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a particular building project, the project team may include:

• A real estate developer Real estate development is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved parcels to others. Developers are the coordinators of the activities, converting ideas on paper into real property who secures funding Funding is to provide resources, usually in form of money , or other values such as effort or time (sweat equity), for a project, a person, a business or any other private or public institutions. When a request for funding is made then fundraising is being attempted for the project;
• One or more financial institutions or other investors that provide the funding
• Local planning and code authorities
• A Surveyor The profession is one that provides a qualification gained following formal education, specific training and experience that provides a general set of skills that are then applied to a diverse variety of problems. Predominantly these relate to costs and contracts on construction projects. Other areas in which QS find employment include property who performs an ALTA/ACSM and construction surveys throughout the project;
• Construction managers Construction Project Management is the overall planning, co-ordination and control of a project from inception to completion aimed at meeting a client’s requirements in order to produce a functionally and financially viable project that will be completed on time within authorised cost and to the required quality standards. Project management is who coordinate the effort of different groups of project participants;
• Licensed architects An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings, and is licensed to practice architecture. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings, and engineers Architectural engineering, also known as Building engineering, is the application of engineering principles and technology to building design and construction. Definitions of an architectural engineer may refer to: who provide building design and prepare construction documents A document , is a bounded physical or digital representation of a body of information designed with the capacity (and usually intent) to communicate. A document may manifest symbolic, diagrammatic or sensory-representational information. To document (verb) is to produce a document artifact by collecting and representing information. In;
• Landscape architects A Landscape Architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as Landscape Architecture;
• Interior designers The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals;
• Other consultants;
• Contractors A general contractor is a group or individual that contracts with another organization or individual for the construction, renovation or demolition of a building, road or other structure. A general contractor is defined as such if it is the signatory as the builder of the prime construction contract for the project who provide construction In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer, services and install building systems such as climate control HVAC is an initialism that stands for the closely related functions of "Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning"—the technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer, electrical An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also specialize in wiring ships, airplanes and other mobile, plumbing Plumbing is the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures for drinking water systems and the drainage of waste. A plumber is someone who installs or repairs piping systems, plumbing fixtures and equipment such as water heaters. The plumbing industry is a basic and substantial part of every developed economy due to the need, Decoration A house painter and decorator is a tradesman responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator or house painter. The purpose of painting is to make them look better or to protect them from damage by water, rust, corrosion, insects or mould, fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as well as the research and development, production, testing and application of mitigating systems. In structures, be they land-based,, security Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and criminal activity. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection where a separation is created and telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of messages, over significant distances, for the purpose of communication. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as smoke, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded drumbeats, lung-blown horns, or sent by loud whistles, for;
• Marketing or leasing Leasing is a process by which a firm can obtain the use of a certain fixed assets for which it must pay a series of contractual, periodic, tax deductible payments. The lessee is the receiver of the services or the assets under the lease contract and the lessor is the owner of the assets. The relationship between the tenant and the landlord its agents;
• Facility managers Facility management is an interdisciplinary field primarily devoted to the maintenance and care of commercial or institutional buildings, such as hotels, resorts, schools, office complexes, sports arenas or convention centers. Duties may include the care of air conditioning, electric power, plumbing and lighting systems; cleaning; decoration; who are responsible for operating the building.

Regardless of their size or intended use, all buildings in the US must comply with zoning ordinances Zoning is a device of land use regulation used by local governments in most developed countries . The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another. Zoning may be use-based , or it may regulate building height, lot coverage, and similar characteristics,, building codes A building code, or building control, is a set of rules that specify the minimum acceptable level of safety for constructed objects such as buildings and nonbuilding structures. The main purpose of building codes are to protect public health, safety and general welfare as they relate to the construction and occupancy of buildings and structures and other regulations such as fire codes Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the damage caused by a fire. Fire safety measures, life safety codes Administered, copyrighted, and published by the National Fire Protection Association , the Life Safety Code, known as NFPA 101 is the registered trademark of an American consensus standard which, like many NFPA documents, is systematically revised on a three year cycle and related standards.

Vehicles—such as trailers Sometimes recreational vehicles, travel trailers, or mobile homes with limited living facilities, where people can camp or stay have been referred to as trailers. In earlier days, many such vehicles were towable trailers, caravans A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries, ships A ship ( Audio (help·info)) is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public safety, and warfare and passenger aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines—are treated as "buildings" for life safety purposes.

Ownership and funding

• Mortgage loan A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a document which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan. However, the word mortgage alone, in everyday usage, is most often used to mean mortgage loan
• Real estate developer Real estate development is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improved parcels to others. Developers are the coordinators of the activities, converting ideas on paper into real property

Planning and design

• Architecture A wider definition may comprise all design activity, from the macro-level to the micro-level (construction details and furniture). Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. It requires the creative
• Building construction In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of multitasking. Normally the job is managed by the project manager and supervised by the construction manager, design engineer,
• Civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings. Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it was defined to distinguish
• Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design
• Quantity surveying
• Structural engineering
• Urban planning

Building services

Physical plant

Any building requires a certain amount of internal infrastructure to function, which includes such elements like heating / cooling, power and telecommunications, water and wastewater etc. Especially in commercial buildings (such as offices or factories), these can be extremely intricate systems taking up large amounts of space (sometimes located in separate areas or double floors / false ceilings) and constitute a big part of the regular maintenance required.

Conveying systems

Systems for transport of people within buildings:

• Elevator
• Escalator
• Moving sidewalk (horizontal and inclined)

Systems for transport of people between interconnected buildings:

• Skyway
• Underground city

Building damage

Buildings may be damaged during the construction of the building or during maintenance. There are several other reasons behind building damage like accident.^[2] Buildings also may suffer from fire damage in special circumstances.^[3]

See also

• Autonomous building
• Building material
• Earthquake engineering
• Famous buildings
• Green building
• Hurricane proof building
• List of building types
• List of largest buildings in the world
• Natural building
• Natural disaster and earthquake
• Nonbuilding structure
• Skyscrapers
• Steel Buildings

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