Architecture is the art and science of designing buildings and other physical structures. A wider definition often includes the design of the total built environment from the macrolevel of town planning, urban design, and landscape architecture to the microlevel of construction details and, sometimes, furniture. The term "Architecture" is also used for the profession of providing architectural services.
Architectural design is primarily driven by the creative manipulation of mass, space, volume, texture, light, shadow, materials, program, and pragmatic elements such as cost, construction and technology, in order to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional and often artistic. This distinguishes architecture from engineering design, which is driven primarily by the creative manipulation of materials and forms using mathematical and scientific principles.
Architectural works are perceived as cultural and political symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Such buildings as the pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Colosseum are cultural symbols, and are an important link in public consciousness, even when scholars have discovered much about a past civilization through other means. Cities, regions and cultures continue to identify themselves with and are known by their architectural monuments. (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture)
