Here we talk about everything architecture; from Architects and their great works, down to the the modern mans house. Post your favorite architect, building, church, museum, library, government institution, educational campus, etc. and discuss the time periods in which these projects were erected. Note the historical importance of the structure at the time, and what the point of the project was, what did it stir in the minds and hearts of those who would see the project daily, and work or live within it.
I'll start with a famous one: Arab World Institute, Paris France, November 1987
Jean Nouvel is a French architect famous for many of his buildings and institutions around the world. The Institut du Monde Arabe or IMA (Arab World Institute) is a symbol of Arabic desire for modernity. It is an allegorical synthesis of East and West architectural designs: a Western building full of Eastern promise made from Western materials, performing a Western function for an Eastern culture. It incorporates exhibition space, a museum, a library, a 300 seat hall and a restaurant, as well as offices, car parking and some of the best views in Paris. It is composed of two parallel interconnected and interrelated blocks. One is curved to reflect the river. The other is large and rectangular with a huge south-facing garden wall overlooking an open courtyard with sculptures. The driveway between the two blocks is directly in line with the towers of Notre Dame and terminates in an internal court, with a fountain at its base echoing ancient Eastern palaces.