What is the difference between a Doric and an Ionic column? How does a flying buttress work? What are the guiding principles of modern architecture? How does restoration differ from conservation? 
If you've ever wanted to know the answers to these questions-or wondered when a building is just a building and when it is art-then 50 Architecture Ideas You Really Need to Know will provide you with the perfect introduction to the world of architecture. Exploring the myriad ways in which the built environment has been shaped and created throughout history, Philip Wilkinson explains the key concepts and ideas in architecture clearly and concisely. Included throughout his authoritative and engaging narrative are expert introductions to the most significant architectural movements throughout history and to the most important and representative works of the greatest architects. Spanning architecture's earliest roots in ancient Greece, the revolutionary developments of the late 19th century, and the sculptural forms of the expressionists, through to the pared-down, concrete-and-glass buildings of the International Style, and-more recently-the irony and allusion seen in postmodernism, and the very latest directions of today's green architecture, this essential guide offers a new and informed understanding of architecture and an appreciation of its profound impact on the world in which we live.