Notable Architects through History

Architecture For Dummies

To understand architecture’s evolution, it’s important to become acquainted with some of the stars who pushed design in new directions. The men in the following list definitely left a mark, and many of their marks are still standing today!

Imhotep: The first architect known by name, this ancient Egyptian created the world’s first stone monument, a tomb for King Zoser.	Christopher Wren: This English classical architect is more famous for rebuilding St. Paul’s Cathedral than for the 51 new churches he designed in London.
Ictinus and Callicrates: This team of Greek architects spent more than a decade perfecting the Parthenon, the most influential building of all time.	Karl Friedrich Schinkel: Versatile in classical and Romantic styles, this German master designed one of the world’s first museums.
Hadrian: A Roman emperor and architecture buff, Hadrian propelled design and engineering to new heights with the Pantheon.	Louis Sullivan: A skyscraper pioneer, Chicago architect Louis Sullivan decorated his modern structures in leafy ornament.
Abbot Suger: This French monk was influential in developing the soaring architecture of Gothic cathedrals.	Frank Lloyd Wright: The most famous American architect of the twentieth century rooted his organic architecture in the land.
Filippo Brunelleschi: One of the first architects of the Italian Renaissance, Brunelleschi designed the dome of Florence Cathedral.	Le Corbusier: Born Charles Edouard Jeanneret, this Swiss-French genius used glass, steel, and concrete to invent a modern language for buildings and cities.

About This Article

About the book author:

Debra Dietch, (Washington DC) is currently an art and architecture critic for Sun-Sentinel, Tribune Co. She was a writer on architecture and design for major newspapers and periodicals such as Forbes, Florida Architecture, House Beautiful, Museum Magazine, Old House Journal, Sotheby's Domain, Washington Post, and more. She also held top editor positions at the two leading professional architecture magazines: Architectural Record and Architecture magazine.

Robert A. M. Stern is a New York City–based architect, educator, and author and was the Dean of the Yale School of Architecture. He wrote the foreward for Architecture For Dummies.