Architecture is one remarkable human endeavor, one of the means through which
             we try to creat order and make sense of our endlessly intriguing, yet messy world. And to
             provide ourselves with shelter. We all live and work in buildings. From the humblest to
             the sublime, there is no reason why any of these should be less than inspiring even in
             small ways. The turn of a stair, the way sunlight falls through windows in memorizing
             patterns on the floor, Materials cool to the touch in the heat of summer, the rhythm of an
             arcade, and the pregnant quality of a dome. At its best, Architecture, whisch is different
             from mere building, lifts our spirits and sends shivers down our spines; at its worst, it
             belittles us, although it really shouldn't.
             Except on rare escapes to desert landscapes, or hiking high in the mountains, or
             sailing the open seas, most people are surrounded by buildings. There is, though, a
             difference - a very important one - between building and architecture. Animals can build.
             Birds build nests of great sophistication, bees build hives with an innate sence of
             geometry. People on the other hand, developed architecture. This is, to be blunt, the
             science and art of building, or to be more poetic, the moment that a building is imbued
             with a knowing magic that tranforms it from a mere shelter into that of a self-conscious
             work of art. This art might offend and baffle as well as delight. Yet from the
             magnificence of the Parthenon and the graciousness of the temples of Mahabalipuram,
             through the soaring ambition of medevial Gothic cathedrals to the skyscrapers of the
             twentieth century, Architecture is a continually evolving art.
             ...