Overview

• Innovative and comprehensive online resource for teaching and practice of architectural design
• Large international collection of contemporary buildings: housing, schools, libraries, office buildings, museums, sacred buildings, industrial complexes, hospitals and other building types
• Comprises currently approx. 5000 drawings and 2000 photos
• The high-quality architectural drawings are mostly vector-based, drawn to scale and available for download
• Comprises more than 1000 case studies and more than 150 thematic articles on specific aspects of individual building types
• Search options: Full text, architect, building types, decade, height, country, author, urban context and four additional search criteria that can be combined
• Browse options grant systematic access to all content according to Building Type, Urban Context and Morphological Type
• Edited by housing expert Prof. Oliver Heckmann, Singapore University of Technology and Design. Preface by the Editor-in-Chief
• Renowned authors curated and selected the content and provide background information on the individual building types while the expertise of external advisors contributed to the overall concept
• Based on Birkhäuser’s high international standing in architecture books for academics and professionals and comprising a selection of Birkhäuser manuals, enhanced by additional analysis
• Annual updates will add new building types and more contemporary international case studies

Aims and Scope

The database Building Types Online draws on the expertise and the high international standing of Birkhäuser and comprises the knowledge and content of selected Birkhäuser manuals in typological order. The over 1000 case studies are documented with texts .by authors who are experts in their fields and with approx. 5500 architectural drawings of high quality as well as 2200 photographs of the buildings. Using a systematic and analytical search and browse structure that allows all kinds of combinations, the database provides solutions for numerous design tasks in study and practice. This tool will facilitate research on building typology and architectural design assignments. Thematic articles provide background information on individual building types or explain specific aspects such as lighting, acoustics, urban considerations, access types or planning processes. The users, be they in academia, architectural practice or students, will be offered a comprehensive online resource on building types based on seminal buildings of the past 30 years. Housing as one of the most frequent design tasks forms a large focus of the database.

The Search Help explains the database’s functions in detail. An overview of the terminology used in the building analysis and the Search and Browse options is available as well.