a building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory.
buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for numerous factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons.
to better understand the concept, see nonbuilding structure for contrast.
buildings serve several societal needs – occupancy, primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work.
a building as a shelter represents a physical separation of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) from the outside (a place that may be harsh and harmful at times).
ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have been objects or canvasses of much artistic expression.
in recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has become an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings and other structures, usually green buildings.
a building is 'a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place'; "there was a three-storey building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice".
in the broadest interpretation a fence or wall is a building.
however, the word structure is used more broadly than building, to include natural and human-made formations and ones that do not have walls; structure is more often used for a fence.
sturgis' dictionary included that "[building] differs from architecture in excluding all idea of artistic treatment; and it differs from construction in the idea of excluding scientific or highly skilful treatment".
structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on the building from street level.
spires and masts may or may not be included in this height, depending on how they are classified.
spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included.
the distinction between a low-rise and high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three stories or less is considered low-rise.
there is clear evidence of homebuilding from around 18,000 bc.
buildings became common during the neolithic period.
single-family residential buildings are most often called houses or homes.
multi-family residential buildings containing more than one dwelling unit are called duplexes or apartment buildings.
condominiums are apartments that occupants own rather than rent.
houses may be built in pairs (semi-detached) or in terraces, where all but two of the houses have others on either side.
apartments may be built round courtyards or as rectangular blocks surrounded by plots of ground.
houses built as single dwellings may later be divided into apartments or bedsitters, or converted to other uses (e.g., offices or shops).
hotels, especially of the extended-stay variety (apartels), can be classed as residential.
building types may range from huts to multimillion-dollar high-rise apartment blocks able to house thousands of people.
increasing settlement density in buildings (and smaller distances between buildings) is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from the desire of many people to live close to their places of employment  or similar attractors.
terms for residential buildings reflect such characteristics as function (e.g., holiday cottage (vacation home) or timeshare if occupied seasonally); size (cottage or great house); value (shack or mansion); manner of construction (log home or mobile home); architectural style (castle or victorian); and proximity to geographical features (earth shelter, stilt house, houseboat, or floating home).
for residents in need of special care, or those society considers dangerous enough to deprive of liberty, there are institutions (nursing homes, orphanages, psychiatric hospitals, and prisons) and group housing (barracks and  dormitories).
historically, many people lived in communal buildings called longhouses, smaller dwellings called pit-houses, and houses combined with barns, sometimes called housebarns.
common building materials include brick, concrete, stone, and combinations thereof.
buildings are defined to be substantial, permanent structures.
such forms as yurts and motorhomes are therefore considered dwellings but not buildings.
a commercial building is one in which at least one business is based and people do not live.
examples include stores, restaurant, and hotels.
industrial buildings are those in which heavy industry is done, such as manufacturing.
these edifices include warehouses and factories.
agricultural buildings are the outbuildings, such as barns located on farms.
some buildings incorporate several or multiple different uses, most commonly commercial and residential.
sometimes a group of inter-related (and possibly inter-connected) builds are referred to as a complex – for example a housing complex,  educational complex, hospital complex, etc.
the practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is most usually a collective effort of different groups of professionals and trades.
the principal design engineering disciplines which would normally include the following professionals: civil, structural, mechanical building services or hvac (heating ventilation and air conditioning) electrical building services, plumbing and drainage.
also other possible design engineer specialists may be involved such as fire (prevention), acoustic, façade engineers, building physics, telecoms, av (audio visual), bms (building management systems) automatic controls etc.
these design engineers also prepare construction documents which are issued to specialist contractors to obtain a price for the works and to follow for the installations.
facility managers who are responsible for operating the building.
regardless of their size or intended use, all buildings in the us must comply with zoning ordinances, building codes and other regulations such as fire codes, life safety codes and related standards.
vehicles—such as trailers, caravans, ships and passenger aircraft—are treated as "buildings" for life safety purposes.
any building requires a certain general amount of internal infrastructure to function, which includes such elements like heating / cooling, power and telecommunications, water and wastewater etc.
especially in commercial buildings (such as offices or factories), these can be extremely intricate systems taking up large amounts of space (sometimes located in separate areas or double floors / false ceilings) and constitute a big part of the regular maintenance required.
buildings may be damaged during construction or during maintenance.
they may be damaged by accidents involving storms, explosions, subsidence caused by mining, water withdrawal or poor foundations and landslides.
buildings may suffer fire damage and flooding.
they may become dilapidated through lack of proper maintenance, or alteration work improperly carried out.
