ABSTRACT
The most important part of a building is the space it defines. The other parts exist to define that space and to modify the environment experienced within it.
The earliest buildings created in all cultures are dwellings, not so dissimilar from the lairs or nests created by other animals, and intended to serve somewhat similar purposes. These are initially threefold:
The shelter was made in the simplest possible way by the people who would occupy it, and the size of the home that could be created was severely limited by the materials available in the immediate vicinity and by the strength and skills of the people. It might well serve only on a seasonal basis, either because of its innate perishability or because the occupants were nomadic. These considerations apply to homes in climates as varied as the plains of Africa and the North American tundra.
