ABSTRACT
Buildings are among the most substantial indicators we have of cultures other than our own. This is true whether we are considering varying geographical and climatic situations or taking an historical perspective. When we visit distant countries or archaeological sites, our understanding of the values and aspirations of the people who made them is vividly enhanced by our experience of the buildings we find there. They speak of the patterns of life that they were built to accommodate, of the conditions under which they were created, and also of the skills deployed by their designers and builders.
