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1. Any man-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or
2. An act of construction (i.e. the activity of building, see also builder)

In this article, the first usage is generally intended unless otherwise specified.

Buildings come in a wide amount of shapes and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons.

Buildings serve several needs of society - primarily as shelter from weather and as general living space, to provide privacy, to store belongings and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat into the inside (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasess of artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become part of the design process of many new buildings.

Definitions

To differentiate buildings in the usage of this article from other buildings and other structures that are not intended for continuous human occupancy, the latter are called nonbuilding structures or simply structures.

Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from street-level. Depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may not be included in this height. Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included.

The definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three stories or less is considered low-rise.Fact: date=January 2009

History

The first shelter on Earth constructed by a relatively close ancestor to humans is believed to be built 500,000 years ago by an early ancestor of humans, Homo erectus.

Types

main: List of building types thumb|200px|A timber framing house in Marburg, Germany.

Residential

Residential buildings are called houses/homes, though buildings containing large numbers of separate dwelling units are often called apartment buildings / blocks to differentiate them from the more 'individual' house.

Building types may range from one-room wood-framed, masonry, or adobe dwellings to multi-million dollar high-rise buildings able to house thousands of people. Increasing settlement density in buildings (and closer distances between buildings) is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from many people wanting to live close to work or similar attractors.