List of building types

This is a list of building types. It is sorted by broad category: residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, and infrastructural buildings.

Single-family detached
Examples of single-family detached house types include:
 * Bungalow
 * Central-passage house (North America)
 * Chattel house (Caribbean)
 * Château (France)
 * Cottage (various)
 * Courtyard house (various)
 * Konak (Asia)
 * Log house (various)
 * Mansion (various)
 * Housebarn (various)
 * Split level home (various)
 * Upper Lusatian house (Europe)

Single-family attached (small multi-family)

 * Duplex, semi-detached, double-decker, or two-family
 * Triplex, triple-decker or three-family
 * Quadplex, quadruple, or four-family
 * Townhouse or terraced house

Large multi-family (apartments/flats/condos)

 * Garden or walk-up apartments: 1–5 stories, 50–400 units, no elevators
 * Mid-rise apartments/condos: 5–9 stories, 30–110 units, with elevators
 * High-rise apartments/condos: 9+ stories, 100+ units, professionally managed
 * Special-purpose group housing
 * Retirement home
 * Nursing home
 * Dormitory

Public

 * Official residence
 * Palace
 * Archbishop's Palace
 * Bishop's Palace
 * Electoral Palace
 * Episcopal Palace
 * Presidential palace
 * Residenz

Commercial
Commercial buildings, generally, are buildings used by businesses to sell their products to consumers.

Office
Office buildings are generally categorized by size and by quality (e.g., "a low-rise Class A building")


 * Office buildings by size
 * Low-rise (less than 7 stories)
 * Mid-rise (7–25 stories)
 * High-rise (more than 25 stories), including skyscrapers (over 40 stories)
 * Office buildings by quality
 * Trophy or 5-star building: A landmark property designed by a recognized architect
 * Class A or 4-star building: Rents in the top 30-40% of the local market; well-located; above-average upkeep and management; usually older than a trophy/5-star building
 * Class B or 3-star building: Rents between Class A and Class C; fair-to-good locations; average upkeep and management
 * Class C or 2-star building: Rents in the bottom 10-20% of the local market; less-desirable locations; below-average upkeep and management
 * 1-star building: Does not meet the needs of typical tenants; may be obsolete and/or in need of significant renovation

Retail
Retail buildings are categorized by their configuration and size


 * Non-freestanding (also known as shopping centers or shopping malls)
 * Super-regional shopping center: enclosed space; 800,000+ sqft; 5+ anchor stores with other tenants that sell a very large variety of goods
 * Regional shopping center: enclosed space; 400,000–800,000 sqft; 1–5 anchor stores with other tenants that sell a large variety of goods
 * Community shopping center: open space; 125,000–400,000 sqft; provides general merchandise and commodities (e.g., supermarket, discount department store)
 * Neighborhood shopping center: open space; 3,000–125,000 sqft; provides commodities to nearby neighborhoods (e.g. drug store)
 * Strip or convenience shopping center: open space; less than 30,000 sqft; located along suburban transportation arteries on shallow land parcels; a strip may be configured in a straight line, or have an "L" or "U" shape
 * Lifestyle center: "Main Street" concept with pedestrian circulation in core and vehicular circulation along perimeter; upscale national chain specialty stores, dining or entertainment (e.g. The Grove, Los Angeles, CA; Americana at Brand, Glendale, CA)
 * Freestanding: any stand-alone retail structure that is not part of a complex
 * Big box: freestanding category-dominant retailer; 50,000+ sqft (e.g. The Home Depot, Target, Walmart)
 * Power center: among the largest types of retail properties; 3+ big box anchor stores; multiple large buildings with parking lot in front and loading in back; smaller retailers usually clustered in a community shopping center configuration
 * Retail outlet: manufacturers' outlet stores; 50,000–400,000 sqft
 * Pop-up retail: a retail location designed to only be in a location temporarily (e.g., a retail store that only opens during a holiday season)

Hotels

 * Full service hotel
 * Travelers' hotel
 * Motel
 * Choultry
 * Caravanserai
 * Extended stay hotel
 * Boutique hotel
 * Casino
 * Resort
 * Bunkhouse

Special-purpose

 * Theme or amusement park
 * Aquarium
 * Bar (establishment)
 * Bowling alley
 * Car wash
 * Funeral home
 * Marina
 * Self-storage
 * Theater
 * Zoo

Industrial
Industrial buildings are primarily used for the production and storage/distribution of goods, among other uses.


 * Factory
 * Physical plant
 * Mill

Manufacturing

 * Light manufacturing
 * Heavy manufacturing

Warehouse/distribution

 * Warehouses
 * Bulk
 * Ice house
 * Cold/cool/refrigerator/freezer storage
 * High-cube
 * Warehouse store
 * Distribution/fulfillment centers
 * Container terminals

Flex space

 * Office building
 * Laboratory
 * Data center
 * Call center
 * Showroom
 * Tension fabric building

Infrastructure
Infrastructure buildings house equipment and facilities related to public infrastructure.
 * Composting
 * Desalination plant
 * Waste transfer
 * Power generation
 * Power plant
 * Thermal power plant
 * Fossil-fuel power station
 * Nuclear power plant
 * Geothermal power
 * Biomass power plant
 * Renewable energy power station
 * Power distribution
 * Substation
 * Converter hall
 * Rotary converter plant
 * Transmitter building
 * Dams
 * Pump house
 * Fake building

Agricultural

 * Abattoir
 * Barn
 * Chicken coop or chickenhouse
 * Cow-shed
 * Farmhouse
 * Granary, Hórreo
 * Greenhouse
 * Hayloft
 * Pigpen or sty
 * Root cellar
 * Shed
 * Silo
 * Slaughterhouse
 * Stable
 * Storm cellar
 * Well house
 * Crib
 * Windmill
 * Workshop

Institutional

 * Medical
 * Hospital
 * Nursing homes
 * Mental hospital
 * Sanatorium
 * Educational
 * Academy
 * Archive
 * College
 * Elementary schools
 * Middle school
 * Orphanage
 * Secondary School
 * School
 * University
 * Nursery schoolMudhif Reception Hall (30943793762).jpg, Iraq]]
 * Civic
 * Arena (or stadium)
 * Library
 * Mudhif: a traditional reed house made by the Madan people of Iraq
 * Museum
 * Observatory
 * Community hallKatharinenkloster Sinai BW 2.jpg, Egypt]]
 * Religious Facilities (Place of worship)
 * Church
 * Basilica
 * Cathedral
 * Duomo
 * Chapel
 * Oratory
 * Martyrium
 * Imambargah
 * Monastery
 * Mithraeum
 * Shrine
 * Synagogue
 * Temple
 * Pagoda
 * Gurdwara
 * Hindu temple
 * MosqueTown hall of Aosta (3).jpg]]
 * Government
 * City hall
 * Consulate
 * Courthouse
 * Embassy
 * Fire station
 * Meeting house
 * Moot hall
 * Parliament house
 * Police station
 * Post office
 * Assembly
 * Military
 * Arsenal
 * Barracks
 * Bunker
 * Blockhouse
 * Citadel
 * Missile launch facilityBaikonur Cosmodrome Soyuz launch pad.jpg, Kazakhstan]]
 * Transport
 * Airport
 * Bus station
 * Metro (subway, underground) station
 * Taxi station
 * Railway station (or, primarily in US, Railroad station)
 * Signal box
 * Lighthouse
 * Shipyard
 * Spaceport
 * Hovercraft
 * Passenger terminal
 * Boathouse
 * Parking garage
 * HangarHyogo Prefectural Tatsuno Senior High School02n4272.jpg, Japan]]
 * Historical
 * Communal oven
 * Other
 * Aul
 * Bathhouse
 * Film studio
 * Folly
 * Gym
 * Pavilion
 * Shelter

Other

 * Bakehouse
 * Tent