Now in its fifth edition, Buildings Across Time brilliantly explores the essential attributes of architecture by uniquely combining both a detailed survey of western architecture, including Pre-Columbian America, and an introduction to architecture from the Middle East, India, Russia, China, and Japan. This latest edition includes over 450 new photos, a new essay on the vision of Pope Pius II, and updates on building in various parts of the world, such as those that have been given new purpose and those that have been damaged by ISIS.

Written in a clear and engaging style, the text encourages readers to examine closely in photographs and line drawings the pragmatic, innovative, and aesthetic attributes of buildings, and to imagine how these would have been praised or criticized by contemporary observers. Architecture is discussed in various contexts - artistic, economic, environmental, political, social, and technological - so as to determine the extent to which buildings met the needs of clients, society at large, and future generations.