Cityscapes owe much to their architectural designers, and such men and women will continue to be an important part of civilization as it moves forward. The buildings that make up any small town or giant metropolis were put there by architects, who will remain an integral part of the building process for as long as that process exists. The creators of assisted living design, building constructions and bridges, architects use their extensive knowledge to help give rise to the communities you see before you today. Church architects have become especially well-known for new and innovative styles. The following experts worked to help the art of architecture evolve in many ways.

Frank Lloyd Wright, whose famous structures include the spiral Guggenheim Museum, the Unity Temple and the Fallingwater home; is probably one of America’s most well-known household names. Unbeknownst to many, Wright had no formal education in architecture, but he would later claim that his work as a Wisconsin farmhand helped sharpen his spatial abilities in addition to giving him a rather perceptive eye. Wright left his engineering studies at the University of Wisconsin behind him to become the apprentice of JL Silsbee and Louis Sullivan. After six years of witnessing their work, Wright set out to become an architect in his own right.

His practice gave him a 70-year career, which saw the now-infamous expert erect 1,141 buildings such as homes, schools, libraries, churches, offices, museums and bridges. He left his mark on the art form by introducing the Prairie House style, and was known for his experimentation with circles and obtuse angles. Wright created a number of buildings well outside the norm, and his singular style inspired Ayn Rand’s oft-read book, The Fountainhead.

I.M. Pei, who created the infamous Louvre Pyramid, is one of the most famous architects to have lived in the 20th century. Pei was born in Canton, China and later moved to Shanghai before coming to the United States to study his chosen profession in 1935. He studied both engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Pei was behind the design of over 50 structures built around the globe, including the Bank of China Tower, the John Hancock Tower and the National Gallery. In 1983, he was awarded the Pritzker Prize.

Le Corbusier, one of the most important names to influence modern architecture, came into the world toward the end of the 19th century. He would later create the Bauhaus or International style, rooted by a 5-point theory which was the guide for much of his work. Le Corbusier was the man behind roof gardens, freestanding support pillars, support-free vertical fa