The oldest building we know of is Göbekli Tepe in present-day Turkey. Built somewhere around 9500 BC, archaeologists aren't certain of its function, but it was probably religious.
Source: Architectural Digest
Since then, humans have built some pretty rad structures, including the Fulton Center in New York City ...
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Modernist architect Antoni Gaudí didn't live to see his Sagrada Família completed — in fact, it's still being built. According to its website, construction is expected to cease in 2026.
Source: Sagrada Família
... as was the moody Woolworth Building, which was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1930.
Source: History
Chicago's Marina City apartments are, to say the least, uniquely designed. Built in 1964, they were one of the first mixed-use buildings and the first to be built with a crane in the US.
Source: Bisnow
But not all buildings need to scrape the sky. The Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki is built into a rock underground and still gets lots of sunlight.
Source: Helsinki
The Church of St. George in Lalibela, Ethiopia, was carved out of a single stone in the 12th century.
Source: Irish Archaeology
Some of the most beautiful buildings integrate into their landscape. The Turninn building in Reykjavík reflects the wild beauty of Iceland.
Source: ArchDaily
The modernist master Mies van der Rohe used minimal lines and open space to create buildings that seemingly float in the air around them, like the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, built in the 1960s.
Source: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Berlin is also home to the Mecca of electronic music: the brutalist masterstroke Berghain.
Source: Berghain
Integrating into the environment is one of the oldest ideals of architecture. The old Japanese capital Kyoto features the breathtaking Golden Pavilion ...
Source: Famous Wonders
The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali is the largest mud-built structure in the world — it can hold 3,000 worshippers.
Source: Slate
The whimsical Pompidou Center in Paris is a postmodern masterwork: It gleefully displays the guts of the building.
Source: Centre Pompidou
Built around 1200, the Chartres Cathedral in northern France is a primary example of Gothic architecture. Notice the ornate "portals" that you enter into the building through.
Source: Chartres Cathedral
Perhaps the only house of worship that can match its grandeur is the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, built in the early 1600s at the height of the Ottoman Empire.
Source: Great Istanbul
The Golden Temple in Amritsar, India, is the center of the Sikh Faith, and it's lustrous at night.
Source: The Golden Temple Amritsar
Neuschwanstein Castle in the German state of Bavaria reportedly inspired Walt Disney to create Sleeping Beauty's castle. It's easy to see why.
Source: Neuschwanstein Castle
It has the prototypical library, the most stunning section of which is called, fittingly enough, the Long Room.
Source: Trinity College Dublin
The Imperial Palace — aka the Forbidden City — is the ultimate form of high Chinese architecture. It was the seat of government from 1420 to 1912.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Today, some of the most experimental modern architecture in the world is being built in Beijing, like the CCTV Tower, locally known as "The Trousers."
With Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the late Zaha Hadid did what she could only ever do: turn the hard, clean clines of modernism into something organic.
Perched high in the Peruvian Andes, Machu Picchu is the best example we have of Incan architecture. Archaeologists say it was built around 1450.
Source: Machu Picchu
Opened in 2007, the Parque Biblioteca España in Medellín, Colombia, was designed by the Colombian architect Giancarlo Mazzanti. The three buildings are meant to look like stones.
Source: Discover Colombia
From inside the library, in the Santo Domingo Savio neighborhood, the view is of Medellín itself, in a valley surrounded by the Andes.
Source: Discover Colombia
Sydney's Opera House is the rightful ambassador of Australian architecture. It was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and opened in 1973.
Source: Sydney Opera House
In New Zealand, you can enjoy a farm-to-table meal at Brasserie 2050 — known as the "barn of the future."
Source: Dezeen
Another masterfully constructed eatery is The Masa Bakery and Cafe in Bogota Colombia — which is made up of concrete and triangular-shaped windows.
Source: Dezeen
The Wave, in Vejle, Denmark, features a stunning collection of five residential towers all connected by a wave-style roof.
Source: Dezeen
Over on America's West Coast is the Golden Gate Bridge, which opened in 1937 and stretches 1.7 miles.
Source: History