Residential[edit]
Main article: List of house types
Single-family detached[edit]
Further information: Single-family detached home and House
Examples of single-family detached house types include:
Bungalow
Central-passage house (North America)
Chattel house (Caribbean)
Cottage (various)
Courtyard house (various)
Konak (Asia)
Log house (various)
Housebarn (various)
Split level home (various)
Upper Lusatian house (Europe)
Single-family attached (small multi-family)[edit]
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)[edit]
Further information: Multi-family residential, Apartment, and Condominium
Garden or walk-up apartments: 1–5 stories, 50–400 units, no elevators [1]
Mid-rise apartments/condos: 5–9 stories, 30–110 units, with elevators [1]
High-rise apartments/condos: 9+ stories, 100+ units, professionally managed [1]
Special-purpose group housing[1]
o Retirement home
o Nursing home
o Dormitory
o Prison
Commercial[edit]
Commercial buildings, generally, are buildings used by businesses to sell their products to
consumers.[1]
Office[edit]
Office buildings are generally categorized by size and by quality (e.g., "a low-rise Class A building")[2]
Office buildings by size
o Low-rise (less than 7 stories)
o Mid-rise (7–25 stories)
o High-rise (more than 25 stories), including skyscrapers (over 40 stories)
Office buildings by quality[3][4]
o Trophy or 5-star building: A landmark property designed by a recognized
architect
o 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
o Class B or 3-star building: Rents between Class A and Class C; fair-to-good
locations; average upkeep and management
o Class C or 2-star building: Rents in the bottom 10-20% of the local market;
less-desirable locations; below-average upkeep and management
o 1-star building: Does not meet the needs of typical tenants; may be obsolete
and/or in need of significant renovation[3]
Retail[edit]
Retail buildings are categorized by their configuration and size[5]
Non-freestanding (also known as shopping malls)
o Super-regional shopping center: enclosed space; 800,000+ sqft; 5+ anchor
stores with other tenants that sell a very large variety of goods
o Regional shopping center: enclosed space; 400,000–800,000 sqft; 1–5
anchor stores with other tenants that sell a large variety of goods
o Community shopping center: open space; 125,000–400,000 sqft; provides
general merchandise and commodities (e.g., supermarket, discount
department store)
o Neighborhood shopping center: open space; 3,000–125,000 sqft; provides
commodities to nearby neighborhoods (e.g. drug store)
o 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
o 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
o Big box: freestanding category-dominant retailer; 50,000+ sqft (e.g. The
Home Depot, Target, Walmart)
o 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
o Retail outlet: manufacturers' outlet stores; 50,000–400,000 sqft
o 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[edit]
Main article: Hotel
Full service hotels
Travelers' hotels
o Motel
o Choultry
o Caravanserai
Extended stay hotels
Boutique hotels
Casino
Resort
Special-purpose[edit]
Self-storage
Car washes
Theme or amusement parks
Bowling alleys
Marinas
Theaters
Funeral homes
Industrial[edit]
Industrial buildings are primarily used for the production and storage/distribution of goods, among
other uses.[6]
Manufacturing[edit]
Main article: Manufacturing
Light manufacturing
Heavy manufacturing
Warehouse/distribution[edit]
Warehouses
o Bulk warehouse
o Cold/cool/refrigerator/freezer storage
o High-cube (an industrial building with a large amount of vertical clearance,
a.k.a. "high bay")
o Warehouse store or retail warehouse
Distribution/fulfillment centers
o Container terminals
o Truck terminals
Flex space[edit]
Main article: Flex space
Office building
Laboratory
Data center
Call center
Showroom
Infrastructure[edit]
Composting facility
Desalination plant
Waste transfer centre
Power generation
o Power plant
o Fossil-fuel power station
o Nuclear power plant
o Geothermal power
o Biomass-fuelled power plant
o Waste heat power plant
o Renewable energy power station
Power distribution
o Substation building
o converter hall
o Rotary converter plant
transmitter building
Agricultural[edit]
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
Specialty[edit]
Educational
o Archive
o College
o Elementary schools
o Secondary School
o School
o University
o Nursery school
Civic
o Arena
o Library
Mudhif: a traditional reed house made by the Madan people of Iraq
o Museum
o Community hall
Religious
o Church
Basilica
Cathedral
Duomo
Chapel
Oratory
Martyrium
o Imambargah
o Monastery
o Mithraeum
o Shrine
o Synagogue
o Temple
o Pagoda
o Gurdwara
o Hindu temple
o Mosque
Government
o City hall
o Consulate
o Courthouse
o Embassy
o Fire station
o Meeting house
o Moot hall
o Parliament house
o Police station
o Post office
o Assembly
Military
o Arsenal
o Barracks
o Bunker
o Blockhouse
o Citadel
o Missile launch facility
Transport
o Airport terminal
o Bus station
o Metro (subway, underground) station
o Taxi station
o Railway station (or, primarily in US, Railroad station)
Signal box
o Lighthouse
o Shipyard
o Space port
o Hovercraft
o Ferry terminal
o Cruise terminal
o Boathouse
o Parking garage
o Hangar
Other
o Aul
o Bathhouse
o Film studio
o Folly
o Gym
