civic and commercial buildings - events

27 BC	Roman Empire	Roman general and engineer Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa builds the Pantheon (temple dedicated to all the gods) in Rome to commemorate the victory over the Roman general Mark Antony at Actium by the Roman emperor Octavian (now Augustus).
1202–1304	Flanders	The Cloth Hall at Ypres, in Flanders (now part of Belgium), one of the finest Gothic secular buildings of the late Middle Ages, is built. It is destroyed in 1915.
1534	Italy	The Laurentian Library in San Lorenzo, Florence, Italy, designed by the Italian artist Michelangelo (Buonarroti), is completed. Work began in 1524, and the staircase, the major feature of the design, is not completed until 1559. The library is built to house the books and manuscripts of the Medici family. The Medici Chapel in the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy, is also completed to Michelangelo's design. The work includes two tombs. On the first, the figure of Giuliano de' Medici is flanked by figures representing Day and Night. On the second, Lorenzo de' Medici is flanked by Dawn and Evening.
1584	Italy, Holy Roman Empire	The Teatro Olimpico, in Vicenza, Italy, is completed to a design by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. This is the first permanent, purpose-built theatre in Italy since those of ancient Rome.
1615	Germany, Holy Roman Empire	The Town Hall of Augsburg, Germany, designed by the German architect Elias Holl, is completed. It is one of the first true Renaissance buildings in Germany.
1733	North America	The Pennsylvania State House (later known as Independence Hall), largely designed by the North American attorney Andrew Hamilton, is completed.
1789	USA	The Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, designed by US statesman Thomas Jefferson, is completed. His ‘federal’ style marks a return to Roman architecture, which symbolically establishes a link between US and Roman republicanism.
1821	UK	The Brighton Pavilion in England, designed by the English architect John Nash, is completed. Combining Indian and Chinese elements, it epitomizes the Picturesque style.
16 October 1834	UK	A fire in London, England, destroys the Houses of Parliament and parts of the city. Reconstruction measures will include the building of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.
1847	UK	The British Museum in London, England, designed by the English architect Robert Smirke, is completed, a leading example of the Greek revival style.
1849	USA	The Laing Store, in New York City, designed by the US architect James Bogardus, is completed. It is one of the first public buildings to have a cast-iron façade, a feature which allows the use of pre-fabricated parts.
1852	UK	The Houses of Parliament, in London, England, designed by the English architect Charles Barry, are completed, one of the most prominent examples of the Gothic Revival style. The interiors are by Augustus Pugin.
1875	France	The Opéra (the Opera House), designed by the French architect (Jean-Louis-) Charles Garnier, is completed in Paris, France. It is one of the outstanding examples of the ornate and flamboyant Beaux Arts style.
1891	USA	The Wainwright Building in St Louis, Missouri, designed by the US architect Louis Sullivan, is completed. Combining recent technological developments in building – particularly the use of a steel framework – the Wainwright Building is one of the first masterpieces in the development of the skyscraper.
1900	Belgium	The Maison du Peuple in Brussels, Belgium, designed by the Belgian architect Victor Horta, is completed.
1909		The School of Art, designed by the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, is completed in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the most original art nouveau buildings in Britain.
1909		The AEG Turbine Factory in Berlin, Germany, designed by the German architect Peter Behrens, is completed. It is one of the first steel and glass buildings.
1913		The Woolworth Building, designed by the US architect Cass Gilbert, is completed in New York City. With 60 floors, it will be world's highest skyscraper until 1931.
1956	India	The High Court Building in Chandigarh, the Punjab, India, designed by the Swiss architect Le Corbusier (pseudonym of Charles Edouard Jeanneret), is completed. A new city, Chandigarh gave Le Corbusier opportunities to develop many of his ideas during the 1960s. Others who work there include the English architects Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew.
1958	USA	The Seagram Building in New York City, designed by the German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and the US architect Phillip Johnson, is completed.
1962	USA	The Trans World Airlines Terminal at Idlewild (now John F Kennedy) Airport, in New York City, designed by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, is completed.
20 October 1973	Australia	The Sydney Opera House, designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon, is completed in Australia. His highly original design – perhaps the best-known building in Australia – was controversial, and he left the project before building had finished.
1982	USA	The Public Services Building in Portland, Oregon, designed by the US architect Michael Graves, is completed. It is quickly seen as a major work of postmodernist design.
July 1997	UK	Building begins on the Millennium Dome, a temporary structure to house a millennium exhibition, designed by British architect Richard Rogers, in Greenwich, London, England.