Architecture is unquestionably one of the arts, and certainly not a lesser one, but dealing with it purely as an art would be very incomplete. For, more than other arts, it depends heavily on technology as concerns materials used, construction techniques, and new technological possibilities in other fields.
This makes the Historical Dictionary of Architecture a welcome addition to the pool of information on the subject even in this age of the Internet when so much can be found on the Web. However, unlike the Web, this is all written by one person who has gone out of her way to integrate the material, so that one dictionary entry relates to another, and there are few gaps and little duplication. This is most obvious from the extensive dictionary section, which covers the periods and styles mentioned above, and the various regions, and also has entries on notable architects, landmark buildings, technical terms, and various building materials.