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