Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Surprise meSurprise meSubscribe
Encyclopedia

List of building types

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
4 min read
Source updated September 13, 2026

This is a list of building types. It is sorted by broad category: residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, and infrastructural buildings.

01Residential

Single-family detached

Examples of single-family detached house types include:

Single-family attached (small multi-family)

Large multi-family (apartments/flats/condos)

  • Garden or walk-up apartments: 1-5 stories, 50-400 units, no elevators
  • Mid-rise apartments/condos: 5-9 stories, 30-110 units, with elevators
  • High-rise apartments/condos: 9+ stories, 100+ units, professionally managed
  • Special-purpose group housing

Public

A nursing home in Wetherby, England, U.K.
A nursing home in Wetherby, England, U.K.
An office building in Accra, Ghana.
An office building in Accra, Ghana.

02Commercial

Commercial buildings, generally, are buildings used by businesses to sell their products to consumers.

Office

Office buildings are generally categorized by size and by quality (e.g., "a low-rise Class A building")

  • Office buildings by size
  • Office buildings by quality
    • Trophy or 5-star building: A landmark property designed by a recognized architect
    • 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
    • Class B or 3-star building: Rents between Class A and Class C; fair-to-good locations; average upkeep and management
    • Class C or 2-star building: Rents in the bottom 10-20% of the local market; less-desirable locations; below-average upkeep and management
    • 1-star building: Does not meet the needs of typical tenants; may be obsolete and/or in need of significant renovation

Retail

Retail buildings are categorized by their configuration and size

  • Non-freestanding (also known as shopping centers or shopping malls)
    • Super-regional shopping center: enclosed space; 800,000+ sqft; 5+ anchor stores with other tenants that sell a very large variety of goods
    • Regional shopping center: enclosed space; 400,000-800,000 sqft; 1-5 anchor stores with other tenants that sell a large variety of goods
    • Community shopping center: open space; 125,000-400,000 sqft; provides general merchandise and commodities (e.g., supermarket, discount department store)
    • Neighborhood shopping center: open space; 3,000-125,000 sqft; provides commodities to nearby neighborhoods (e.g. drug store)
    • 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
    • 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
    • Big box: freestanding category-dominant retailer; 50,000+ sqft (e.g. The Home Depot, Target, Walmart)
    • 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
    • Retail outlet: manufacturers' outlet stores; 50,000-400,000 sqft
    • 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

Special-purpose

Interior view of a shopping mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Interior view of a shopping mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.

03Industrial

Industrial buildings are primarily used for the production and storage/distribution of goods, among other uses.

Manufacturing

Warehouse/distribution

Flex space

A hotel in Bariloche, Argentina
A hotel in Bariloche, Argentina

04Infrastructure

Infrastructure buildings house equipment and facilities related to public infrastructure.

A car wash in Prudnik, Poland
A car wash in Prudnik, Poland
A heavy manufacturing plant in Loudi, Hunan province, China
A heavy manufacturing plant in Loudi, Hunan province, China

05Agricultural

A fulfillment center in Macon, Georgia, U.S.
A fulfillment center in Macon, Georgia, U.S.

06Institutional

A power plant in Moscow, Russia
A power plant in Moscow, Russia
Watch videos about List of building typesExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “List of building types”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.

Continue exploring

Related topics

Outline of architecture

The following outline is an overview and topical guide to architecture: Architecture is the study and practice of designing structures, especially habitable ones. It utilizes civil engineering techniques, but is considered a visual art.