In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:

In this article, the first usage is generally intended unless otherwise specified.

Buildings come in a wide amount of shapes and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons.

Buildings serve several needs of society – primarily as shelter from weather and as general living space, to provide privacy, to store belongings and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful).

Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasess of artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become part of the design process of many new buildings.

Jon Peters (born John H. Peters; June 2, 1945) is an American movie producer.

Peters was born in Van Nuys, California, the son of Helen (née Pagano), a receptionist, and Jack Peters, a cook who owned a Hollywood diner. He is of Cherokee (father) and Italian (mother) descent. His mother's family owned a renowned Rodeo Drive salon in Beverly Hills. Jack Peters suffered a heart attack and died when his son was ten, and Helen's marriage to a construction worker devastated the family.

Peters went into the family hair styling business and was successful on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood where he made many industry connections. Peters first gained national prominence when he began dating superstar singer and actress Barbra Streisand after designing the short wig Barbra wore for the 1974 comedy For Pete's Sake. He then produced Streisand's 1974 Butterfly album, from which two songs, "There Won't Be Trumpets/A Quiet Thing" and "God Bless the Child", were later released on her Just For the Record box set - on the liner notes she stated that 'no one at the record company shared my enthusiasm. They thought the songs didn't belong on a contemporary album like Butterfly'. In 1976 he was given a controversial producing credit on Streisand's remake of A Star Is Born. He worked with Peter Guber for the next ten years. Their hits included The Color Purple, Flashdance, Batman, and Rain Man. He headed Sony Pictures with Guber for two years until Guber fired him. The pair were the subject of the book Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood by Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters.