Architecture

A House, variously known as a Shack, Cottage, Hut, Cabin, and Shanty, was a building usually built by men, elves, dwarves, and orcs, to use as a dwelling place for them. Some houses were hideouts for bandits and marauders, while others were not built for dwelling, but for other uses such as farming.

The term could also be used to denote a specific Household, Clan, or Noble Family. See:

Houses or Great Houses and Families

Adanic Architecture[]

Cerin Haleth
Haldir's Hall
Húrin's Hall

Daen Architecture[]

LondGalen — *Fishermen's Houses in Lond Galen*

Mirkalvill — *Mountaineer's Village in the Ered Nimrais*

The Daen-peoples originally built simple buildings, small stone houses thatched with straws or reeds for the most part, later they developed, inspired by their contacts with the Númenóreans, more complex buildings without ever leaving behind their original traditions. The Dunmen of southern Eriador and the Men of the White Mountains were the most conservative factions, the Dunmen kept building their traditional oval- or round-houses and low circular towers, while both tribes also built more conventional wooden and framework buildings with square or rectangular outlines.

Dorwinian Architecture[]

Dorwinian Architecture shared many elements with both early Easterling and Daen works and typical Northman Longhouses, but Dorwinian buildings often were more flat and squat, having two or three levels and mostly porch-roofs based on wooden pillars. An obvious influence from the East were their skillful gables and ridged roofs which were often adorned with complex carvings.

Krulla's Farm
Temple of Kuka Posladni
Valgavia Rogatha's Hut

Notes[]

The Dorwinion architecture as depicted in MERP and MECCG seems to be inspired by a mix of medieval slavic, especially polish, and sino-japanese pagoda styles.

Drughu Architecture[]

Dwarven Architecture[]

Bar-en-Ibun
Coldforge at Moria
Gnome's earth chalet
Khalarazûm
Thrasi's Lodge

Easterling Architecture[]

Easterling architecture was as diverse as their manifold tribes and divisions.Their earliest structures had been simple wooden log-houses which soon developed into great halls serving as central buildings for larger settlements. Those Easterlings dwelling throughout the great plains between the Rhûnaer and the Orocarni often were nomadic or semi-nomadic and those of their kindreds who eventually became sedentary often started to build simple wooden or stone structures which were indeed obviously based on tents in form and shape.

Those who settled down at safe places and began to form larger towns or cities developed two distinct styles of architecture, the first, more southern style, was based on simple loam-buildings with flat roofs -although they later ,under Sauronic influence - eventually developed into a more sophisticated style sporting domes and towers.The second, more eastern, style was based on the older wooden-halls, square buildings, often elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs and elegantly carved wooden pagodas and roof forms with slightly curved eaves.Later they also started to imitate this traditional style with structures of stones and bricks and eventually mixed it with the southern style.

Arch of the last Sovereign
Broddas's Hall
Duranki High Temple
Eight Tiered Hall
House of T'revor Arain
Purple House
Temple of Araw
Temple of Lôkuthor
shrine of sinuphel

Notes[]

Games Workshops Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game as well as "Middle-earth minecraft" and several MODs for The Battle for Middle-earth developed a style of Easterling architecture roughly inspired by WETA designs and based on a mix of Sino-Japanese and persian elements while "Middle-Earth total war" used more common middle eastern perso-arabian architecture to represent the Easterlings.Earlier MERP and MECCG's versions of the Easterlings were more inspired by the Huns, Mongols and scythian peoples - if any of their architecture was ever depicted in more detail at all.Rolemasters far eastern cultures, such as the Myri, Talath or Durakhani were far more removed from historical examples and rather fantastic and closer to generic sword & Sorcery designs in general.

Elvish Architecture[]

Rivendellhouse — *Elvish Dwelling in Rivendell*

The Wild Elves (the Nandor and Avari) built simple but beautiful wooden houses, often entangled in living plants or trees known as Galadhrynd or Elvish Glades. The most notable of these structures were the Telain (sing. Talan), buildings on wooden platforms high in great trees, although only the Mellyrn of Lórien grew tall enough for Telain of greater dimensions. The greater Telain structures could be interwoven Talmar or Tree-forts.

The earliest, or most archaic, elven house-types were slender cottages (indeed the early Edain had based their own early wooden house-types on inspiration drawn from elven cottages) called "Mar" (S."Bar"); the term would also be applied to larger complexes of attached buildings (Elrond's house in Rivendell for example), or "Os(t)" which would later become a common term for military structures such as keeps and castles, which at their earliest stage had been more or less reinforced and fortified settlements.
The more sedentary Sindar, and some Nandor under their influence, developed these rather primitive house-types into beautiful, long, and usually one-storied huts (compare the raft-elven huts of Celebannon they called "adab").

The High-Elves and Sindar built long houses, preferring light or white stone or stucco, with high rooms and high roofs based on pointed archs. However the by far renowned architects among the Eldar were the Noldor.

The Noldor were master architects and engineers as well as artists, and because of their superior skill were able to overcome many of the mundane structural obstacles of building. As a result, designs were daring: balconies, cantilevers, and wide spans were frequently used. Supports were slender and graceful, leaving space available for many large windows — and the glass-workers of Ost-in-Edhil had no equal elsewhere. Multi-paned, stained glazes were used everywhere in elegant designs and patterns. Beautiful crystal lamps were everywhere at night, lighting the streets, the gardens, and the buildings with a warm glow. The cities had extensive plumbing and sewage systems; virtually every building had running water and complete sanitary facilities. Many of their fortresses were designed as hill-forts.

A special house-type of the High-Elves was the Korin. Any type of greater walled house, village or town would be considered an "opelë" (Q."Walled Dwelling") by the Tareldar.

Individual Houses:

Car Sidh
Ceber Fanuin
Cerin Amroth
Cottage of Lost Play
Cottage of the Children
Estate of Carnil the Vintner
Gildor's Halls
Halls of Celeborn and Galadriel
house of Deneloth
House of Dior
House of Elms
House of the Hundred Chimneys
House of the Mole
House of the Wind
Korin of Meril-i-Turinqi
Last Homely House
Laurre's Manor
Long-spring House
Mirdaithrond in Eregion
Nahír's Arboretum
Rodrim's hall
Tawarobel
Telpemár
Tingled Vine Tavern
Villa of Randae Terisonen

Entish Architechture[]

Ents did not build houses, instead they used natural features, high trees, caves, hills, meadows, and wells, and engaged trees and other plants to grow into protective structures they called Ent-houses.

Derndingle
Leaflock's Mead
Quickbeam's House
Skinbark's height
Springview Estate
Treebeard's Hill
Wellinghall

Eriadorian Architecture[]

Breelockhouse — *Eriadorian Lockhouse at Bree*

Hermitcottage — *Hermit's Cottage in Eryn Vorn*

Eriadorian Architecture was based on many influences, including Daen, Númenórean, and Northron. The most typical Eriadorian building was the low, rectangular, reed- or slate-thatched cottage of half-timber framework and brown, reddish, or white stonework and finery.

Axebridge Farm in the Shire
Bar-i-Dagorath
Bombadil's House
Brigid's Cottage
Chetwood-Inn
Commonwell
Deephallow House at Flynettle
Dongorath's Hold
Edileaf House
Fernwood Farm
Ferny House
Forsaken Inn
Fottred´s Farm
Fulcwian's House
Garbert's cottage
Gatson's Farm
Gerse's Shrine at Gersebroc
Hannei's tree-house
Hearthwood Farm
Heathertoe Farm
Hodge's Farm
Hunting Lodge
King's Rest Inn
Last Inn
Mainstay Inn
Nightshade Sanctuary
Rond Morvin
Thistledew Farm
The Watermill
Peake's Farm
Prancing Pony
Reeve' s house at Bywater
Rond Morvin
Saeradan's Cabin
Tateshalla
Trollhead
Two Waters Inn
Water Serpent Inn
Witbert's House
Woodhall

Giant's Architecture[]

giant-home of Dunland
Svalfang's Hut

Haradrim Architecture[]

Shamanscott — *Inner of a Tribal Conjurer's Cottage*

Drunken Southron Inn
Green Robe College
Hospice of Lost Faith
House of the Black Hand
Iceseller's Estate
Joghul's Shrine
Ninefold School
Palace of Water
Red Sunset tavern
Shrine of Sunrises
Temple of the Blood-drinkers
Temples of the One-Person
Tower of Birds

Hobbitish Architecture[]

Bamfurlong
Blushing Ivy Tavern
Brandy Hall
Brownlock Farm
Bucklebury Tavern
Clarly Hall
Cotton Farm
Crickhollow
Floating Log Inn
Glen
Golden Perch Inn
Gorbuck Hall
Green Dragon Inn
Greenshin's Farm
Hal's farm
Hawkswell Farm
Hobwood Inn
Ivy Bush inn
Mathom House
Milo's farm
Nackers Tavern
Oatbarton Grange
Old Odo's Leaf Farm
Rendwalk Inn
Sandson Farm
Southtook Manor
Wildland Inn

Lossoth Architecture[]

The Lossoth were known to build houses in the snow, not quite out of snow or ice-blocks (although this was possible in some of the coldest areas of the Forodwaith) but settled huts out of frameworks, bone, leather, and pelts.

Ashkia Temple
Jänisleiri
Voitelta

Northman Architecture[]

The Northmen had, of all mannish cultures of the Westlands, perpetuated the ancient tradition of the Adanic wooden halls for the longest time. Their most traditional house-type were large and relatively low Longhouses. The Gramuz built longhouses consisting of two interwoven hallways called Bidahus which they concentrated into larger settlements known as Alanbaurgs. The Medvo Hus or Medwe Husas of the Éothéod and Beornings where much higher and usually consisted of one great hall with several smaller and lower rooms attached to it. In later times the Rohirrim, influenced by Gondorian architecture, advanced into the building of far greater structures, often with several levels. The Lake-men built the most complex kind of northron-house, their long Lakehouses could incorporate homes of several families and could even, influenced by elvish telain, be interwoven into complex assemblies of many buildings interconnected by complex bridges and stairways consisting of multi-floored structures and with high pyramidal broach roofs and slender towers. The Woodmen still built wooden halls of the most simple type but sometimes, inspired by the Silvan-Elves, built their small settlements upon Flets, high up in the mightiest trees of Mirkwood, however these Woodman Flet-houses still were nothing but northron longhouses built on high wooden platforms (See:Woodmen-Town).