Buildings - I can't get enough of them! Whether modern or ancient, designed by architects or just put up by the users ("vernacular"), so many of them are just wonderful to look at. Admittedly this does not go for all of the edifices we see around us, indeed some are down-right ugly, but even the plain often merit a careful look and repay it with joyous little details.

My intention here is not to bring you a library of photographs, but merely to offer a few images, provide links to some great sites and to bore you with my thoughts and opinions.

Buildings can make your heart soar or make you laugh. Some give a decided message about the occupants or make a firm statement, whilst others conjure up fairytales or horror stories.

The messages delivered by the look of a building are rarely accidental - follow this link to Daniel Frydman's page on 'how political power and democracy are expressed in the United States capital'.

This page is still being written, so here's a link to a page on the glories of gothic cathedrals to be going along with:

• Gothic Dreams