List of non-building structure types

For broader coverage of this topic, see List of building types. For individual structures, see List of buildings and structures.

A nonbuilding structure, often referred to simply as a structure, is any built structure that is not a building, i.e. not designed for continuous human occupancy. The term is particularly used by architects, structural engineers, and mechanical engineers to distinguish load-bearing structures not designed for continuous human occupancy.^[1]

Eiffel Tower

Brandenburg Gate

The Arcade du Cinquantenaire in Brussels, Belgium

Golden Gate Bridge

Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), a covered bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland

The Olmsted ramada over the Big House of Casa Grande National Monument in Arizona

Silos in Acatlán, Hidalgo, Mexico

Transmission tower near Le Cluzeau, Saint-Romain, France

The Triumphal Arch of Orange, France

Examples

• Aerial lift pylons
• Avalanche dams
• Barriers^[2]
• Beehive stone
• Blast furnaces
• Boat lifts
• Brick kilns
• Bridges^[3] and bridge-like structures (aqueducts, overpasses, trestles, viaducts, etc.)
• Bus stops
• Canals
  • Aqueduct
    • Acequia
• Carports
• Chimneys and flue-gas stacks
• Coke ovens
• Communications towers
• Conservatories
• Covered bridges^[3]
• Dams
• Docks
• Dolphins
• Driveways
• Electricity grids
• Elevators
• Fountains
• Ferris wheels
• Ferry slips
• Flumes
• Footpaths
• Fortifications
• Fractionating towers
• Garden
• Gates^[2]
  • Gate guardian
  • Pylon
• Granaries
• Greenhouses
• Hayracks
• Hay barracks
• Headframes
• Infrastructures
• Landmarks
• Marinas
• Monoliths
• Megaliths
• Memorials
  • Monuments
• Mounds
  • Stupas
• Offshore oil platforms (except for the production and housing facilities)
• Oil depots
• Oil platforms
• Piers^[3]
• Pitch
• Pyramids
• Radio masts and towers
• Railroads
• Ramadas
• Retaining walls
• Roads
• Roller coasters
• Sheds
• Ski lifts
• Silos^[3]
• Storage tanks
• Street lights^[2]
• Street signs^[2]
• Swimming pools^[3]
• Structures designed to support, contain or convey liquid or gaseous matter, including
  • Cooling towers
  • Distillation equipment and structural supports at chemical and petrochemical plants and oil refineries
• Tank farms
• Thoroughfares
• Tombs
• Towers of some types
  • Lattice towers
  • Obelisks
• Tramways and aerial tramways
• Transmission towers
• Triumphal arches
• Tunnels
• Underwater habitats
• Water towers^[3]
• Wharves^[3]
• Windmills

Exceptions

Dulles Airport control tower

Some structures that are occupied periodically and would otherwise be considered "nonbuilding structures" are categorized as "buildings" for life and fire safety purposes:^{[citation needed]}

• Aviation control towers
• Cruise ships
• Factories
• Kiosks
• Lighthouses
• Outhouses
• Power stations
• Refineries
• Warehouses

See also

• Architectural engineering