The designers of great buildings
Every famous building started as an idea in an architect's mind, and this word search gathers many of them. You'll be finding the dream-like GAUDI, the modern masters WRIGHT, GEHRY and HADID, and the British greats FOSTER, ROGERS and WREN.
Each puzzle pulls a fresh selection of surnames from the list, so the blueprints change every time you play — gentle on Easy, and a longer-word challenge once the diagonals and backwards words appear on Hard.
Shaping skylines around the world
From cathedrals to skyscrapers, the words are here. There's PEI of the glass pyramid, CORBUSIER and MIES of the modern movement, UTZON of the Sydney Opera House, and NIEMEYER, AALTO, SAARINEN, PIANO, STIRLING, LIBESKIND, CALATRAVA and the classical master PALLADIO — alongside Britain's PUGIN, NASH and Christopher WREN.
The buildings behind the names
The best way to know these architects is by what they built. Antoni GAUDI spent over 40 years on Barcelona's wildly curving Sagrada Família, which still isn't finished today; Jørn UTZON designed the sail-shaped Sydney Opera House; and Christopher WREN rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of London. Frank Lloyd WRIGHT believed buildings should blend into nature, famously perching a house right over a waterfall.
Architecture is where art meets engineering and maths — a design has to look striking and stay standing. Modern masters like Frank GEHRY create swooping metal shapes that once seemed impossible, while Zaha HADID, one of the first women to win architecture's top prize, was known for bold, flowing curves. PALLADIO's calm, balanced style from 500 years ago still influences grand buildings (and even the White House) today. Recognising a name like GAUDI or WREN is a great way into a design, history or buildings topic.
Great for a buildings topic
It's a great fit for a design, history or buildings topic — we use surnames to keep words short, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words (longer names like CALATRAVA appear on Medium and Hard). Play online, print a PDF pack, or use Make Your Own to build a grid from your own list of architects.
Frequently asked questions
Which architects are in the word search?
Famous architects across the ages — Gaudi, Wright, Gehry, Foster, Hadid, Pei, Wren and more. Each puzzle uses a fresh selection of surnames.
Which architects can you find?
The dream-like GAUDI, modern masters WRIGHT, GEHRY and HADID, British greats FOSTER, ROGERS and WREN, plus PEI of the glass pyramid, CORBUSIER, MIES, UTZON, NIEMEYER and PALLADIO.
Is it good for a buildings topic?
Great fit for a design, history or buildings topic. We use surnames to keep words short, and Easy mode uses a small grid with no diagonals or reverse words.