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The Four Elements of Architecture is a book by the German architect Gottfried Semper. Published in 1851, it is an attempt to explain the origins of architecture through the lens of anthropology. The book divides architecture into four distinct elements: the hearth, the roof, the enclosure and the mound. [1]

Gottfried Semper (born Nov. 29, 1803, Hamburg—died May 15, 1879, Rome) architect and writer on art who was among the principal practitioners of the Neo-Renaissance style in Germany and Austria. Semper studied in Munich and Paris and from 1826 to 1830 travelled in Italy and Greece, studying classical architecture.

Overview Gottfried Semper (1803—1879) Quick Reference (1803–79). Hamburg-born German architect. He is said to have studied his subject under von Gärtner in Munich (1825), though this is doubtful, but he definitely worked under Gau in Paris from 1826, where he became acquainted with Hittorff's theories of polychromy in Ancient Greek architecture.

During an adventurous life, the German architect, scholar, and political revolutionary Gottfried Semper (1803-79) experienced early fame, political exile from his homeland, international prominence, and the exhilaration of seeing European architecture transformed by his influential body of ideas.

Semper, Gottfried (1803–79). Hamburg-born German architect. He is said to have studied his subject under von Gärtner in Munich (1825), though this is doubtful, but he definitely worked under Gau in Paris from 1826, where he became acquainted with Hittorff's theories of polychromy in Ancient Greek architecture.