who was the architect of the forbidden city
History of the Forbidden City The site of the Forbidden City was situated on the Imperial city during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. After the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital from Beijing in the north to Nanjing in the south, and in 1369 ordered that the Yuan palaces be razed. His son Zhu Di was created Prince of Yan with his seat in Beijing. In 1402, Zhu Di usurped the throne and became the Yongle Emperor. He made Beijing a secondary capital of the Ming empire, and construction began in 1406 of what would become the Forbidden City.[3] The Forbidden City's plan was designed by many architects and designers, and then it was examined by the Emperor's Ministry of Work.[4] The chief architects and engineers include Cai Xin,[4][5] Nguyen An, a Vietnamese eunuch,[6] Kuai Xiang, Lu Xiang and others.[4]
Origins and architecture of the Taj Mahal We do not know precisely who designed the Taj Mahal today. In the Islamic world at the time, the credit for a building's design was usually given to its patron rather than its architects. From the evidence of contemporary sources, it is clear that a team of architects were responsible for the design and supervision of the works, but they are mentioned infrequently. Shah Jahan's court histories emphasise his personal involvement in the construction and it is true that, more than any other Mughal emperor, he showed the greatest interest in building, holding daily meetings with his architects and supervisors. The court chronicler Lahouri, writes that Jahan would make "appropriate alterations to whatever the skilful architects designed after many thoughts, and asked competent questions."[46] Two architects are mentioned by name, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri[1][47] and Mir Abd-ul Karim in writings by Lahauri's son Lutfullah Muhandis.[37] Ustad Ahmad Lahauri had laid the foundations of the Red Fort at Delhi. Mir Abd-ul Karim had been the favourite architect of the previous emperor Jahangir and is mentioned as a supervisor,[note 6][48] together with Makramat Khan,[37] of the construction of the Taj Mahal.[48]