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[Z.Sinraali]

Seeing as how all worlds in EVE were colonized instead of having native populations...

To be fair, a number of those were colonized fifteen thousand years ago.

[Saana]

One building style has been explicitly named for the Minmatar: Dam-Torsad brutalism. Apparently, on some worlds, the (now well over hundred years old) Amarr-built buildings are still being used. For the reference, brutalism is the building style using forms made out of concrete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture). Amarr would combine this with their knack for building intimidating and/or grand buildings, and the result is a typical Minmatar apartment block.

[Casiella]

Interesting, that reminds me of some of what I saw in Caracas several years back.

[Graanvlokkie]

I would hate to live in a Gallente city build on one of their desert colonies, not with all that glass and chrome burning your eyes in the scorching heat 

I agree with Ken, in that it wont be possible to lump the four nations into four neat architectural styles, but I do admit that whatever style a particular planet has will most probably be grounded in a common origin tied to the needs of the populace on their world of origin.

[Lyn Farel]

One building style has been explicitly named for the Minmatar: Dam-Torsad brutalism. Apparently, on some worlds, the (now well over hundred years old) Amarr-built buildings are still being used. For the reference, brutalism is the building style using forms made out of concrete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture). Amarr would combine this with their knack for building intimidating and/or grand buildings, and the result is a typical Minmatar apartment block.

Uh, you find this and this béton brut ? Of course it is only Dam Torsad (probalby one of the only well depicted Eve city), but I have a lot of difficulties to imagine amarrian structures to be of brutalist architecture. Caldari ? Maybe more, even if they do not use concrete everywhere I believe.

[BloodBird]

One thing that bothers me so damn much right now is that I once had a picture on my PC that made a wonderful depiction of Dam-Torsad, likely fan-art of official art that was not on their site. I spent two hours yesterday trying fruitlessly to find it, no luck. It's a much better picture than the old one from the Dam-Torsad cron, and is imho the obvious source for the later skyscraper picture in chained to the sky.

It would offer not only a good idea of how most Amarrian cities might be built, (Dam-Torsad is the capital city of the capital world, so with such prestige it's obvious the rought style at the least would be copied as much as possible on as many worlds and locations as able. Indeed much of their space-based habitats and some space-ship designs carry elements of it) but also give one a rough idea how some Minmatar bastardised cities might appear. If we can assume that atl some areas of Pator have simmilar conditions to Athra, there might well be several buildings left in use that the Amarr built. Hey, if they work, why knock em over out of simple spite?

[Louella Dougans]

http://wiki.eveonline.com/en/wiki/Crate_of_Architectural-Quality_Plagioclase_Paneling

"Minmatar architecture traditionally favors modular geometric structures and open spaces which allow breezes to flow from room to room. There is a traditional preference for working with exposed natural stone and wood, though recent trends have leaned towards natural surfaces bonded to structural reinforced concrete, stretching resources while still allowing for an attractive appearance. Compressed asteroid ore interior panels are becoming more popular for higher-class residences and for buildings constructed on mineral-poor worlds."

[Benjamin Shepherd]

In the show Firefly, those who didn't want to live in Alliance space made a living in colonies on the outskirts of the galaxy. The technology was limited.

In EVE, although it's 20,000 years into the future, most technology that we see is what we may see in 2300 or so, if current tech continues its pace. The Minmatar Republic, being a previously enslaved race, isn't as far up as the other empires might be in technology, so they must make do with that works best. I could imagine big cities with skyscrapers, but I don't think anything like this (unless it was a dying colony) would be considered:

[Seriphyn]

I wouldn't be surprised if Minmatar slums look like that, or morelikely nullsec colonial slums.

That's the thing with EVE. people say it's "20,000 years in the future", which it is, but I wouldn't put the technology further than 3000. The domestic technology is like 2050-2100 too, IMO.

[Saede Riordan]

In the show Firefly, those who didn't want to live in Alliance space made a living in colonies on the outskirts of the galaxy. The technology was limited.

In EVE, although it's 20,000 years into the future, most technology that we see is what we may see in 2300 or so, if current tech continues its pace. The Minmatar Republic, being a previously enslaved race, isn't as far up as the other empires might be in technology, so they must make do with that works best. I could imagine big cities with skyscrapers, but I don't think anything like this (unless it was a dying colony) would be considered:

I could see cities in Curse looking like that, with slums clinging to the sides of mine shafts, and crowding around factories, built in ravines in the middle of growing land, wherever people can be squeezed in to maximize their usefulness without wasting space.

[Ken]

Maybe the right question is not "What architectural styles prevail in the New Eden factions?" but "What do the inhabitants of New Eden's factions need from their architecture?"

Proper worldbuilding in a setting where more or less normal human beings populate the vast majority of the universe's habitable spaces should start from the ground up.  What do the people on [Planet A] need from their surroundings to feel safe, comfortable, and fulfilled?  The answers to that question will help build a picture of how said people would build their homes and cities under ideal conditions. 

Next, of all possible resources (physical materials, technical knowledge, and wealth), what do the people of [Planet A] have to work with when building?  The answers to that question will help us understand how said people would reconcile their ideals and dreams with the realities of their world in the creation of a plausible settlement/colony/city.

Of course, we do have a few examples from PF of how certain things have been built.  Dam-Torsad, for example, or the Crystal Boulevard in Caille stand out in my mind.  In those cases, we have the final product and can analyze it to trace backward to answers that will help illustrate the qualities and character of the people who live(d) there.  Perhaps, however, using major central municipalities and capitals like Dam-Torsad is misguided as the prevailing realities of life in much of the Amarr Empire, for instance, is almost certainly very different from that which prevails on the homeworld.  If nothing else, of course, the PF on architecture that does exists can provide insight on broader cultural currents if not necessarily details on what the average dormitory looks like on a colony in Anohel or Agoze or wherever.

Reconciling this view with the reality of the game world, I think only in cases where pre-fabricated structures or pre-programmed and standardized construction technologies are feasible and economical will there be much widespread copying of architecture.  In at least one case in New Eden this is both feasible and economical--starship and space station design.