Another popular and distinct feature of contemporary architecture is the structure's relationship to the natural world. Historically, when a building was built it was meant to conquer the environment or to assert the home dweller or building owner's domination over the landscape.
The era of contemporary architecture is generally thought to have begun sometime after the modern period of the roughly first half of the 20th century and the postmodern period that was a reaction to it beginning in the 1960s and continuing through to the 90s.
Contemporary architects are no longer constrained to linear designs, as they now have access to a vast array of cutting-edge materials and construction techniques. This includes the potential to create more complex, accurate, and novel forms using laser-cutting technologies and 3D printing.