The architecture in Middle-earth, J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world, is as varied as the Hobbit-holes of the Shire, the tree-houses of Lothlórien, the wooden halls of Rohan, and the stone dwellings and fortifications of Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor. Tolkien uses the architecture in each place, including its interior design, to provide clues to each people's character. The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins's cosy home, Bag End, described in his 1937 children's book The Hobbit, establishes the character of Hobbits as averse to travelling outside the Shire. In his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, Lothlórien demonstrates the close integration of the Elves with their natural environment. The King of Rohan's hall, Meduseld, indicates the Rohirrim's affinity with Anglo-Saxon culture, while Gondor's tall and beautiful stone architecture was described by Tolkien as "Byzantine". In contrast, the Dark Lord Sauron and the fallen Wizard Saruman's realms are damaged lands around tall dark towers.
Makers of films set in Middle-earth have developed or modified Tolkien's indications of architecture to convey their views of the various Middle-earth peoples and their cultures. Peter Jackson created an extensive set of the Shire with multiple Hobbit-holes, a mill, and a bridge in the New Zealand countryside, used in his films of both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and elaborate film sets of other places in Middle-earth using bigatures and computer animation. Scholars have admired his films' effective visual interpretation of Middle-earth settings. The production design of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has created architectures for places not seen in Jackson's films, such as Númenor and the Elvish realm of Lindon.
Tolkien's writings have spawned many imitators among fantasy authors, including of his medieval settings. Tolkien fans, too, have created a wide variety of materials and activities to immerse themselves in Middle-earth.
J. R. R. Tolkien's vision
J. R. R. Tolkien was a medievalist and a philologist as well as an author. He speaks in his lecture "On Fairy-Stories" of sub-creation, making a secondary world that is in some sense true for the reader. The Tolkien scholar Johanna Brooke comments that architecture is part of the secondary world; the more unlike the primary world's the buildings are – and Hobbit-holes are clearly unlike – the harder it is for the author to create "the inner consistency of reality". She comments that architecture in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings serves to point up where cultures are similar and where they differ, emphasising the multiculturality of Middle-earth.
The fantasy author and scholar of literature Kim Wilkins describes Tolkien's work as "the beginning ... of popular fantasy fiction, ... spawn[ing] countless imitators" among fantasy authors, including its "alternative medieval Europe" setting. She argues that the architectural setting is "a privileged aspect" of fantasy. In her view, immersive fantasy with an "incredibly detailed world" is driven primarily by "the exposition and elaboration of the setting, from which characterisation and plots specific to the setting are then generated", rather than being driven by character or plot. She cites Tolkien's description of Minas Tirith's architecture as evidently medieval:
She writes that Tolkien is here describing the city from a great distance, "zoom[ing] the reader out, suggesting the wide scope and large scale that are key pleasures of the genre." In addition, she states, Tolkien effectively creates an impression of "height and light": the city is tall, beautiful, and bright, suggesting the pride of the city and its people.