Gurdwara architecture has no single mandated style, and buildings range from a single converted room to elaborate purpose built complexes, but nearly every gurdwara shares a small set of identifying features: the Nishan Sahib flying outside, a raised throne, the palki, on which the Guru Granth Sahib rests beneath a canopy, and a langar hall attached to or near the main worship space.
The Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, popularly called the Golden Temple, is Sikhism's most revered gurdwara and departs from typical gurdwara planning in a way that carries deliberate theological meaning: it was built with four doors, one on each side, open to people of every caste and background rather than a single controlling entrance, and it sits lower than the surrounding courtyard, reached by descending steps, a conscious architectural statement of humility rather than elevation. The building stands at the center of a large man made pool, the Amrit Sarovar, from which the site and the city of Amritsar take their name, and is connected to the surrounding parkarma walkway by a causeway. Its lower portions are faced in white marble inlaid with precious stones in a style showing clear Mughal influence, while the upper structure and dome are gilded, giving the building its popular English name. Later gurdwaras worldwide frequently echo elements of the Harmandir Sahib's design without replicating it exactly, adapting the same core program to local materials and available space.