If Skyrim is set 200 years after Oblivion why does the architect ie buildings look so much more modern in Oblivion compared to Skyrim, Skyrim looks to be 200 years before Oblivion not 200 years later with its grassy looking thatched roofs on houses, just a thought ?

-It's a different region.
-Why should the world evolve in any way (except lore friendly events)

it's not earth - things progress in entirely different ways due to influences we don't have - also, its fiction.

-Diffirent regio yes
-Skyrim isn't as wealthy (I thought, at least)
-The Nords don't care about all the fancy buildings

Because it's a different place...

Skyrim is a rougher place than Cyrodil...

You know in the year 2012 even though you're playing Skyrim there are still plenty of tribes of people who live in huts right?

Maybe they like it that way.

Bleak's right, region pretty much explains it. Besides, its not like every house has a thatched grassy roof, there are a few notable Oblivion-esque architectural marvels.

Besides, the game is almost exclusively about Nords and thier culture. I get the impression from other Elder Scrolls that Nords don't prioritize improvements to architecture much higher than sharpening their swords or making their mead mugs/halls bigger.

Skyrim is a different re. . . damn it!
Skyrim is meant to seem more like ancient Norway, y'know where the Vikings came from.
Skyrim's the home of the Nords.

I don't even really see the architecture of Oblivion as being more "advanced" than that of Skyrim, to tell the truth. The roofs are only covered with straw in some instances - which makes sense as an insulator in a cold clime. But there's a sub-roof built of planks of wood. I have yet to see a building with a roof made entirely of bales of straw.

Nords are stupid and simple minded creature. Of course they wouldn't have nice looking cities!

Probably just local preference. They probably could build a more "modern" looking building, the city of Solitude looks "modern" by Imperial standards to me anyway. But local culture prefers a more rustic looking home overall.

To give a IRL example that hopefully at least somewhat fits, it's rare to find Spanish style homes done with tile roofs and stucco in a place like Seattle, Wa. Yes, they do have them but not a lot overall. Yet in a place like let's say Phoenix, Arizona they are a lot more common. Yet both places are fairly large cities in the USA. (not saying a Spanish style home is more "primitive", just using it as an example of how architecture can vary in the same nation with two cities of roughly the same size).

It could also be that the Nords aren't as concerned with what is "modern" compared to the Imperials as far as architecture goes, but even so I'd guess that regardless, they like their more rustic looking homes overall.

I would love a pistol for the 200 years after or atleast a crossbow

Skyrim is a backwater compared to the imperial capital, probably also to Morrowind.
This backwater effect was much larger 50 years ago than today and even larger 100 years ago, then you could go from industrialized cities to real stone age inside the British empire.

From what I've read by other forum posters over the last few weeks, Nordic culture to a large extent forbids the rebuilding of destroyed structures for some reason.

Wars have probably destroyed much of the architecture, as well as natural disasters (Winterhold is a perfect example of that).

You also have to think of climate. Skyrim is cold and harsh, Cyrodiil is a medium temperature, mostly depending on the region. In the northen part of Cyrodiil the building are a bit more 'primitive' looking because that's how people have adapted. You can't build a house in Bruma the same way you build a house in Leyawiin, you'd freeze to death. Not to mention the Nords are more concerned with preserving their ancestral heritage than building fancier, more modern style houses.

A tribal village in the Amazon rainforest looks very different from New York.

Here is someone having no idea about anything related to The Elder Scrolls. Ever heard of the Nords? You should know that they are a lot less civilised than the Imperials.

Give him the benefit of the doubt, he may of meant Nords within the boundary of the game

If you've read the lore on the intervening years, you'd know several things.
1) War (and presumably famine and poverty) have been common since the end of the Septim line. The Empire is literally falling apart.
2) Skyrim is not as wealthy as Cyrodiil, especially in these difficult times.
3) Nordic culture and architecture is different.

200 years in reality insn't that much, the latest Elder Scrolls games are around the 3rd and 4th era which for Earth is around the 10th century which didn't change much in the next few hundred years.

Not to mention Skyrim isn't as rich as the Imperial Legion and they've faced a lot of war recently so they can't rebuild state of the art houses.

Yeah, all 3.

Even in the beginning of the game, some of the NPC chat with people from cyrodil make them sound like refugees. Camila Valerius says the Great War ruined everything. It's not a pretty place, in general.

Given the location, Skyrim's architecture is probably more concerned with function than form: you want your house to withstand the winter squalls as best as possible; looking pretty is a secondary concern, if it's a concern at all. The harsh conditions would also wreak havoc with the decorative exteriors common to Cyrodiil. Sure, you could spend a bunch of time and effort on doing so, but one season later it'll be a ravaged wreck.

dragons are masters of time so they could have set everything back 200 years and we just dont know so those 200 years after Oblivion would not have counted

In real life I'm guessing towns around the year 800 would not have looked dramatically different from towns around year 1000.