Architecture Topics

Adobe

Sun-dried brick used in places with warm, dry climates, such as Egypt and Mexico.

Air Set Cement

A cement that sets through loss of water.

Ambulatory

A continuous aisle in a circular building, as in a church.

Apse

A semicircular area; in most churches it contains the altar.

Arabesque

Ornament consisting of garlands of foliage with figures, fancifully interlaced to form graceful curves and painted, inlaid, or carved in low relief.

Arcade

A series of arches supported by columns or piers, or a passageway formed by these arches.

Arch

A curved structural member that spans an opening and is generally composed of wedge-shaped blocks that transmit the downward pressure out laterally.

Architrave

The lowest part of an entablature resting on the capital of a column. Also, the holdings around a doorway.

Area

The derived SI unit of area is the m².

Ashlar Masonry

Uniform, rectangular blocks of stone with parallel faces, as used in the construction of classical Greek and Roman buildings.

Atrium

In an ancient Roman structure, a central room open to the sky, usually having a pool for the collection of rainwater.

Attic

The part of the entablature above the cornice, serving to hide the roof.

Balconet

A false balcony constructed with a low railing outside a window.

Balcony

A projection from an upper story window or door surrounded by railing.

Baldachin

A richly ornamented canopy structure supported by columns, suspended from a roof, or projected from a wall, as over an altar.

Balustrade

A series of balusters supporting the railing of a stairs or balcony.

Bauhaus

The style of the Bauhaus School, founded in Germany by Walter Gropius in 1919, emphasizing simplicity, functionalism, and craftsmanship.

Bay Window

A window placed in a projection of an exterior wall of a building is called a bay window when the wall projection extends all the way down to a corresponding projection of the foundation.

Buttress

An exterior masonry structure that opposes the lateral thrust of an arch or a vault and adds extra support.

Campanile

A bell tower usually not actually attached to a church; also, lofty towers that form parts of buildings.

Cantilever

A horizontal projection, such as a balcony or beam, supported at one end only.

Cement

A substance that can be used to build together aggregates of sand or stone into a cohesive structure. May be a single compound or a mixture. May be hydraulic set, air set or chemical set.

Chemical Set Cement

A cement that sets through reaction or precipitation.

Classicism

A tradition of Greek and Roman antiquity, distinguished by the qualities of simplicity, harmony, and balance.

Clerestory

Part of an interior rising above adjacent rooftops, permitting the passage of light.

Cloister

In religious institutions, a courtyard with covered walks.

Colonnade

A row of columns, usually equidistant.

Corbel

A projecting wall member used as a support for some element of the superstructure.

Corinthian Order

The last of the three Greek orders, similar to the Ionic, but with the capital decorated with carvings of the acanthus leaf.

Cornice

A cornice is an ornamental molding, or composition of two or more moldings, located at the exterior wall-roof junction of a building, beneath the eaves, or beneath the sloping ends of a gable roof.

Diaphram Arch

A transverse, wall-bearing arch that divides a vault or a ceiling into compartments, providing a kind of firebreak.

Dome

A roof formed by a series of arches, roughly forming a semicircle.

Doric Order

The first and simplest of the three Greek orders and the only one that normally has no base.

Dormer Window

A window housed in a gable or similar structure affixed to the sloping part of a roof, providing natural light and ventilation to the rooms beneath the roof.

Double Hung Window

Two sashes which, when both are closed, are positioned one immediately above the other.

Entablature

The upper horizontal part of an order, between a capital and the roof; it consists of the architrave, frieze, and cornice.

Façade

Any important face of a building, usually the principal front with the main entrance.

Frieze

The middle part of an entablature, often decorated with spiral scrolls.

Gargoyle

A spout placed on the roof gutter of a Gothic building to carry away rainwater, commonly carved fancifully as in the shapes of animal heads.

Hydraulic Set Cement

A cement that sets through reaction with water.

Minaret

A slender, lofty tower with balconies.

Module

The measurement that architects use to determine the proportions of a structure, for example, the diameter of a column.

Narthex

An enclosed passage from the nave to the main entrance of a church.

Nave

The principal area of a church, extending from the main area to the transept.

Pagoda

A temple or sacred building, typically in an Asian nation, usually pyramidal, forming a tower with upward curving roofs over the individual stories.

Pediment

In a classical-style building, the triangular segment between the horizontal entablature and the sloping roof.

Pendentive

A curved support shaped like an inverted triangle, used to support a dome.

Pier

A large pillar used to support a roof.

Portico

A structure usually attached to a building, such as a porch, consisting of a roof supported by piers or columns.

Pyramid

In ancient Egypt, a quadrilateral masonry mass with steeply sloping sides meeting at an apex, used as a tomb.

Relief

Moldings and ornamentation projecting from the surface of a wall.

Room Acoustics

The general acoustic requirements of a room depend on the use.

Room Modes

Frequencies at which sound waves in a room resonate (in the form of standing waves), based on the room dimensions.

Spire

A tall, tapering, acutely pointed roof to a tower, as in the top of a steeple.

Tracery

Ornament of ribs, bars, etc., in panels or screens, as in the upper part of a Gothic window.

Turret

A small tower, usually starting at some distance from the ground, attached to a building such as a castle or fortress.

Tuscan Order

A Roman order resembling the Doric without a fluted shaft.

Vault

An arched brick or stone ceiling or roof.

Volume

There are a number of derived units of volume in the British system of units and the SI system of units.

Westwork

In German Romanesque, a monumental entrance to a church consisting of porches and towers, with a chapel above.

Window

A piece of glass with plane parallel sides which admits light into or through an optical system and excludes dirt and moisture.