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Architectural Terminology
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Pediment
The triangular upper part of the front of a classical style building, often seen above the entrance.
Column
A vertical pillar, typically cylindrical and made of stone or concrete, that supports an entablature or arch.
Flying Buttress
A free-standing buttress attached to the main structure at one end, and often found in Gothic architecture.
Capital
The topmost member of a column or pillar, often decorative, which transitions from the shaft to the lintel.
Cornice
A decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture element.
Keystone
The central, topmost stone of an arch that holds the other stones in place.
Spandrel
The triangular space between the curve of an arch and the rectangle surrounding it.
Voussoir
A wedge-shaped stone that forms the curved part of an arch.
Buttress
A projecting support built against an external wall to brace the wall and counteract lateral (sideways) forces.
Shaft
The elongated, vertical part of a column between the base and the capital.
Cornice
The uppermost section of moldings along the top of the entablature in classical architecture.
Entablature
The horizontal part in classical architecture that rests on the columns and consists of the architrave, frieze, and cornice.
Architrave
The lowest part of an entablature, resting directly on top of the columns.
Frieze
The wide central section part of an entablature, often decorated with carvings or paintings.
Dome
A rounded vault forming the roof of a building or structure, typically with a circular base.
Gable
The triangular upper part of a wall at the end of a ridged roof.
Pilaster
A rectangular column projecting only slightly from a wall and in classical architecture follows the form of one of the orders.
Facade
The face or front of a building, especially an imposing or decorative one.
Lintel
A horizontal support of stone, wood, or metal across the top of a door or window.
Mullion
A vertical bar between the panes of glass in a window.
Arcade
A series of arches supported by columns or piers, either freestanding or attached to a wall as a decorative feature.
Ziggurat
In ancient Mesopotamian architecture, a tiered pyramidal structure that bears a temple at its summit.
Mansard Roof
A four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper.
Vault
An arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof.
Portico
A porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls.
Atrium
A large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, typically found in the entrance of a building.
Fenestration
The design and placement of windows in a building.
Transom
A horizontal crossbar in a window, over a door, or between a door and a window or fanlight above it.
Veranda
An open-roofed porch extending along the outside of a building, often partially enclosed by a railing.
Pendentive
A curved triangle of vaulting formed by the intersection of a dome with its supporting arches.
Basilica
A large hall or building with double colonnades and a semicircular apse, used in ancient Rome as a court of law or for public assemblies.
Tympanum
The space enclosed by a lintel and an arch over a doorway.
Cantilever
A long projecting beam or girder fixed at only one end, used in bridge construction.
Apse
A semicircular or polygonal terminator to the choir, chancel, or aisle of a church.
Parapet
A low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony.
Balustrade
A railing at the side of a staircase or balcony to prevent people from falling.
Pilaster
A rectangular column, especially one projecting from a wall.
Clerestory
The upper part of a wall containing windows above eye level to admit light.
Tracery
The stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window.
Quoin
The external angle of a wall or the stones that form that angle, often in a contrasting color or texture.
Turret
A small tower on top of a larger tower or at the corner of a building, projecting vertically from the building.
Gambrel
A typically symmetrical two-sided roof with two slopes on each side, the lower slope being steeper than the higher.
Loggia
A gallery or room with one or more open sides, usually covered, often on an upper floor and extending along the outside of a building.
Volute
A spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column.
Cupola
A small, often dome-like structure on top of a building; used to provide light and air.
Mezzanine
An intermediate level or levels between the floor and ceiling of any story.
Nave
The central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation.
Plinth
The base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, or structure rests.
Cloister
A covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other.
Corbel
A projection jutting out from a wall to support a structure above it, such as a balcony or arch.
Compound Arch
An arch that consists of two or more arches of reduced spans superimposed within a larger arch.
Finial
A distinctive ornament at the apex of a roof, pinnacle, canopy, or similar structure in a building.
Clerestory
The upper part of a wall that rises above the adjoining roof, which has windows that admit light.
Dormer
A window that projects vertically from a sloping roof.
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