Subscribe To This Site
The ArchitecturalDictionary
If you have a web site and would like to increase traffic a look at this!
Abacus - a square or shaped block that helps support the entablature.
The architecturaldictionary
Acanthus leaf - admired by the Greeks and Romans for the elegance of its leaves. Found on many classical designs such as the Corinthian and Composite columns 
The architecturaldictionary
The architecturaldictionary
Adamesque - The Adam style (or Adamesque) is a style of neoclassical architecture and design as practised by Scottish architect Robert Adam (1728- 1792) and his brothers. The "Adam style" is identified with:
Roman style decorative motifs such as framed medallions, vases, urns and tripods, arabesque vine scrolls, sphinxes and gryphons.
Flat grotesque panels
Pilasters
Painted ornaments such as swags and ribbons
Complex color schemes amorino - found in Italian Renaissance art an amorino ("little love") is another name for a 'putto'.
The putto is a figure of a pudgy human baby, almost always male, often naked and having wings. click to enlarge 
Angel-lights - the upper panes of glass or "lights'" in a curved window frame, next to the springing.
Annulets - A ringlike molding underneath the capital of a pillar. There may be more than one.They are also called fillets or listels.
Antebellum is not a particular house style. Rather, it is a time and place in history. The features we associate with Antebellum architecture were introduced to the American South by Anglo-Americans who moved into the area after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Ante-fixae - Vertical blocks which terminate the covering tiles of the roof of a Roman, Etruscan, or Greek temple; as spaced they take the place of the cymatium and form a cresting along the sides of the temple. The face of the ante-fixae was richly carved with the anthemion (palmette) ornament.
click to enlarge
arabesque - geometric intricate surface decoration; no human figures; has interlaced patterns. The arabesque is an elaborative application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants and animals.click to enlarge
Architectonics- Architectonic is used to describe the art and science of building and construction. It refers to the sensibility to form and design, particularly to the preference of the simple over the complex, and the well-built over the mass-produced. Today, the word is used in a semiotic sense to refer to the use of parts as expressive signs that constitute the language system of the building.
The architecturaldictionary
archivolt-an ornamental molding or band following the curve of the underside of an arch.
click to enlarge 
The architecturaldictionary
Arris -an architectural term that describes the sharp edge formed by the intersection of two surfaces, such as the exterior corner of a masonry wall or the interior intersection of wall or wall/ceiling corner, or any intersection of architectural details. Also the raised edges which separate the flutings in a Doric column.
Articulation - the manner or method of jointing parts such that each part is clear and distinct in relation to the others, even though joined.
Art Nouveau -A style that encompassed art, architecture, and design. Popular from 1880-1914. It is characterised by highly-stylised, flowing, curvilinear designs often incorporating floral and other plant-inspired motifs.click to enlarge 
Astragal — semi-circular molding attached to one of a pair of doors to cover the air gap where the doors meet.
Atrium - A usually skylighted central area, often containing plants, in some modern buildings,
especially of a public or commercial nature.
The architecturaldictionary
Bandelet — Any little band or flat molding, which crowns a Doric architrave.
The architecturaldictionary
Baroque- a post-Renaissance style started in Italy and Spain, popular in Europe in the 1600s - 1750s. Baroque means “irregular, contorted, grotesque”. A time of grand scale where everything was grandeous and highly ornamented. The Rococo Period reflects style in its most extreme.
The architecturaldictionary
BELT COURSE -
decorative horizontal band on building, usually composed of projecting and/or contrasting stone or brick.
Bungalow - A bungalow is of the Craftsman period of design.It is one or one-and-one-half stories high-low to the ground in appearance- has a rectangular or square shape- has deep roof overhangs and wide eaves- has a porch across the front- is integrated with natural materials, colors and forms.
The architecturaldictionary
Cabled fluting — Convex circular molding sunk in the concave fluting of a classic column, and rising about one-third of the height of the shaft.
The architecturaldictionary
Cable rope - A carved molding in stone or wood that looks like rope.
calendar house - A calendar house symbolically represents the numbers of days in a week, and weeks and months in a year with architectural elements. The architecturaldictionary
These are very rare. The Knole home, built between 1456 and 1486, situated close to Sevenoaks in north-west Kent, is reputed to be a calendar house, having 365 rooms, 52 staircases and 7 courtyards. CAMPANILE- Bell tower originating in Italy and and developed into the tower section of the Italianate style. Favoured in Canadian villas in the mid 19th century.
carcase floor-a regional term and perhaps unique to Virginia was the framing of the great-room floor, which had girders running from north to south, with smaller perpendicular members above and below them.
The architecturaldictionary
Cathedral - The term cathedral refers to the function of a church, not its architectural style. A cathedral is a church that serves as a bishop’s headquarters, so to speak. It’s called a cathedral because it contains his cathedra (chair). The city in which the cathedral is located is the bishop’s see. In this usage, the word see comes from a Latin word meaning seat. The city is the bishop’s see in the sense that a city might be the seat of government.
Cavetto -a concave, quarter-round molding.
The architecturaldictionary
cement board- A concrete board that is placed on a subsurface such as bathroom and kitchen counters and backslashes. Tile or aother finished materials are then glued or mortered to it. Cement board resists shifting and is impervious to water.
The architecturaldictionary
Chair rail- A wooden molding placed horizontally on a wall to prevent chairs from damaging the wall. Typically used as a decorative effect on a wall to divide a painted lower section from a wallpapered upper section.
CHIMNEY STACK- the structure in stone. block, or brick, containing flues and rising above the roof.
Chin-beak — Concave quarter-round molding. There are few examples of this in ancient buildings, but is common in more recent times.
The architecturaldictionarycinquefoil- - in tracery, having five pendants in a circular ring; usually applied to windows and panels. quatrafoil - tracery constructed from four foils. trifoil - tracery in three foils.Corbel
Cladding- The outer skin of a building. A term used to describe the siding or materials covering the exterior of a building.
The architecturaldictionary
Classical order- A classical order is one of the ancient styles of building design quickly recognizable by the type of column and capital employed. There are five recognized orders.
Clerestory-An upper portion of a wall containing windows for supplying natural light to a building.
Chamfer- A beveled edge usually at 45 degree to the face.
Chatri- A domed pavilion supported by columns at each corner
The architecturaldictionary
CHIMNEY-PIECE -A mantelpiece, usually of wood or marble, that surrounds the sides and top of a fireplace opening.
click on image
Collar Beam- a horizontal piece of timber connecting and tying together two opposite rafters. Commonly used as a ceiling joist.
The architecturaldictionary
column-A supporting pillar consisting of a base, a cylindrical shaft, and a capital.There are three basic column styles for single-family homes, derived from ancient Greek architecture. The Doric column
The architecturaldictionary
is the oldest and simplest Greek style--its found on the Parthenon in Athens. This column features fluted sides, a smooth rounded top, or capital, and no separate base.Ionic columns are identified by the scroll-shaped ornaments at the capital, which resemble a ram’s horns. The Ionic  column rests on a rounded base.Corinthian columns are the latest of the three Greek styles and show the influence of Egyptian columns in their capitals, which are shaped like inverted bells. Capitals are also decorated with olive, laurel, or acanthus leaves. Corinthian  columns rest on a base similar to that of the Ionic style
Coping- A flat cover of stone or brick that protects the top of a wall 
Corbel 
Cove molding or Coving— a concave-profile molding that is used at the junction of an interior wall and ceiling.
The architecturaldictionary
Cyma- molding of double curvature, combining the convex ovolo and concave cavetto. When the concave part is uppermost, it is called a cyma recta but if the convex portion is at the top, it is called a cyma reversa.
Deconstructivism- also Deconstruction, is an approach to building design that attempts to view architecture in bits and pieces. The basic elements of architecture are dismantled. Deconstructivist buildings may seem to have no visual logic. They may appear to be made up of unrelated, disharmonious abstract forms.
DECOUPAGE- Decoupage, derived from the French word decouper, meaning to cut out,is the creative art of pasting, assembling and varnishing paper cutouts for accenting objects.
Dimensional lumber-
Dimensional lumber is a term used for lumber that is finished/planed and cut to standardized width and depth specified in inches.
Dimensional lumber is made from softwood is typically used for construction, while hardwood boards are more commonly used for making cabinets or furniture.
Click to enlarge image
Doric - The earliest and simplest of the orders of architecture developed by the Greeks and iderntified by its columns and architrave.
Dutch Gable-American- In portions of the United States and in Australia, dutch gable refers to a type of roofline style used on ranch-style houses that is a hybrid between a gable roof and a hip roof. Click to enlarge
Dutch Gable-European- Dutch gable, has multiple meanings depending on the region and the portion of a structure it is referring to.In European architecture the Dutch gable, also known as a Flemish gable, acts as an ornamental pediment to a wing or other architectural feature such as a projection in the facade. Curved,stepped or often both the Dutch gable was a notable feature of the Renaissance architecture.Click to enlarge
The architecturaldictionary
Conceptually it refers to the part of a sloping roof that overhangs the wall including the facia board(if any)and the soffit. 
ie: craftsman bungalows have very wide eaves with decorative brackets.
Eastlake1879-1905 New England - a style of ornamentation using numerously variegated Victorian designs including stick work, spindles and knobs, brackets, sawn scroll work, “free classical” detailing, Gothic additions, finials, roof cresting, towers and cupolas, oxbow, any number of scalloped styled siding. Click to enlarge image
Echinus - The echinus lies atop the necking. It is a circular block that bulges outwards towards the top in order to support the abacus
egg n’ dart moulding- (also leaf and dart, also alpha and omega - beginning and end) Classical ornamental design that forms a course of alternating oval shapes and arrows. Click to enlarge image
ELEVATION- A drawing or photograph that shows one face of a building. Click to enlarge image
engaged column - a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, sometimes defined as semi or three-quarter detached. Rarely found in classical Greek architecture but frequently in Roman architecture.
Engaged columns are distinct from pilasters, which are ornamental and not structural.
ENTABLATURE - a major element of classical architecture, the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above the columns, resting on their capitals. The entabulature is commonly divided into the architrave—the supporting member carried from column to column, pier or wall immediately above; the frieze—an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented; and the cornice, the projecting member below the pediment.
entasis- slight convex curve applied to columns in Classical architecture to counter the illusion that would otherwise occur of the columns being slightly concave.
Expressionist architecture
-paralleling the expressionist visual and performing arts during the first decades of the 20th century, expressionistic architecture is the concept of architecture as a work of art.
Some of the qualities of the original movement are distortion, fragmentation or the communication of violent or overstressed emotion. These are communicated in architecture as unusual combinations of mass, angular definitions, and even polymorphic structure.
The architecturaldictionary
Fish Scale Shingles -On Victorian and Queen Anne buildings, fish scale shingles were used extensively as a finishing element. These are generally wood and are most frequently found on the gable or upper section of the buildings.
Felt Paper - A black building paper used to cover roof boards and sheathing to help control moisture and wind infiltration. Also used to cover the subfloor before hardwood flooring.
Filligree- In architecture it may be said to consist of the art of curling, twisting, or creating the effect of the same, with wood in a decorative effect. Small and/or large beads or geometric shaped woods are often applied on the junctions, or at intervals at which they will set off the work effectively. The more delicate work is generally built in frameworks and used in interior archways as fretwork.
fleur-de-lys- Fleur-de-lis is literally translated from French as "lily flower", It has consistently been used as a royal emblem, is common to all eras and all civilizations.
Flying buttress- a structural feature employed to transmit the thrust of a vault across an intervening space, such as an aisle, chapel or cloister, to a buttress built outside the latter. The employment of the flying buttress meant that the rules regarding load bearing walls could be expanded, thus allowing for great flexibility in design and purpose.
Framing-The structural wooden or steel members, or the act of building, that provide structure and definition to a house or building.
Fractable-A decorated gable end carried above the roofline. A fractal is generally "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is approximately a reduced-size copy of the whole
FRENCH WINDOW-A window that opens to the floor in two hinged parts.Click to enlarge image
Fret-A wall or cornice decoration that is formed by small fillets intersecting each other at right angles.
fretwork spandrels- Decorative pieces made with intricate cutwork and joined with Ball & Dowel or Spindle sections.
frieze- In new construction it is the board that runs horizontally and butts against and underneath the bottom of the soffit.
Inclassical construction it is usually quite ornate. It is the middle division of an entablature, below the cornice. 
FRONTISPIECE-The principal bay of a building. In architecture, a frontispiece constitutes the elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building; especially when the main entrance is the chief face of the building, rather than being kept behind columns or a portico.
frustum- a truncated cone or pyramid; the part that is left when a cone or pyramid is cut by a plane parallel to the base and the apical part is removed.
The upper part of a Doric column. 
click to enlarge
 Gable decoration - Also know as Gingerbread it is the decorative woodwork applied under the eaves or at the bargeboard level at the apex of a gable end. Also refers to decorative bargeboards. Also see Valley Craft and Design.
GadrooningIt is derived from the French word 'godron', which means 'ruffle'.
The architecturaldictionary
In furniture and other interior accessories, the term applies to an ornamental carved band of tapered, curving and alternating concave and convex sections usually diverging from either side of a central point. often with rounded ends vaguely reminiscent of flower petals. It was widely used during the Italian Renaissance. 
Gallows bracket- A rather simple bracing bracket that is quite commonly used.
Gambrel- A roof where each side has two slopes; a steeper lower slope and a flatter upper one; a 'barn roof'. Often found in Colonial revival houses in the "Dutch" style.
Georgian architecture-the architectural period between 1720 and 1840. It was concurrent with the British monarchs George I-IV, who reigned in continuous succession from August 1714 to June 1830.
gingerbread- a word to describe any kind of decoration on a home found in such places as the gables, vergeboards, porches, eaves, and around windows or doors. Made famous by the Victorian era.
Girder - A strong, wooden or metal member spanning foundation walls designed to support joist ends. Steel girders often have an I beam cross section for strength. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure and usually supports smaller beams.
Girder 
Gluelam beam - also called glue-laminated beams or Glulam, is a structural timber product composed of several layers of dimensioned lumber glued together. By laminating several smaller pieces of wood, a single large, strong, structural member can be manufactured from smaller timber. Laminated beams can be used as vertical columns, horizontal beams, or as often seen in contemporary churches, as arched ceiling beams.
Click to enlarge image
The Golden Ratio - In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller. The golden ratio is approximately 1.6. Click to enlarge image
Gothic Revival - The style that was the beginning of the Victorian Age. The elements are based on architectural ideas from the Middle Ages and was popular in the 1830s and 40s. Gothic Revival buildings a featured pointed or lancet doorways and windows, spire, and vertical features. Click to enlarge image
Greek key-A carved Classical geometric decoration resembling a maze, and repeated in bands. Composed of interlocking straight and right-angled lines it is a
common decorative elements in Greek art and Roman art appearing on everything from pottery to tapasterys. The architectural decorations were used extensively on friezes. Although it is a conjecture it is thought that the patern symbolized infinity and unity.
Click to enlarge image
Greek Revival- an architectural movement of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A phase of Neoclassicism that spread the idea of “noble simplicity and calm grandeur." The style was looked on as the expression of local nationalism and civic virtue.
green man - an ancient symbol of man's deep connection to nature; a decorative Gothic carving characterized by a human face sprouting foliage. The Green Man motif has many different faces and variations and is found in many cultures around the world,
Click to enlarge image
Guilloche- an architectural decoration formed by two interlaced wavy bands forming a pattern of circles or loops. This may be found in carved wood trim mold, tile and stone carvings.
Click to enlarge image
Half-timbering- Having a wooden framework, often exposed, with plaster, brick, stone, or other masonry filling the spaces.
Half-timbering
Hardboard- also called high-density fiberboard, is a type of fiberboard, which is an engineered wood panel. It is usually seen 1/8" - 1/4" thick. It is similar to particle board and medium-density fiberboard, but is much harder, denser, and heavier because it is made out of exploded, highly compressed wood fibers. It is usually called masonite because that was the first brand to be marketed in the U.S.
It has no grain and little structural strength.
It is usually used as a substrate to veneers, vinyl, amd laminate and in its thin width as backing for furniture and cabinetry.
Click here to enlarge picture
Hearth- The floor of a fireplace, usually extending into a room and paved with brick, flagstone, or cement. Hearth
high-density polyurethane- rigid foam can be made with the use of specialty trimerization catalysts which create cyclic structures within the foam matrix, giving a harder, more thermally stable structure, designated as polyisocyanurate foams. Such properties are desired in rigid foam products used in the construction sector.(Wikipedia-Polyurethane)
Hyphen - a connecting piece between two larger masses of a building. It's most commonly used when referring to Colonial-era houses - especially the Georgian style. The masses connected to the main house by the hyphens are called dependencies.
The architecturaldictionary
Inlay -in which the secondary material is sunk into portions of a solid ground cut out to receive it. The architecturaldictionary
imbrication - As with wood shingle siding- the covering with a design in which one element covers a part of another by overlapping.Click to enlarge The architecturaldictionary
infill - any material used to fill a void in a structure. For ex. glass panels used as an infill between timber posts. The architecturaldictionary
wattle and daub was probably the original infill. Also used in Urbanism as the reclamation of unused land, particularly the reuse and redevelopment of low use property within an existing community or development.
Inglenook - A bench, especially either of two facing
benches, placed in a nook or corner beside a
fireplace.
intarsia - Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. intarsia is created by selecting different types of wood for their natural grain patterns and colors to create the picture. Each piece of wood is then individually cut , shaped, and sanded.Click to enlarge image
The architecturaldictionary
intercolumniation - in classical architecture, the clear space between the edges of two adjacent columns, as measured at the lower portion of their shafts. Intercolumniation is expressed in terms of the column diameter. The architecturaldictionary
Ionic Order - The second of the three Greek architectural orders to be developed. Ionic columns are generally more tall and slender than those of the Doric. The spiral scrolls, or volutes, at either side of the cap run from front to rear, and an echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation occupies the space between them. Ionic columns incorporate a column base, and volutes can be seen in their capitals.
Italian Renaissance - begining the opening phase of the Renaissance and popular in 1800s-1920s in America. This is a revival architecture inspired by the great Renaissance houses of Italy. Many of these design features were copied from actual Renaissance landmarks of Roman, Florentine, and Venetian pillazzis and villas, and then translated into American palaces, primarily in our cities.
Click to enlarge image
Jamb - Jamb - The vertical members of a window or door frame.Click to enlarge image
Jenkins-head roof - A gabled roof with its apex truncated by a small hipped roof.
Joist - A beam supporting a floor or ceiling. Wood framing members, usually set 16" apart on center, carefully chosen to support all "live" and "dead" loads.
Click to enlarge image
Joist Hanger - A formed sheet steel device that anchor floor framing members that meet at right angles. Joist Hanger
Knee Wall- - A wall supported by jack studs in half- story construction.
Click to enlarge image
Lally column- A lally column is a round, steel pipe oriented vertically to provide support to beams or timbers stretching over long spans. They are typically positioned in the middle of the span to bear the weight of the structure, and to reduce sag or flex. The column is usually filled with concrete to provide additional rigidity and strength. Smaller adjustable columns can almost always be found in the basement residential buildings and homes
LANCET window - a sharply pointed Gothic arch or window. A lancet window is a tall narrow window with a pointed arch at its top acquirits name because of its resemblence to a lance [2]. Most often found in Gothic and ecclesiastical structures may be placed singularly or in pairs.
Often with stained glass inserts.
Lantern - A small turret with openings or windows all around, crowning a roof peak or dome. A tower or small turret with windows or openings for light and air, crowning a dome or cupola.
Latticework -Latticework is a ornamental criss-crossed pattern of strips, usually wood but may be metals or composits. Stips may be woven or top-bottom and can be perpindicular, forming squares, or angular, forming diamonds.
Lean-to - Referring to an addition to the rear of a structure with a shed roof (single-slope).
Light-frame construction - Also called 'plaform framing' or 'stick building' it is the building technique based on stud and rafter framing.
Typical to residential and some commercial building. Click to enlarge image 
Lintel- a horizontal structural member at the top of a window or door that carries the load.
Live Load - The weight of people, things and materials that are not always present at the same place in a building. Live loads are generally moving and/or dynamic or environmental, (e.g., people, installation equipment, wind, snow, ice or rain, etc.).
loggia- An open-sided, roofed or vaulted gallery, either free-standing or along the front or side of a building, often at an upper level.
Lozenge- a. A four-sided planar figure with a diamondlike shape; a rhombus that is not a square.
Quite often used in heraldic crest designs.
Lunette-A lunette is a half-moon shaped space, either masonry or void. A lunette is formed when a horizontal cornice transects a round-headed arch at the level of the imposts, where the arch springs. If a door is set within a round-headed arch, the space within the arch above the door, masonry or glass, is a lunette. If the door is a major access, and the lunette above is massive and deeply set, it may be called a tympanum.
A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc taken from an oval. The spaces are still lunettes. A lunette is commonly called a half-moon window, when the space is used as a window.
Maltese cross - The Maltese cross is identified as the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta. Its design is based on crosses used since the First Crusade. The eight points are said to symbolise the chivalric virtues:
Loyalty- Piety- Frankness - Bravery- Glory and honour - Contempt of death - Helpfulness towards the poor and the sick - Respect for the church 
Mansard roof - A roof type with two slopes on each of the four sides, the lower slope being steeper than the other; capped off with a cupola, typically Victorian. click to enlarge image
 Click to enlarge image 
Marble - Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO3). The architecturaldictionary
Used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications, The word "marble" is often used to refer to many other stones that are capable of taking a high polish.
marquetry - an application of cabinetwork in which a decorative surface of wood or other substance is glued to an object on a single plane. The process was derived from the true wood inlay known as intarsia and reached a high point of development in its use by the Dutch in the 17th century.
click to enlarge image
Masonary bond - A bond is the patterned arrangement of brick or stone in a wall.
 alt="Masonary bond">
Masonary course - Setting a course means to arrange in a row. A row of bricks, when laid in a wall, is called a course. It is a continuous level range or row of brick or masonry throughout the face or faces of a building.
millwright -a workman who designs or erects mills and milling machinery.Derived from the trade of carpentry, a millwright originally was a specialised carpenter in flour mills who had working knowledge of gear ratios, driveshaft speeds, and other equations. Todays millwright maintains or constructs industrial machinery such as that which would be related to assembly lines, also pumps, valves, printing presses, etc.
The architecturaldictionary
minimalism -influenced by Japanese traditional design and architecture minimalism describes a trend in design and architecture where in the structure is reduced to its necessary elements. "Less is more"
The architecturaldictionary
mitered joint 
modillion
 (1)An ornamental bracket used in series under a cornice, especially a cornice of the Corinthian, Composite, or Ionic orders.
(2)Blocks or brackets placed in a series on the underside of a cornice. A modillion is a bracket whose horizontal side is longer than the vertical.
Mullion
 a. A vertical member, as of stone or wood, dividing a window or other opening.b. A vertical strip(s) dividing a window into panes, or the panels of a screen.
nave - the main body of a church or cathedral. Sometimes defined as the central aisle only.
section nameNecking - A section of a column between the upper shaft and the projecting part of the capital and is visually separated by one or many grooves.
The necking may be a seperate piece or a continuation of the shaft.
Newel post - The terminating baluster at the lower end of a handrail.
In stairs having straight flights, it is the principal post at the foot of a staircase or the intermediate posts in the center, but never the ones at the landings.
NewelThe central post or column around which the steps of a circular staircase wind, and which provides support for the staircase. mitered joint 
Niche- A wall recess traditionally used to display a sculpture or ornamental object.
Nosing - The rounded leading-edge of a stair tread.
OCULUS-Oculus is the Latin word for eye. The word remains in use in certain contexts.As the name of the round opening in the top of the dome of the Pantheon in Rome, and in reference to other round windows and openings.
The architecturaldictionary
Click to enlarge picture. 
">
- A small round or oval window. While oculus is not in common use in English it is the Latin word for eye, and the word remains in use in certain contexts. As the name of the round opening in the top of the dome of the Pantheon in Rome and in reference to other round windows and openings. Click to enlarge picture.
Ogee Arch
 - a double curve or 'S' curve.
Ogive-In Gothic architecture, ogives are the arches that establish the surface of a Gothic vault. An ogive or ogival arch is a pointed "Gothic" arch.
Click to enlarge picture.
Onyx - Onyx is a finely crystalline form of quartz. The colors of its bands range from white to almost every color.
Oriel window
 - projecting or bay window in an upper story, supported on brackets, corbels, or an engaged column, usually curved but can be square. It is most characteristic of the late medieval and early Renaissance period in England, but is also found in France and Germany during the same period. The term is often loosely but incorrectly applied to any bay window.
Oriented strand boardalso called OSB, is an engineered wood product, usually in panels, formed by layering strands (flakes) of wood in specific orientations. In appearance it has a rough and variegated surface with the individual strips (around 2.5 by 15 cm each) lying unevenly across each other in the direction of their grain. OSB panels have no internal gaps or voids, and are water-resistant. The most common uses are as sheathing in walls, floors, and roofs.
The architecturaldictionary
Orthogonal angles- The term is used to describe lines that appear at 90 degree angles to each other. It is also used to describe conditions that are contradictory, rather than in parallel or in sync with each other. In mathematics, orthogonal is a generalization of perpendicular. From the Greek it means 'straight' and 'at angle'. In recent years, "perpendicular" has come to be used more in relation to right triangles and "orthogonal" is used when discussing vectors or coordinate geometry. In art it is the perspective imagined lines pointing to the vanishing point are referred to as 'orthogonal lines'.
overmantel
- Area above the shelf on a mantelpiece, often consisting of a mirror in an ornate frame, or some architectural feature in wood or stone. A decorative feature or panel above a fireplace surround.
Ovolo-Simple, convex quarter-round molding that can also be embellished with other patterns.
The architecturaldictionary
Palladism-referring to the style of architecture created by Andrea Palladio which featured archs and columns. 
palmettes - usually found on a cornice or neck of Ionic capital; used a lot in the 1700s. Also known as the honeysuckle ornament, from its resemblance to that flower, its origin will be found in the flower of the acanthus plant and various design interpretations are used in in architecture that stretches far back in the ancients and in many cultures.
Click to enlarge picture.
Patina process- to make something look old.
The architecturaldictionary
Pavillion-1. An ornate tent.
2. A light, sometimes ornamental roofed structure, used for amusement or shelter, as at parks or fairs:
Palladian window-referring to the style of architecture created by Andrea Palladio which featured archs and columns. 
The architecturaldictionary
Click to enlarge picture.
The architecturaldictionary
 Patera A shallow circular decorative element, typically found on walls or at the junction of decorative elements such as ceiling coffers.
Pebble dash- Flat stucco embedded with pebbles for a texture effect 
pediment- a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section of a gable above a dormer, window, or door entry.
The architecturaldictionary
Swan-necked" pediment where the raking cornice is in the form of two S-shaped brackets. Click to enlarge picture. 
Broken pediment -A pediment open or broken at the apex of the raking cornice, base or both, and the gap often filled with an urn, cartouche, or other ornament. Click to enlarge picture. 
Segmental pediment- where the normal angular slope of the raking cornice is replaced by one in the form of a segment of a circle. Click to enlarge picture. 
Parapet-- A wall that extends above a roof. Click to enlarge picture.
The architecturaldictionary
PARGETING- Plasterwork, incised or modelled with ornamental patterns, on a building’s exterior walls.Click to enlarge picture.
The architecturaldictionary
Parquet Floor- Parquetry is a mosaic of wood used for ornamental flooring usually laid to form geometric patterns.
Paterae- a square or circular flat ornament applied to a frieze, moulding or cornice; in Gothic work it commonly takes the form of a four-lobed leaf or flower. Click to enlarge picture.
Pendentive- An architectural constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom and spread at the top to establish the continuous circular or elliptical base needed for the dome. In masonry the pendentives thus receive the weight of the dome, concentrating it at the four corners where it can be received by the piers beneath. The architecturaldictionary
Pendentives were commonly used in Renaissance and baroque churches, with a drum often inserted between the dome and pendentives.
pediment- the ornamented bottom of the vertical member of a docorative bracket; can also be a carved wood ornament that terminates the bottom end of second floor posts in frame construction.
Pentice- a sloping roof built on to another building. Like a short shed roof over a side door.
The architecturaldictionary
Peristyle- An arbor or a passageway of columns. Click to enlarge picture.
Pier - A vertical, non-circular masonry support, more massive than a column.
Pitch- The rate at which a roof or other surface slopes.
Plate - The 2x4 nailed along the top edge of all stud walls. A plate also is secured to the top of all solid brick or masonry walls.
click to enlarge
The architecturaldictionary
 Plateresque -A spanish architectural art form of the 15th - 16th century. The design features etremely ornate appliques and carvings.
Plate Tracery- Alternating white and brown bricks found around the rounded arch windows.
Pocket door- A door which slides open into cavities within walls.
porte-cochere - 1. A carriage entrance leading through a building or wall into an inner courtyard.
 2. A roofed structure covering a driveway at the entrance of a building to provide shelter while entering or leaving a vehicle. Porte-cochères should not be confused with carports in which vehicles are parked; at a porte-cochère the vehicle merely passes through, stopping only for a passenger to alight.
PORTICO - In the post-colonial sence it is considered to be a porch with columns and pediment. In ancient Greek and Roman architecture it was a roofed space using columns or posts, generally included between a wall and a row of columns or between two rows of columns.
Postmodernism- Postmodernism in architecture is thought to be the reaction to the modernist architectural movement known as the International Style. It is represented by a collage of styles, historical reference in surface ornamentation, urban architecture, and obtuse or acute angles.Classic examples of modern residential architecture are of Frank Lloyd Wright or the Bauhaus movement. Postmodernism favors personal preferences and variety over objective, ultimate truths or principles.
powder coated steel - Powder coating is a type of dry coating, which is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder.The coating is applied electrostatically and then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a "skin." Tougher than conventional paint, powder coating is mainly used for the coating of metals.
prairie house - a house style associated predominantly with the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright, the design was influenced by the open prairie of mid-western American. The houses featured open plans with a low, horizontal emphasis
pulvinated frieze or pulvino is convex in section. Such friezes were features of 16th-century Northern Mannerism and much used in interior architecture and in furniture. The architecturaldictionary
Is most often found in the Ionic order of Classical decoration. Its surface treatment may be plain or ornately carved.
Quatrefoil - 1. A representation of a flower with four petals or a leaf with four leaflets, especially in heraldry.
2. Architectural Tracery or an ornament with four foils or lobes. 
Quoint - An outside corner of a masonary wall arranged so as to form a decorative contrast with the adjoining walls. 
Raking Cornice - The sloping moldings of a pediment.
Renaissance- A style of architecture and decoration, based on classical models that originated in Italy in the 15th century and continued throughout Europe up to the end of the 16th century. Renaissance (ca. 1400–1500); also known as the Quattrocento and sometimes Early Renaissance,High Renaissance (ca.1500–1525), Mannerism (ca. 1520–1600).
The architecturaldictionary
resin compositesr- Composite materials can be as simple as mud and straw bricks, or ashpalt, or concrete reinforced with steel and gravel. Composites are used to form shower stalls and bath tubs made of fiberglass. Solid surface, imitation granite and cultured marble sinks and counter tops are widely usedand more ecterior products are developed every day.
RETURN- the part of a molding or pattern that continues around a corner.
Ribbon windows- A row of windows with little or no division between them. Used often in Craftsman, Deco, and Modern styles.
Rise - In stairbuilding it is the vertical distance from one stair tread to the next.
Riser - The vertical portion of a step. The board covering the open space between stair treads. The architecturaldictionary
Rise and run A system of measurement used in construction. Usually used in roof pitches and stair runs.
Rococo design - 1650 to 1790 during the end of the Baroque period and during the reign of the French king, Louis the 14th. Rococo style rooms were designed as total works of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings.
The architecturaldictionary
Click to enlarge picture.  Romanicism- Romantic residential architecture brought Greek Revival, followed by Gothic Revival, Italianate, and even Egyptian and Oriental influences
Roof Run- The horizontal distance from the outside of a bearing wall plate to the center of the ridge rafter.
Click to enlarge picture. 
Roof Pitch - Degree of roof slant stated in inches rise per foot.
Roof span- the width of the roof as measured from and to the outside bearing walls. The architecturaldictionary
Click to enlarge picture. 
Rosette- Decorative wooden blocks displaying various three dimensional patterns used at the juncture of the side and head casings of doors and windows. Popular in Victorian architecture. The architecturaldictionary
Click to enlarge picture. 
Rough Opening - When framing it is the opening required to allow doors and windows to be installed.
Rough Sill - When framing it is the the bottom rail of a window rough opening.
The architecturaldictionary
Rowlock brickwork- The rowlock or rolok is similar to the header course except that the brick are laid on narrow or face edge. This type of course is often used as the top course or cap of garden walls and as window and door sills.
Rubble masonary - Masonry construction using stones of irregular shape and size.
Rusticated Stone masonary - Masonary stonework having the joints deeply sunk and oughly finished.
Saddle- A small ridged roof designed to carry water away from the back side of a chimney.
Click to enlarge image.
Sailor course-In brickwork a sailor course is similar to the soldier course but with the wide edge facing out. It is used for decorative effects.
saltbox - A type of wood-frame building, one-and-a-half or two stories in the front and one story in the rear. The double-pitched roof is short in the front and long in the rear, extending close to the ground.
Sash - The window unit (comprised of rails, stiles, lites, muntins) that fits inside the window frame.
SECOND EMPIRE -a style of architecture where the structure has a mansard roof, usually there are bonneted dormers in the curved section of the roof. It may be extravagantly ornate.
.
 The architecturaldictionary
Scuttle- An opening in the ceiling leading to an unfinished half-story. Often used for any opening to an attic.
Shed - A roof type with one high pitched plane covering the entire structure and is usually attached to an existing structure. One can find many shed structures attached to old barns. Click to enlarge image.
Sheathing- A covering over the structural frame of a building, onto which the cladding is attached. Typically 1/2"plywood it provides diagonal bracing to stabilize walls as well as a solid foundation for siding.
shutter- Originally an exterior cover for a window used for protection from weather and intruders. Now they are usually decorative on the exterior but interior shutters, usually louvered, are active.
Click to enlarge image.
Shutter Dogs - Small metal structures used to hold the shutters against the wall.
Click to enlarge image.
Sidelights- Windows on either side of a door.
The architecturaldictionary
Siding - The finished covering on the outside of non masonry walls of houses and buildings. Shingles, wood siding, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, stucco, etc.
Slate - A roof material made from slate, a hard, fine-grained, dense stone. It is split into thin sheets from a rock that cleaves into thin, smooth layers.Slates are then cut into small units to attach to roofs.
Click to enlarge image.
Sleepers- Joist set in concrete to provide nailing strips for flooring.
Smoke Chambers - The are immediately above the damper and smoke shelf of a fireplace in the chimney.
The architecturaldictionary
Smoke Shelf- A shelf at the base of the smoke chamber that provides proper smoke circulation within this chamber above the fireplace in the chimney.
Square-A unit of measure equal to 100 square feet. The 'square foot', and 'square yard' are measurements used by many tradesmen.
squinch-A device by which a round dome or drum is supported on a square or polygonal base. The squinch helps transition the weight of the drum or dome to the walls of the square or polygon. a small arch built across the interior angle of two walls (usually to support a spire) The architecturaldictionary
Stairwell- The area that is used by a stairway system. Sometimes it may be an enclosed area and sometimes may not.
The architecturaldictionary
String-course- Similar to a belt-course but thinner; a horizontal band or molding marking architectural subdivisions, such as stories- Small metal structures used to hold the shutters against the wall.
Click to enlarge image.
The architecturaldictionary
 Structuralism -Structuralism focused on the way that human behavior is determined by various structures.
stylobate-In classical Greek architecture it is the flat pavement, or floor of the building, on which the columns are placed.
Soffit - Usually refers to the material covering the 'Eave'.
The underside of a structural component, such as a beam, arch, staircase, or cornice.
the underside of a part of a building (such as an arch or overhang or beam etc.)
The underside of any construction element. Examples of soffits include: the underside of an arch or architrave (whether supported by piers or columns), the underside of a flight of stairs, under the classical entablature or the underside of the projecting cornice.
In modern architecture, a soffit can be installed on the underside of a ceiling to fill the space above the kitchen cabinets, at the corner of the ceiling and wall. Typically made from gypsum wallboard, over 2x4 studs.
Solarium- A room, gallery, or glassed-in porch exposed
solarium - a room enclosed largely with glass and affording exposure to the sun such as a glassed in porch. Usually with glass in roof.
Solariums today are commonly found in fast food restaurants.
Soldier course -A soldier course is one in which brick are laid standing on end with the narrow edge facing out. Used for decorative effects over door and window openings and in fireplace facings.
spandrel-A spandrel is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure. relating to the space between a curved figure and a rectangular boundary- such as the space between the curve of an arch and a rectilinear bounding moulding, or the space between the central medallion of a carpet and its rectangular corners, or the space between the circular face of a clock and the corners of the square revealed by its hood. Also included is the space under a flight of stairs.
Spandrel panel-In a building with more than one floor the term spandrel is also used to indicate the space between the top of the window in one story and the sill of the window in the story above. The term is typically employed when there is a sculpted panel or other decorative element in this space.
Spire- The pyramidal structure soaring from a tower or roof of a church.
strapwork- Decorative work, popular in northern Europe in the 16th and early 17th centuries, consisting of interlacing straplike bands, often used in low relief on ceilings, screens, and panels.
Any type of ornament consisting of narrow fillets or bands that are folded, crossed, or interlaced. 
Interlacing decorative bands found within gables; especially found in Tudor architecture and Tudor Revival, as well as in northern Europe.
• Jack Stud - A stud adding to the support of roof rafters. • king stud − full length stud around the opening • trimmer or jack − stud that supports the window or door header • cripple − short stud above a header or below a window sill Click to enlarge image.  surbase-A board or group of moldings running round a room on a level with the tops of the chair backs.
The architecturaldictionary
Tongue and Groove- A type of joinery used foor flooring, paneling, and wooden siding with the edge of one board fitting into the groove of the next.
TORUS - Convex, semi-circular molding, larger than an astrigal, often at the base of a column, which may be enriched with leaves or plaiting.
Tracery- Developed mainly in British cathedrals and developed by the French into curvilinear tracery of free, flowing curves. Found in Gothic architecture
tracery is constructed of net-like decorations around upper windowsOrnamental work of interlaced and branching lines. 
Transom- A window above a door. Originally a tilting sash above a door used for room ventilation. Usually any fixed sash above an entry door. 
trefoils- a term in Gothic architecture given to the ornamental foliation or cusping introduced in the heads of window-lights, tracery, panellings, etc., in which the center takes the form of a three-lobed leaf (formed from three partially-overlapping circles).
TREILLAGE- latticework used to support climbing plants. Usually called a trellis.
In classical architecture, the tympanum is an architectural element located within the arch or Pediment. Click to enlarge picture. 
Urbanism-the study of the imprint of cities - their geographic, economic, political, social and cultural environment- on the built environment. Urban planning, or Urbanism, is the practice of creating communities for living, work, and play in a high density population area that is significantly distinct from rural living and city-center living.
Veranda - An open roofed porch or balcony on the ground floor level.
Vernacular architecture- Architecture that is characteristic of an architectural period, a geographic area, or ethnic group.
Vergeboard- The ornament of woodwork upon the gable of a house. Another name for bargeboard
Villa- pretentious and luxurious country residence with extensive grounds
country house.
- A country house in ancient Rome consisting of residential quarters and farm buildings around a courtyard
country house.
VERDIGRIS- The common name for the green coating or patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time.
A finishing technique used for creating the illusion of distressed metal or oxidized copper.
Vernacular architecture-a term used to describe construction which uses locally available resources. The term is often used as a discription of unrefined construction.
Volute- A volute is a spiral scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order. It is found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Smaller versions, called helix, are on the Corinthian capital.
img SRC="http://www.fine-woodworking-for-your-home.com/images/Volute.jpg"align="middle"hspace="10"vspace="10" alt="Volute">
Vouissoir- one of the wedge-shaped pieces forming an arch or vault. A mason's term borrowed in Middle English from French verbs connoting a "turn", each wedge-shaped voussoir turns aside the thrust of the mass above, transferring it from stone to stone to the final edge, which is horizontal and passes the thrust to the supports.
Though each unit in an arch or vault is known as a voussoir, there are two specific voussoir components of an arch: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. Often decorated, embellished or exaggerated in size, no true arching action occurs until this unit is in place. The springer is the lowermost voussoir, located where the curve of the arch springs from the vertical support of wall or pier.
Volute-A carved whirl or twist that takes the form of a scroll as in the capital of Ionic columns. Also called a helix, this form is found in Baroque ornament, late Renaissance and Art Nouveau.
Waferboard- belongs to the subset of reconstituted wood panel products called flakeboards. It is a structural material made from rectangular wood flakes of controlled length and thickness bonded together with waterproof phenolic resin under extreme heat and pressure.
Click to enlarge image
WAINSCOT- Wood paneling or boards part way up a wall from the floor.
Wattle - A construction of poles intertwined with twigs, reeds, or branches, used for walls, fences, and roofs. Click to enlarge image
Wattle and Daub- Wattle and daub A woven latticework of wooden stakes called wattles is daubed with a mixture of clay and sand and sometimes animal dung and straw to create a structure.Click to enlarge image
Wedding Columns- Wedding columns are non-structural columns built as a set design for weddings.Click to enlarge image
wreathed columns - columns twisted in the shape of a screw or a helical column. Also called a Solomonic column or Barley-sugar column. Click to enlarge image To Top of Page
to American Architecture form ArchitecturalDictionary
|
