A
residential-style characterized by a steeply-pitched and
angled roof extended to ground-level giving the house an "A"
shape. Gained popularity between the mid-1950's through the
1970's. Typically inexpensive, the A-Frame utilizes natural
materials like wood and have many large windows on the front
and rear facades and is 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 stories. Because of
the the limited living space, these homes are most often
found as vacation homes frequently located in wooded areas,
in the mountains or by the beach.
Acre
A plot of land of total area
equaling 43,560 ft
Adam
Style
See Federal style
definition.
Adaptive Reuse
Is a process that adapts or
re-orders buildings for new uses but maintain its aesthetic
expression historically or otherwise.
Age of Specialization
With the Industrial Age came
advancements that removed many of the limitations that had
kept the master builder management structure in place. As
new materials and technologies were rapidly and increasingly
introduced, specialists were needed to resolve and implement
the complex aspects of electricity, lighting, ergonomics,
heating, cooling, ventilation, municipal waste systems,
water supply, automatic climate control, smart buildings,
and more; each of these systems is now designed by different
and separate professionals, and optimized in isolation.
Aisle
Subsidiary space alongside the
body of a building that is separated columns or posts
Air
Duct
Pipes that carry warm and cool
air back and forth to rooms and the climate control system.
Air
Plenum
Any
space used to convey air in a building, furnace, or
structure for heating, ventilation or air-conditioning. The
space above a suspended ceiling or beneath a raised floor is
often used as an air plenum.
Alcove
A small room or recessed opening out of a larger room or in a hollow space in a wall.
American Foursquare Houses
Post-Victorian
style which typically features a boxy, two-story form with
hipped roofs, dormers, front porches, deep overhangs, and
roomy interiors. Most decorative features were saved for the
front porch which could reflect either Colonial Revival
details or Bungalow elements.
Anchor
Any fastener used to attach
parts such as joists, trusses, posts, etc. to masonry or
concrete
Apron
Trim used under the stool on
interior windows: a driveway apron is the area, construction
or improvement between the curb cut or proposed curb line
and the back edge of walk line, to provide ingress and
egress for vehicles from the alley, street, or roadway to a
definite area of the private property.
Apse
Vaulted semicircular or
polygonal end of a chancel or chapel
Arcade
Passage or walkway covered over
by a succession of arches or vaults which are supported by
columns.
Arch
A curved structure that will
support itself and the weight above its curved opening by
mutual pressure
Architrave
In classic architecture:
lowest section of an entablature, which comes into
contact with the top of the columns.
Areaway
Below-grade recessed area
around the foundation to allow light and ventilation into
the basement window
Arris
Sharp edge formed when two
planes or surfaces meet
Art
Deco
An
architectural style popularized between 1925-1945 themed to
a machine-styled or futuristic motif predominately used in
small scale commercial buildings. Characteristics often
begin with an asymmetrical design which includes an emphasis
on verticality and low-relief geometrical ornamentation.
Chevrons, hallow fluted columns and muted polychromes are
common features. External materials include ornamental
metal-often bronze-granite or terra cotta with flat roofs
and irregularly placed but rectangular or squared sections.
Art
Moderne
Art
Moderne a type of architecture popular in the United States
from 1925 to around 1980; sometimes confused with Art Deco,
it uses horizontal orientation while Art Deco uses vertical
orientation. Features stripped down forms and
geometric-based ornament with a unique streamlined or wind
tunneled look, which is emphasized by the use of curved
window glass that curves around that corners of the
buildings. Some other characteristics of Art Moderne
buildings include rounded edges, corner windows, glass wall
blocks, mirrored panels, ribbon or band windows with metal
frames, string course along coping of wall, flat roof,
curved canopies, smooth wall finish, and railings,
balusters, and door and window trim all done with either
aluminum or stainless steel.
Ashlars
Masonry of large blocks cut
with even faces and square edges
Atrium
Open court within a building.
Attic
The space between the ceiling
and roof of a structure.
Attic Ventilators
In houses, screened openings
provided to ventilate an attic space.
Awning Window
Has sashes that are hinged at
the top, swings out at an angle, and resembles an awning
when open
The replacement of excavated
earth into a trench around and against a basement
foundation.
Backsplash
A vertical extension at the back of a counter or other working surface to protect the wall behind it.
Bahut
Dwarf-wall of plain masonry,
carrying the roof of a cathedral or church and masked or
hidden behind the balustrade
Balcony
A porch suspended or elevated from an upper level of a building having no outside access.
Balloon Framing
Also called eastern framing, is characterized by placement of the first floor joists directly upon the sill plate and the second
floor joists bearing on ledger strips set into the studs.
Baluster
One of the short posts or columns that support the railing of a staircase, balcony or terrace.
Balustrade
A row of balusters and the railing on them.
Banisters
The handrail of a staircase, balcony or terrace and its row of supports.
Bargeboard
The extended boards from a
gable end-often decorated in Victorian and Gothic
architecture.
Baroque
Flamboyant,
highly ornamented style of
architecture and art which was big and bold in form and
color. Baroque means means “irregular, contorted,
grotesque”. The style
started in Italy and Spain, as a post-Renaissance style and
was popular in Austria, Germany and Russia in the 1600s -
1750s. Some common characteristics include enormous curving
forms, elaborate facades, colonnades and domes.
Barrel vault
A vault with a simple semi-cylindrical roof found especially in Roman and Romanesque architecture.
Baseboard
Trim affixed at the base of an interior wall.
Basement
The lowest level of the house
that is mostly below the grade level
Basilica form
An
early Christian or medieval church of the type built esp. in
Italy, characterized by a plan including a nave, two or four
side aisles, a semicircular apse, a narthex, and often other
features, as a short transept, a number of small
semicircular apses terminating the aisles, or an atrium. The
interior is characterized by strong horizontality, with
little or no attempt at rhythmic accents. All spaces are
usually covered with timber roofs or ceilings except for the
apse or apses, which are vaulted.
Batten
Narrow strips of wood used to
cover joints or as decorative vertical members over plywood
or wideboards.
Bauhaus
A
social, political, art and architecture movement which arose
out of a school founded by Walter Gropius in Germany which
operated between 1919 to 1933. The term "Bauhaus" arises
from the German words for "to build" and "house." The
Bauhaus style of architectural design which was known as the
International style in the United States and brought into
prominence by German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is
typically identified by a number of characteristics. This
was a radical departure from the classicism and Victorianism
of the past and defined the start of the modernist era.
These characteristics include: a departure from
ornamentation, functionality, cubic, asymmetry, right angles
but liberality in use of rounded corners and balconies,
smooth, often white facades and open plans.
Tel Aviv has the largest
collection of buildings built in the International Style,
anywhere in the world.
Bays
Internal compartments of a
building; each divided from the other by subtle means such
as the boundaries implied by divisions marked in the side
walls (columns, pilasters, etc) or the ceiling (beams, etc).
Also external divisions of a building by fenestration
(windows)
Bay
Window
Any window space projecting
outward as a square or polygonally from the walls of a
building.
Beam
A structural member
transversely supporting a load.
Beam Ceiling
A ceiling in which the ceiling
beams are exposed to view
Bearing wall
Solid walls that support themselves and the weight of a floor and roof.
Beaux Arts
French
phrase meaning "fine arts"
it defined a very rich, lavish
and heavily ornamented classical style taught at L'Ecole des
Beaux Arts in Paris in the 19th century. In America, the
Beaux Arts flourished from about 1890 to 1920 and included
the French and Italian Renaissance and Neoclassical Revival
periods of architecture. Dominant features of this style are
typically large and grandiose compositions, wall surfaces
with decorative garlands and floral patterns with sculptural
ornamentation, symmetrical exterior, smooth stone walls of a
lighter tone, flat low-pitched roofs often mansard, paired
colossal columns, windows framed by freestanding columns, a
balustraded sill, a pedimented entablature on top and
free-sanding statuary.
Belfry
Chamber or stage in a tower
where bells are hung
Benchmark
In surveying, a mark made on a rock, post or other landmark and used as a starting point or guide in a line of levels for the
determination of altitudes.
Bids
Legal proposals to construct a project as defined in a contract.
Big-Box stores
A style of large (typically
50,000 -200,000 sq ft floor space) rectangular stand-alone
retail stores with flat roofs, and a single floor. Often
located in suburban or rural areas and is associated by
extension to the company behind the store.
Bilbao Effect
Phenomenon where an
architecturally spectacular structure is introduced into an
economically depressed or neglected region and singularly
revives interest in that locale.
Biophilic Design
Referred
to also as 'regenerative design' it is the innate,
hereditary affiliation of human beings to other living
organisms which incorporates the complementary goals of
minimizing harm and damage to natural systems and human
health as well as enriching the human body, mind and spirit
The essential idea is that nature can be incorporated and
mimicked in urban design and architecture, not just to save
energy, but to create human energy. Specific building
elements that figure prominently in a discussion of
biophilic architecture include organic forms; views to
nature; indoor greenery; natural lighting, ventilation, and
materials; and spatial and visual diversity.
Bistro
A small bar, tavern, or
nightclub or a small, informal restaurant serving wine
Blind
stop
In window frame assembly, a
rectangular molding, usually 3/4 x 1-3/4 inches or more in
width functioning as a stop for screen, storm or combination
windows and to hinder air flow into a room.
Blocking
Short, typically 2 x 4 members nailed between floor joists for added support.
Blueprint
A photographic print copy of building plans, mechanical drawings or maps that contrast blue outlines on a white background or
white outlines on a blue background.
Bonding
A technique used to lay bricks
in a wall so that the bricks will interlock.
Boss
The projecting keystone of a
ribbed vault, usually carved.
Bracing
Typically wood members attached to wall frames at an inclined angle to make them more rigid.
Bressumer
A large, horizontal beam
supporting the wall above, especially in a jettied building
Brick veneer
Brick facing attached to wood-framed walls.
Bridging
Short members placed between joists to prevent drift and warp and to help distribute loads more evenly.
Brise Soleil
Projecting fins or canopies
which shade windows from direct sunlight
Brutalism
A
modernist style of architecture which came into vogue
between the mid-1950's and mid-70's and characterized the
"raw concrete" style of Le Corbusier.Brutalist
buildings typically revealed their function, structure and
texture in the form of their exteriors. These facades often
reveal prominent, angular geometric forms with a rough,
blocky and possibly oversized appearance of various defining
features.
Building codes
A collection of laws to ensure that minimum building standards are met to safeguard life, health, property and the public
welfare.
Bull's-eye Window
Horizontally set, it is a
small oval window
Bungalow
A 1-1/2 story house of brick,
stone or wood shingles with low-pitched overhanging gables
with exposed beams and projecting brackets. Porches extend
across the front of the house and are supported by wide
squat or battered columns.
Buttress
Additional external support attached to the base of a wall or arch.
Overhanging or projecting
member supported at one fixed end.
Cape Cod
Architectural
style originating and prevalent in New England, now common
throughout the country. Typical characteristics of these
residences include 1-1/2-story symmetrical design, gable
roof with dormers, central chimney, double-hung windows with
shutters, batten board siding.
Casement
A window that typically is
operated by a hand crank and opens along its side.
Cathedral ceiling
A ceiling with exposed beams through which the sides of a sloping roof are visible.
Chateau Style
A
French castle, country manor, or large estate characterized
by massive and asymmetrical forms, steep hip or gable roofs
with dormers, towers, and elaborately decorated chimneys.
Chevrons
A
V-shaped pattern or zigzag molding or group of moldings
common in Norman architecture.
Chicago
Window
A
term designating a style of fenestration arising out of the
"Chicago School" of architecture featuring a three-part
window which produces a grid-like pattern defining the
building's facade. The unit consists of a large fixed
central pane to maximize natural light intake which is
flanked by smaller doubled side lights which are typically
double-hung for the purposes of ventilation.
Cincture
Ring,
list, or fillet at the top and bottom of a column, which
divides the shaft from the capital and base.
Citadel
A
natural or man-made
stronghold, often elevated and heavily fortified, from which
inhabitants can command or defend a city during siege or
attack.
Clapboard
Overlapping horizontal or
vertical siding.
Classical Revival
Classic
Revival signaled a return to the classical forms of Greece
and Rome following the elaborately decorated and picturesque
styles of the Victorian period. Dating from the late 1890s
through 1920, Classical Revival represents a more refined
stage of the Beaux Arts tradition and is evident mainly on
large institutional buildings.
Often, classical details such
as large column porticos are combined with Colonial Revival
elements on residences, leading to some confusion as to the
style. Characteristics
of Classical Revival include symmetrical facades, colossal
porticos, large columns, pilasters, pedimented windows, and
domes. The buildings are generally masonry structures of
monumental proportions, using terra cotta, brick, and stone
materials.
Clerestory
A portion of an interior,
rising above adjacent rooftops and with windows admitting
daylight.
Cloister
A place such as a religious
monastery devoted to seclusion; a covered walkway adjacent
to a building such as a lanai which face a quadrangle.
Closing costs
Legal tax insurance and lender’s costs paid by the owner before taking possession of a property.
Coffered ceiling
Ornamental
ceilings set with sunken grid-like or polygonal panels,
usually enhanced with decorative motifs. Depending on the
room and tastes of the homeowner, they can be designed to be
simple yet substantial or elaborate and very detailed. This
application is often used in home offices, libraries and
dens. They are also becoming more popular in kitchens and
dining rooms.
Colonial-revival
See Georgian-revival.
Colonnade
A row of columns, usually
supporting a roof of arches.
Column
A circular or rectangular
vertical support structure consisting of a base, shaft, and
capital.
Compression force
A type of force that exerts a crushing pressure on a structure.
Coniferous
Cone-bearing trees such as evergreens and pines which retain their foliage all year round.
Contemporary
architecture
Not
to be confused with Modern Architecture which points to a
period in the mid-19th century sometimes referred to as the
International Style defined by architects such as Mies van
der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Corbusier in the forefront.
Contemporary architecture is of course open to varying
interpretations but generally refers to a design philosophy
which is post-modern and deconstructivist. It is typically
expresses by new technologies, asymmetrical forms with an
emphasis on extensive floor-to-ceiling fenestration for
natural light, flat roofs, smooth exteriors often utilizing
new sustainable materials and open plans.
Contracts
Legal agreements between two or more parties.
Coping
A cap or top course of a
masonry wall used to protect areas beneath it from water
penetration.
Corbel
A bracket of stone or other
building material which projects from the face of a wall in
supporting a cornice, shelf, beam, arch or other such
weight.
Cornice
Ornamental strip of molding
along the upper exterior edge of a wall.
Cotswold Architecture
A
variation of English Tudor-style design. More modernized
versions were popularized in the United States around the
1920's and 1930's. Typical features of these homes include
an asymmetrical form, stone, brick or stucco exteriors,
sloping roof sometimes constructed with slate, cedar or
pseudo-thatch materials, irregular roof lines, steep cross
gables, small dormer windows, massive chimneys, small
casement fenestration often recessed, low or arched doors,
and a closed plan with small atypically-shaped spaces.
Courtyard
An outdoor space enclosed by walls in or near a building.
Craftsman-style Bungalow
With
its historical roots in the American artistic movement known
as "Arts and Crafts," the Craftsman style home, often seen
as a bungalow, is a late 19th and early 20th century style
characterized by attentive, manual refinement and a lack of
machine-driven appearance. The design elements
look to nature, local
materials, local (nationalist or native) building
traditions. The house layout emphasizes the horizontal,
rather than multiple stories, typically one to
one-and-a-half stories, with a long sloping roof line and a
wide, exposed beams and rafters, sheltering overhang, wide
porches and dark and heavy woodwork.
Crawlspace
The unfinished, typically
shallow area beneath the first floor of a house.
Cricket
Also called a saddle is
an additional flashing support at the intersection of the
chimney's high side and the roof. The cricket prevents
debris, snow and ice from piling up behind the chimney. The
cricket also deflects water running down the roof around the
chimney.
Cripples
Short structural wood members which allow floor levels to be raised without raising the foundation height.
Cross
Bracing
Boards nailed diagonally
across studs or other boards to make framework rigid.
Cul-de-sac
Street which dead ends with a
circular turn around.
Cupola
A small dome or tower of a roof, especially a small often squared tower on a barn with louvered sides to allow air flow.
Curtain wall
Exterior panels such as glass used to cover the frame of a structure but provides no structural support.
Weight of building materials and permanently installed components on a structure.
Damper
A door which separates the firebox from the flue area assisting in the flow of air and expelling of smoke.
Deciduous
Trees which maximize summer cooling and winter heating by retaining their leaves in summer and losing their leaves in winter.
Deck
An open elevated platform attached to a building to add exterior living space.
Deconstructivism
An approach to building design
which attempt to view architecture in bits and pieces. The
basic elements of architecture are dismantled. Deconstructivist
buildings may seem to have no logic: They may seem to be
made up of unrelated, disharmonious abstract forms.
Deed
A legal certificate of property ownership.
Dipteral
Temples which have a double
range of columns in the peristyle.
Dome
A vaulted structure with a
circular plan usually a half portion of a sphere.
Door
Jamb
The frame that fits inside the
rough opening of a door.
Dormer
Structure projecting from a
sloping roof to accommodate a window.
Double-Hung
Window
Has two sashes; the weight of
each sash is usually counterbalanced or friction devices can
be used to hold the sashes in the desired positions
Downspout
A vertical, typically metal
pipe designed to direct rainwater flow away from a roof.
Drip
cap
A molding placed on the
exterior top side of a door or window frame to direct water
drippage away from a frame.
Ducts
Rectangular or round metal
pipes functioning to channel cooled or heated air from room
to room throughout a house or building from a conditioning
unit or heating plant respectively.
Dutch
Colonial Revival
A
variation of the Colonial style, most Dutch Colonial Revival
homes were built of wood, brick, or stone (or, occasionally
a combination), with a barn-like shingle gambrel roof, a a
simple floor plan behind an often no-nonsense façade. The
house features a symmetrical plan that flanks a central
door, often leading to a central hallway with flanking
rooms.
Duplex
Outlet
Electrical
wall outlet having two plug receptacles.
Dwarf
Wall
A low wall built to retain an
excavation or embankment
Vertical board nailed on the
ends of the rafters at the eave line.
Faux
Finish
Wood-graining, marbleizing, or
other painted finishes that are replicating the look of a
natural material.
Federal (Adam) Style
The
Federal or Adam style was a dominant style in the United
states around the period of 1780-1820's. It came about as a
refining development of the earlier Georgian style house
plans. The term Adam style has it's roots in the work of the
Adam brothers, who at the time of this style's popularity,
had a large architectural firm in Britain. The federal
colonial home plans or Adam house plans are most commonly a
simple box like the Georgian colonial homes. It is usually a
two story with two or more rooms deep. Windows and doors are
always arranged in a symmetrical pattern. What makes the
federal home plans different from other colonial house plans
is that the simple box may be modified with oval-shaped
rooms, recessed wall arches and projecting wings on one or
both sides.
Identifying features of the federal house plans include
fanlight over the front door with or without sidelights. The
fanlight is usually a semi-circular or elliptical shape. The
front door is often emphasized with decorative mouldings.
The windows are double-hung sashes with 6 panes per sash and
are aligned horizontally and vertically in a symmetrical
pattern five rank on the front facade. The windows are never
in pairs; Palladian windows are common above the front
door and are typically sectioned in three parts. The roofs
are mostly hipped and can be seen gabled as well. Federal
style house plans are commonly seen with and without covered
entries.
Fenestration
Arrangement of windows or
openings in a wall.
Feng-Shui
System of spirit
influences for good and evil believed by the Chinese to
attend the natural features of landscape.
Feretory
Enclosure or chapel within
which the fereter, shrine, or tomb was placed
Finial
An ornament, such as one on top of a roof, the corner of a tower, end of a pew or top of a bedpost.
Fire
stop
Typically 2 x 4 cross-blocking
between studs positioned in a space to prevent the spread of
fire and smoke through that same location.
Flue
An opening in a chimney which allows smoke to travel upwards and out from the smoke chamber.
Flagstone
Flat stone used for floors,
steps, walks, driveways or walls.
Flashing
Sheet metal or any additional
covering used over a roof joint to provide complete
waterproofing.
Floor Joists
Horizontal framing members
which rests on interior beams or girders or on foundation
walls placed typically 16 inches apart to support a floor
system .
Flying Buttress
Helps support the sides of a wall without adding additional support.
Foreclosure
To take possession of property after the default of loan payments.
Footing
The concrete base upon which a
foundation rests.
Foundation
The concrete or masonry
structure, typically below grade upon which a structure is
built.
Foursquare
Popular
in the early 20th century, this was one of the earliest
examples of Prairie-style houses. Often seen as a stripped
down version of the Italianate and Georgian architectural
styles. Common characteristics include a symmetrical plan, a
hipped or pyramid-shaped roof with dormers, overhanging
eaves, a front porch, double-hung sash windows, exterior can
be frame, brick or stone.
Foyer
An entrance hall or interior waiting area near an entry; anteroom.
French
Provincial
An
architectural type originating in the of rural manor homes,
or chateaus, built by the French nobles during the reign of
Louis XIV in the mid-1600s. The French Provincial design was
a popular Revival style in the 1920s and in the1960s. It
features steep, massive hipped roofs, French windows or
shutters, often a symmetrical appearance, tall second-story
windows have low curved heads which break through the
cornice, exterior materials are brick, slate, copper,
and concrete block.
Frieze
The wide often decorative
(bas-reliefs, sculpted or painted) central section area of
an entablature.
Frostline
The depth of frost penetration
in soil which determines the depth of footing placement to
minimize movement of the house or structure and varies from
region to region.
The portion of the roof above
the eaves line of a double-sloping roof.
Gabel End
The extension of a gable roof
beyond the end wall of the house; also called a rake.
Gadrooning
Carved or curved molding used
in architecture and interior design as decorative motif,
often consisting of flutes which are inverted and curved.
Popular during the Italian Renaissance
Galleting
The process in which the
gallets or small splinters of stone are inserted in the
joints of coarse masonry to protect the mortar joints. They
are stuck in while the mortar is wet
Gargoyle
A carved figure of a
grotesquely human or animal appearance, particularly one
with an open-mouth spout.
Garrett
An attic or unfinished part of
a house just under the roof.
Gazebo
A separate or stand-alone porch, often round, frequently screened-in area with a cover, usually a canvas for outdoor enjoyment.
Gentrification
Restoration and upgrading
of deteriorated urban property by middle class or
affluent people, often resulting in displacement of
lower-income people.
Georgian Revival
Architectural
style prevalent in the late 19th to mid-20th century was
sometimes referred to as Colonial-revival. Dominate
features include a symmetrical form with classical details,
a central and paneled front door with elaborate decorative
crowns or entablatures, pilasters, double-hung windows,
hipped or gambrel roof, and a decorative cornice.
Glazing
Placing of glass in windows or
doors.
Gothic
Of or relating to an
architectural style prevalent in Western Europe from the
12th through the 15th century and
characterized by pointed arches, rig vaulting, and a
developing emphasis on verticality and the impression of
height.
Grade
The surface of ground around a
building.
Greek Revival Style
An
adaptation of the Greek temple front. Popular in mid 1800's
America. Typical features of this architectural style
include the use of columns and/or pilasters supporting entry
or full-width porticos, low pitched gable or hip roof with
pediments, wide entablatures often divided into two parts,
frieze windows, and cornice returns on gabled ends. Doorways
were often flanked by narrow sidelights and a rectangular
transom above.
Green Architecture
Creating
the most energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly
building possible, by using such things as double paned
windows, hay bale-insulated walls, advanced heat movement
and airflow design, low compact building location and
"sustainable" construction techniques, solar panels, garden
roofs, and renewable building materials.
Greenhouse Effect
Buildup of heat created when
sunlight falls on trapped air.
Guilloche
An
ornament used in classical architecture formed by two or
more bands twisted together in a continuous series. The
openings between the bands can be filled with ornaments.
Gusset
A bracket or plate used to reinforce the joints of a structure.
Gutter
A
trough attached to the sides and around the eave of a
building to carry off water.
Gypsum
board
Typically referred to as
drywall or sheetrock; it is a widely used construction
material in the building industry consisting of gypsum
plaster layered between paper or fiberboard and is used to
construct interior walls and ceilings.
Bathroom that contains only a
lavatory and water closet.
Header
Horizontal supporting members above door and window openings that serve as lintel or one or more pieces of lumber supporting the
ends of a joists.
Hearth
The floor area in front of a fireplace typically extending 16” beyond the firebox face to help in the prevention of fire
spreading outside the firebox.
Hip
Rafter
The diagonal rafter that
extends from the plate to the ridge to form the hip
Hip
Roof
A roof that rises by inclined
planes from all four sides of a building.
Human
scale
That which accommodates or
takes into consideration how individuals can comfortably
relate to and interact with a structural environment in
terms of its proportionality, visibility, accessibility, and
desirability.
Structural steel beam with an I-shaped cross section.
Italianate
The
Italianate style was derived from the villas of the Italian
countryside. Two full stories, low-pitched hip roofs with
cupolas, and expansive overhangs supported by decorative
brackets are typical features of the style. These houses
often had small porches and double entrance doors. Interior
spaces were large with tall ceilings and massive decorative
features.
The Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design Green Building Rating System™ is the
nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction,
and operation of high performance green buildings.
Light Reflectance Value (LRV)
A measurement commonly used in
interior decorating and design, which expresses the
percentage of light that is reflected from a surface. LRV is
frequently included on the backs of paint chips or samples
and is also used by lighting designers to calculate the
number and type of light fixtures needed to give a certain
amount of light for interior spaces.
Lally
Column
A steel column used as a
support for girders and beams.
Lanai
The Hawaiian term for a covered exterior passageway or porch.
Landing
The floor area at either end
of the stairs and possible at some point between, as in the
case of L stairs; a platform between flights of stairs or at
the termination of a flight of stairs
Lien
A legal document used to take or hold the property of a debtor.
Lintel
Horizontal structural member across the top of a door or window opening that supports the weight of the wall above that opening.
Live load
The force on a building that includes the weight of all impermanent and movable objects, i.e. people, furniture, snow and wind
forces.
Loggia
Open passage covered by a roof.
Lookouts
Short rafters placed perpendicular to the first or second common rafters.
Louvers
Straight or slanted horizontal
panels of glass, wood, etc. in windows or doors designed to
admit or restrict light or air.
The shelf above a fireplace;
also used in referring to the decorative trim around the
fireplace opening
Mansard roof
A hip roof with two slopes on
all four sides with a steeper lower slope, typically
containing dormer windows and an upper slope which ends in a
squared peak; this
style of roof increases the head room in the attic space and
provides an additional story; this is one of the defining
features on Second Empire buildings.
Masonry
Stone, brick, concrete, hollow
tile, concrete block, or other similar building units or
materials or a combination or the same, bonded together with
mortar to form a wall, pier, buttress or similar mass.
Massing
The act of composing or
manipulating three-dimensional forms into a unified,
coherent whole or architectural configuration.
McMansion
Current slang in homebuilding taking off on the “supersized” theme of fast food outlets where a generic oversized
home typically over 5000 sq. ft. is crammed onto a small suburban lot often dwarfing homes around it.
Mezzanine
An intermediate floor between
the main floors of a building.
Minaret
Spires
with onion-shaped crowns, usually either free standing or
much taller than any surrounding support structure.
Minimalism
In architecture, a term which
expresses a movement or design philosophy where a structure
is stripped to its bare essentials or reduced to its
necessary elements.
Molding
Ornamental strip, typically
made of wood for decorating or finishing a wall, surface or
door.
Mortgage
A loan contracted out for the purpose of purchasing real estate property.
Mullion
a vertical bar dividing the panes (lights) of a window or between other decorative. surfaces
Muntin
A bar which holds the panes of glass in a window within the sash.
Muqarna
A
type of decorative corbel used in Islamic architecture that
in some circumstances, resembles stalactites
Or
"new" classical, architecture defines structures which are
inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome.
This architectural style is a product of the neoclassical
movement that began in the mid-18th century in Europe and
arose as a reaction against the Rococo style and some
aspects of Baroque. Typical features include external
symmetry, grandiose columns in the Doric or Roman order,
triangular pediments, domed roofs, and white facades.
Neoclassicism found a common application in the U.S. among
government and university buildings.
Neo-eclectic architecture
A
Neo-eclectic home can be difficult to describe because it
combines many styles. The shape of the roof, the design of
the windows, and decorative details may be inspired by
several different periods and cultures. Features of
Neo-eclectic Homes: constructed in the 1960s or later,
historic styles imitated using modern materials like vinyl
or imitation stone, details from several historic styles
combined, details from several cultures combined, brick,
stone, vinyl, and composite materials combined. In the
Midwest, these houses are typically abundant in suburban
regions.
New
Urbanist
A
design movement whose philosophy is to reform all aspects of
real estate development and urban planning through promotion
of "walkable" neighborhoods and diverse, affordable housing
and jobs.
Newel
A
post to which the end of a stair railing or balustrade is
fastened.
Nosing
A horizontal edge that projects over a vertical surface, such as the edge of a stair tread.
Floor plan featuring open and free flowing movement between living areas minimizing the use of enclosing interior partitions and
doors.
Organic Architecture
Design concept where
materials, colors, forms and environmental relationships to
a structure are harmonized and coordinated with its
surroundings and nature.
Orientation
The position of a building in relation to the sun, wind, views, etc.
Overhang
The part of a roof that extends beyond the outer walls.
A large window divided into 3
parts consisting of two smaller parts and an arched center
section.
Panel
In residential construction, a
thin flat piece of wood, plywood, or similar material,
framed by stiles and rails, as in a door, or fitted into
grooves or thicker material with molded edges for decorative
wall treatment.
Parapet
A low wall or barrier at the edge of a balcony, roof, bridge, etc.
Partition
A wall that subdivides spaces within any story of a
building.
Patio
An open exterior living space adjacent to a building. Spanish for courtyard.
Pavilion
A light, sometimes ornamental
roofed structure, used for amusement or shelter, as at parks
or fairs, also a large structure housing sports or
entertainment facilities; an arena; a structure or another building
connected to a larger building; an annex.
Pediment
A triangular gable across a
door, window, portico, fireplace, etc. with some broken at
the apex, base or both a common feature of Greek,
Greek-revival, Colonial & Colonial-revival, Neoclassical,
Italianate, Italian Renaissance-revival.
Phasing
The delaying or prolonging the
completion of parts of a building or landscaping project
over a period of years due to insufficient capital or time.
Pier
A masonry pillar usually below a building to support the
floor framing; piers are shorter than columns.
Pier
Foundation
A foundation system consisting
of piers and footings on which support a structure.
Pilaster
Shallow rectangular feature
projecting from a wall having a capital and a base treated
as an ornament or support.
Pillar
Upright, slender shaft or
structure, used alone or as a building support.
Pilotis
Supports such as columns,
pillars, stilts, by which a building is elevated over what
lies beneath such as water, etc.
Pitch
The ratio of the rise to the span of a roof.
Planceer
Building element sometimes
used in the same sense as a soffit, but more correctly
applied to the soffit of the corona in a cornice
Plenum
Enclosed space inside of which
the air pressure is greater than it is outside.
Plywood
Thin sheets of wood laminated together with an adhesive under high pressure to make a wood product frequently used in
sub-flooring, roofing, etc.
Porch
A covered often enclosed platform constructed of the exterior’s building materials or glass, screens and posts and railings
leading to a building entrance.
Porte
Cochere
French for an attached covered
entryway to a building large enough for a vehicle to pass
through in order to shelter exiting passengers typical in
Renaissance and Renaissance revival periods of architecture.
Portico
A porch or covered walk formed by a roof supported by columns.
Prairie-style
architecture
In
an effort to create an organic architecture, Frank Lloyd
Wright designed this type of residence to integrate
seamlessly with its surroundings. It is characterized by
strong horizontal lines, one-story sometimes cantilevered
projections, belt-courses between the stories, oversized
eaves, earth-toned colors, open interiors, rows of small
windows typically art glass, and low-pitched roofs.
Pre-fabricated
Major components such as walls, partitions and decks assembled off site at a factory.
Pre-stressing
Compressing concrete to
sustain compression of a structural member during loading.
Preservation
The act or processes of
applying measures to sustain the existing form, integrity,
and material of a building or structure, and the existing
form and vegetative cover of a site. It may include initial
stabilization work, where necessary, as well as ongoing
maintenance of the historic building materials.
Primer
The first application of paint
to a surface in preparation for additional coats.
Proscenium: Proscenium
Arch
The area of a stage between
the curtain and the orchestra pit: the architectural arch
which encloses the curtain.
Pueblo (Adobe) Style
Pueblo
Revival houses became popular in the early 1900s and are
still a popular style in the southwestern regions of the
United States. Since
ancient times, Pueblo Indians built large, multi-family
houses, which the Spanish called pueblos (villages). In the
17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish made their own Pueblo
homes, but they adapted the style. They formed the adobe
into sun-dried building blocks. After stacking the blocks,
the Spaniards covered them with protective layers of mud.
Modern-day Pueblos might not
be made of adobe. Instead, some contemporary adobe homes
have massive, round-edge walls made with concrete blocks or
other materials covered with adobe, stucco, plaster, or
mortar. Also typical of this style are flat roofs,
rounded parapets, stepped levels, deep windows and door
openings, porches and enclosed patios.
A
domestic style of architecture originating in the 1870's and
1880's in England and in the United States which borrows
various elements from English Renaissance, Flemish, Tudor
Gothic and is based on the cottage Elizabethan and country
house-style. Characteristics include an asymmetrical
two-story design with a wrap-around veranda, a front-facing
gable, spindlework, finials, a turret, horizontal siding,
bargeboards, steeply pitched roofs, extensive decorative and
ornamental features.
Quoin
A stone forming an outside angle of a wall, typically for decorative purposes; also a wedge-shaped block of wood, metal or stone
used in building, especially one of the stones in the curve of an arch.
Quonset Hut
A prefabricated building of corrugated metal, shaped like a half cylinder.
Essential framing member for the structural formation of a roof.
Rake
The extension of a gable roof
beyond the end of the house; also called a gable end.
Ranch
Also
known as the California Ranch, was a dominate style in
suburban America during the 50's and 60's. This single-level
design is asymmetrical, characterized by an "L" or
"U"-shaped plan which is typically open, the exterior often
has large picture windows, a low-pitched hipped roof,
moderate or wide eave overhangs, and wood, brick, stone or
stucco used as facade materials. Many ranches contained
patios and carports. The split-level variation arose from
the common ranch to accommodate for the need of additional
space and privacy.
In architectural Drawing, the
backside or rear view of an object, building or structure.
Recessed Lighting
Lights set into the surface of a wall or ceiling.
Reinforcing
bars
Also called rebars;
Steel bars added to concrete slabs, columns, and beams to
enable them to resist tension forces.
Renaissance Revival Style
The
Renaissance Revival style is based on the 16th-century
architecture of Renaissance Italy and France, with
additional elements borrowed from Ancient Greek and Roman
architecture. Renaissance Revival is a general term which
encompasses the various Italian Renaissance Revival and
French Renaissance Revival styles. The Renaissance Revival
style was popular during two separate phases. The first
phase, or the First Renaissance Revival, was from about 1840
to 1885, and the Second Renaissance Revival, which was
characterized by larger and more elaborately decorated
buildings, was from 1890 to 1915. Due to the expensive
materials required and the elaborate style, Renaissance
Revival was best suited for public and commercial buildings,
and very grand homes for the wealthy. This style is often
typified by a symmetrical facade, smooth stone or stucco
walls, low-pitched hip or Mansard roof with balustrades,
horizontal stone banding between floors, a series of arched,
recessed openings, columns, grouped or singular decorative
crests on facade; Palladian windows or openings which are
ornately carved stone trim, and wide eaves with large
brackets.
Rendering
Architectural
drawing showing perspective to be used for presentations.
Reveal
The
side opening for a window or door, between the frame and the
outer surface of the wall.
Richardsonian
Romanesque
Style
of Romanesque Revival-style architecture almost exclusively
proliferated by Henry Hobson Richardson during the late 19th
century. Popular with public buildings i.e. libraries,
courthouses, churches, university buildings, etc., this
style features round broad arches framing windows and door
openings, deep reveals, massive stone walls, unique
sculptured shapes in stone, short columns, a heavy massing,
and typically one tower and sometimes two.
Ridge
The top edge of the roof where
two slopes meet.
Ridgeboard
Also referred to as a ridgebeam is the uppermost member in a roof’s framework serving the central anchor for the primary rafters.
Right
side Elevation
In architectural Drawing, the
right side an object, building or structure.
Rise
The vertical distance of a
roof measured from the top of the wall plate to the
underside of the rafters; also, distance form the top
surface of one tread to the same position on the next tread.
Riser
The vertical part of a stair step where the toe
would hit.
Riser
Walls
A short wall that supports the
entire dome structure while providing additional headroom on
the second floor.
Rococo
The
Some historians argue that the
Rococo is a style, but others claim that the Rococo is not a
style in its own right, like the Baroque, but the last phase
of the Baroque. The latter group would argue that the great
breaks in European art and thought took place at the
beginning of the Baroque and again at the beginning of
Neoclassicism. The
Rococo is chiefly represented
by a type of decoration initiated in France, by lightness in
color and weight, where the Baroque had been dark and
ponderous, and, in south Germany and Austria, by a great
spatial complexity, which, however, is the direct
continuation of the complexity of Baroque. Rococo is often
asymmetrical and abstract with shell-like, coral-like forms
and many curves naturalistic flowers, branches, trees, whole
rustic scenes.
Roof
Sheathing
The panels of boards laid on
the rafters of a roof to which shingles of other such
covering material is laid.
Rough opening
Unfinished framed opening somewhat larger than the window or door intended to fit into it.
Run
It is the horizontal distance
covered by a flight of stairs or the width of a step or the
horizontal measurement in calculating the slope of a roof.
Rusticated
Masonry
cut in large blocks separated by deep joints, used to give a
bold, exaggerated look to the lower part of an exterior
wall, or to frame a door or window.
Rusticated masonry is
squared-off and left with a more or less rough surface, with
a deep "V" or square joint or with finished flanking corners
that emphasize the edges of each block. Rustication gives a
texture which contrasts with smooth ashlar masonry.
Rustication is often used to give visual weight to the
ground floor in contrast to smooth ashlar above.
The part of a window that
slides up and down in grooves formed in the window frame;
contains one or more lights of glass
Sconce
A bracket projecting from a wall, used to hold a candle or other light source.
Scupper
A
drainage opening in a wall, parapet or curb. Also, any
downspout or flat roof drain which typically is connected to
a downspout.
Scuttle Hole
A small opening used to access
an attic or crawl space.
Second Empire-Style
Style
named from the reign of Napoleon III of France (1852-1870)
characterized by its signature mansard roof often with
dormer windows, rounded cornices, cupolas, tall first story
windows and a small entry porch.
Septic Tank
Tank in which sewage is
processed by bacteria and the liquids are allowed to seep
into the ground.
Shake
A thick hand-split shingle,
re-sawed to form an additional edge-grained shingle.
Sheathing
Typically wood or plywood boards placed over the exterior of stud or rafter framework as a covering.
Shed
Roof
A flat roof, slanting in only
one direction.
Shingle
Style
Shingle
Style, built from about 1880 to 1900 and is distinguished by
the fact that the house is covered nearly 100% by shingles,
sometimes including even the porch pillars. The style
evolved out of the Queen Anne style, its overall effect is
simpler and quieter, with more emphasis on volume and
horizontal lines and less variety in color and materials,
also features little to no external decoration, roomy
porches, and a complex roofline. The Shingle Style is
considered to be a completely original American style, with
no direct European antecedents.
Shoe
Mold
The small mold (trim) against
the baseboard at the floor.
Shoji
The
architectural term for the traditional Japanese sliding
screen doors, room dividers or windows made of translucent
paper framed within a bamboo or wood grid. Although
washitsu is the paper traditionally used for these
doors, in contemporary construction processes a hybrid form
of paper is substituted in addition to the use of plastic.
Additionally, shoji construction would not comprise the
exterior surface of a building.
Sill plates
Structural members fastened to the top of foundation walls providing the base for attaching floor systems to foundations.
Slope
Ratio of the rise of a roof to
the run.
Solarium
A room or porch where people can live or sit in the sunlight
Soleplate
Also called "bottom plate,"
refers to a horizontal wooden framing member affixed to a
subfloor upon which vertical studs or partitions are aligned
and fastened.
Soffit
Underside of an overhang, such
as the edge of a rook.
Span
Full distance between outer
walls supporting the roof.
Spanish Colonial Revival
Style
An
architectural style based on the Spanish Colonial style
prevalent throughout the early Spanish colonies in North and
South America. This style is closely related to the
Mission-revival and Pueblo styles of the American West and
Southwest borrowing details from Spanish and Mexican
architecture. Typical features include a ranch-style plan,
stucco or smooth exterior facades, colorful low-pitched or
flat terra cotta roofs, arched arcades and windows, tall
wood casement or double-hung windows with multiple lights,
decorative iron trim.
Specifications
(specs) detailed written instructions describing the requirements for construction of information not included in a drawing,
schedule, materials list or legal document.
Steel frame construction
An open structural frame using steel members to which wall coverings (curtain walls) are attached transmitting loads through
columns.
Stick
Style
A
Victorian residential style considered be transitional
between Gothic and Queen Anne architecture and is also
referred to as Eastlake. Typical characteristics of these
buildings include slender horizontal, vertical and diagonal
planks or "stickwork" placed on the exterior facade, steep
roof gables, rectangular in form, ornamental trusses,
decorative braces & brackets.
Stoop
A landing surface projected from the entrance of a building.
Stucco
Cement-based material used as
an exterior surface finishing application.
Sub-floor
Decking materials (plywood, concrete, steel, etc) utilized as the initial covering over floor joists.
Sommer or Summer
Girder or main "summer beam"
of a floor: if supported on two storey posts and open below,
also called a "bressummer." Often found at the centerline of
the house to support one end of a joist, and to bear the
weight of the structure above.
Sustainability
A process, attitude or
movement associated with environmentally-conscious design
with a view toward a more human and natural environment.
(Tax Increment Financing)
municipal government financial incentives provided to
attract or retain businesses which comes from the growth in
property tax revenues — the tax increment.
Terra cotta
Latin for “cooked or baked
earth,” hard-fired clay used for facings
and ornaments.
Terrace
A tiled or paved outdoor living space near a building or on the flat roof of a house used for lounging or dining
Terrazzo
Marble or stone chips in
mortar grinded together to polished level surface.
Threshold
The entrance to a house or building.
Topography
The physical characteristics
of the land on a site.
Transom
A small window above a door or other larger window.
Tread
The horizontal part of a step upon which the foot rests.
Traditional
Architecture
See
Neoclassical.
Truss
Prefabricated,
triangular-shaped unit used to support roof loads over long
spans.
Tudor-style
The
Tudor style house was derived from early English sources.
Steeply-pitched roofs, decorative half-timbering and
casement windows are commonly found on most variations.
Interiors are frequently dark with stained trim,
wainscotings, and doors. The hardware and lighting fixtures
are often wrought or simulated wrought iron.
Turret
A small tower, often on the corner of a building or a rounded addition to an angle of a building.
The diagonal rafter at the
intersection of two intersecting roof frames.
Vault
Passageway or room formed by a
series of arches.
Venturi Effect
Created when large amounts of
moving air are forced into narrow openings.
Vestibule
Entrance hall 2.small room or
hall between an outer door and the main part of the
building.
Victorian architecture
Period architecture between
1640 and 1900 with incorporated or consisted of many style
variations. Some of the more prominent ones include:
Queen Anne, Gothic
Revival, Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, Stick,
Eastlake, Second Empire, Shingle, Folk.
Voussoir
A
wedge-shaped stone of which an arch or vault is formed.
The lower portion of an
interior wall when composed of a different finish or
material i.e. tile, papering or paneling in contrast to the
upper portion of the wall.
Wind load
The exertion of horizontal pressure upon a roof usually combined with snow loads to define live loads measured in pounds per
square foot.
Law or
regulation defining the type of structure that can be built
in a certain area in order to provide safety and convenience
for the public and to preserve or improve the environment.
If you have a term that you feel could be a useful addition to our list, send it in (with the source) to
archtionary@chicagoarchitecturetoday.com and we’ll try to accommodate it.
A
residential-style characterized by a steeply-pitched and
angled roof extended to ground-level giving the house an "A"
shape. Gained popularity between the mid-1950's through the
1970's. Typically inexpensive, the A-Frame utilizes natural
materials like wood and have many large windows on the front
and rear facades and is 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 stories. Because of
the the limited living space, these homes are most often
found as vacation homes frequently located in wooded areas,
in the mountains or by the beach. 
Any
space used to convey air in a building, furnace, or
structure for heating, ventilation or air-conditioning. The
space above a suspended ceiling or beneath a raised floor is
often used as an air plenum.
Post-Victorian
style which typically features a boxy, two-story form with
hipped roofs, dormers, front porches, deep overhangs, and
roomy interiors. Most decorative features were saved for the
front porch which could reflect either Colonial Revival
details or Bungalow elements.
An
architectural style popularized between 1925-1945 themed to
a machine-styled or futuristic motif predominately used in
small scale commercial buildings. Characteristics often
begin with an asymmetrical design which includes an emphasis
on verticality and low-relief geometrical ornamentation.
Chevrons, hallow fluted columns and muted polychromes are
common features. External materials include ornamental
metal-often bronze-granite or terra cotta with flat roofs
and irregularly placed but rectangular or squared sections. 
Art
Moderne a type of architecture popular in the United States
from 1925 to around 1980; sometimes confused with Art Deco,
it uses horizontal orientation while Art Deco uses vertical
orientation. Features stripped down forms and
geometric-based ornament with a unique streamlined or wind
tunneled look, which is emphasized by the use of curved
window glass that curves around that corners of the
buildings. Some other characteristics of Art Moderne
buildings include rounded edges, corner windows, glass wall
blocks, mirrored panels, ribbon or band windows with metal
frames, string course along coping of wall, flat roof,
curved canopies, smooth wall finish, and railings,
balusters, and door and window trim all done with either
aluminum or stainless steel.
Flamboyant,
highly ornamented style of
architecture and art which was big and bold in form and
color. Baroque means means “irregular, contorted,
grotesque”. The style
started in Italy and Spain, as a post-Renaissance style and
was popular in Austria, Germany and Russia in the 1600s -
1750s. Some common characteristics include enormous curving
forms, elaborate facades, colonnades and domes.
An
early Christian or medieval church of the type built esp. in
Italy, characterized by a plan including a nave, two or four
side aisles, a semicircular apse, a narthex, and often other
features, as a short transept, a number of small
semicircular apses terminating the aisles, or an atrium. The
interior is characterized by strong horizontality, with
little or no attempt at rhythmic accents. All spaces are
usually covered with timber roofs or ceilings except for the
apse or apses, which are vaulted.
A
social, political, art and architecture movement which arose
out of a school founded by Walter Gropius in Germany which
operated between 1919 to 1933. The term "Bauhaus" arises
from the German words for "to build" and "house." The
Bauhaus style of architectural design which was known as the
International style in the United States and brought into
prominence by German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe is
typically identified by a number of characteristics. This
was a radical departure from the classicism and Victorianism
of the past and defined the start of the modernist era.
These characteristics include: a departure from
ornamentation, functionality, cubic, asymmetry, right angles
but liberality in use of rounded corners and balconies,
smooth, often white facades and open plans.
Tel Aviv has the largest
collection of buildings built in the International Style,
anywhere in the world.
French
phrase meaning "fine arts"
it defined a very rich, lavish
and heavily ornamented classical style taught at L'Ecole des
Beaux Arts in Paris in the 19th century. In America, the
Beaux Arts flourished from about 1890 to 1920 and included
the French and Italian Renaissance and Neoclassical Revival
periods of architecture. Dominant features of this style are
typically large and grandiose compositions, wall surfaces
with decorative garlands and floral patterns with sculptural
ornamentation, symmetrical exterior, smooth stone walls of a
lighter tone, flat low-pitched roofs often mansard, paired
colossal columns, windows framed by freestanding columns, a
balustraded sill, a pedimented entablature on top and
free-sanding statuary. 
Referred
to also as 'regenerative design' it is the innate,
hereditary affiliation of human beings to other living
organisms which incorporates the complementary goals of
minimizing harm and damage to natural systems and human
health as well as enriching the human body, mind and spirit
The essential idea is that nature can be incorporated and
mimicked in urban design and architecture, not just to save
energy, but to create human energy. Specific building
elements that figure prominently in a discussion of
biophilic architecture include organic forms; views to
nature; indoor greenery; natural lighting, ventilation, and
materials; and spatial and visual diversity.
A
modernist style of architecture which came into vogue
between the mid-1950's and mid-70's and characterized the
"raw concrete" style of Le Corbusier.
A 1-1/2 story house of brick,
stone or wood shingles with low-pitched overhanging gables
with exposed beams and projecting brackets. Porches extend
across the front of the house and are supported by wide
squat or battered columns. 
Architectural
style originating and prevalent in New England, now common
throughout the country. Typical characteristics of these
residences include 1-1/2-story symmetrical design, gable
roof with dormers, central chimney, double-hung windows with
shutters, batten board siding. 
A
term designating a style of fenestration arising out of the
"Chicago School" of architecture featuring a three-part
window which produces a grid-like pattern defining the
building's facade. The unit consists of a large fixed
central pane to maximize natural light intake which is
flanked by smaller doubled side lights which are typically
double-hung for the purposes of ventilation.
A
natural or man-made
stronghold, often elevated and heavily fortified, from which
inhabitants can command or defend a city during siege or
attack.
Classic
Revival signaled a return to the classical forms of Greece
and Rome following the elaborately decorated and picturesque
styles of the Victorian period. Dating from the late 1890s
through 1920, Classical Revival represents a more refined
stage of the Beaux Arts tradition and is evident mainly on
large institutional buildings.
Often, classical details such
as large column porticos are combined with Colonial Revival
elements on residences, leading to some confusion as to the
style. Characteristics
of Classical Revival include symmetrical facades, colossal
porticos, large columns, pilasters, pedimented windows, and
domes. The buildings are generally masonry structures of
monumental proportions, using terra cotta, brick, and stone
materials.
Ornamental
ceilings set with sunken grid-like or polygonal panels,
usually enhanced with decorative motifs. Depending on the
room and tastes of the homeowner, they can be designed to be
simple yet substantial or elaborate and very detailed. This
application is often used in home offices, libraries and
dens. They are also becoming more popular in kitchens and
dining rooms.
Not
to be confused with Modern Architecture which points to a
period in the mid-19th century sometimes referred to as the
International Style defined by architects such as Mies van
der Rohe, Walter Gropius, and Corbusier in the forefront.
Contemporary architecture is of course open to varying
interpretations but generally refers to a design philosophy
which is post-modern and deconstructivist. It is typically
expresses by new technologies, asymmetrical forms with an
emphasis on extensive floor-to-ceiling fenestration for
natural light, flat roofs, smooth exteriors often utilizing
new sustainable materials and open plans.
A
variation of English Tudor-style design. More modernized
versions were popularized in the United States around the
1920's and 1930's. Typical features of these homes include
an asymmetrical form, stone, brick or stucco exteriors,
sloping roof sometimes constructed with slate, cedar or
pseudo-thatch materials, irregular roof lines, steep cross
gables, small dormer windows, massive chimneys, small
casement fenestration often recessed, low or arched doors,
and a closed plan with small atypically-shaped spaces.
With
its historical roots in the American artistic movement known
as "Arts and Crafts," the Craftsman style home, often seen
as a bungalow, is a late 19th and early 20th century style
characterized by attentive, manual refinement and a lack of
machine-driven appearance. The design elements
look to nature, local
materials, local (nationalist or native) building
traditions. The house layout emphasizes the horizontal,
rather than multiple stories, typically one to
one-and-a-half stories, with a long sloping roof line and a
wide, exposed beams and rafters, sheltering overhang, wide
porches and dark and heavy woodwork.
Also called a saddle is
an additional flashing support at the intersection of the
chimney's high side and the roof. The cricket prevents
debris, snow and ice from piling up behind the chimney. The
cricket also deflects water running down the roof around the
chimney.
Temples which have a double
range of columns in the peristyle.
A
variation of the Colonial style, most Dutch Colonial Revival
homes were built of wood, brick, or stone (or, occasionally
a combination), with a barn-like shingle gambrel roof, a a
simple floor plan behind an often no-nonsense façade. The
house features a symmetrical plan that flanks a central
door, often leading to a central hallway with flanking
rooms.
The
Federal or Adam style was a dominant style in the United
states around the period of 1780-1820's. It came about as a
refining development of the earlier Georgian style house
plans. The term Adam style has it's roots in the work of the
Adam brothers, who at the time of this style's popularity,
had a large architectural firm in Britain. The federal
colonial home plans or Adam house plans are most commonly a
simple box like the Georgian colonial homes. It is usually a
two story with two or more rooms deep. Windows and doors are
always arranged in a symmetrical pattern. What makes the
federal home plans different from other colonial house plans
is that the simple box may be modified with oval-shaped
rooms, recessed wall arches and projecting wings on one or
both sides.
Popular
in the early 20th century, this was one of the earliest
examples of Prairie-style houses. Often seen as a stripped
down version of the Italianate and Georgian architectural
styles. Common characteristics include a symmetrical plan, a
hipped or pyramid-shaped roof with dormers, overhanging
eaves, a front porch, double-hung sash windows, exterior can
be frame, brick or stone.
An
architectural type originating in the of rural manor homes,
or chateaus, built by the French nobles during the reign of
Louis XIV in the mid-1600s. The French Provincial design was
a popular Revival style in the 1920s and in the1960s. It
features steep, massive hipped roofs, French windows or
shutters, often a symmetrical appearance, tall second-story
windows have low curved heads which break through the
cornice, exterior materials are brick, slate, copper,
and concrete block. 
Architectural
style prevalent in the late 19th to mid-20th century was
sometimes referred to as Colonial-revival. Dominate
features include a symmetrical form with classical details,
a central and paneled front door with elaborate decorative
crowns or entablatures, pilasters, double-hung windows,
hipped or gambrel roof, and a decorative cornice.
Of or relating to an
architectural style prevalent in Western Europe from the
12th through the 15th century and
characterized by pointed arches, rig vaulting, and a
developing emphasis on verticality and the impression of
height.
An
adaptation of the Greek temple front. Popular in mid 1800's
America. Typical features of this architectural style
include the use of columns and/or pilasters supporting entry
or full-width porticos, low pitched gable or hip roof with
pediments, wide entablatures often divided into two parts,
frieze windows, and cornice returns on gabled ends. Doorways
were often flanked by narrow sidelights and a rectangular
transom above. 
An
ornament used in classical architecture formed by two or
more bands twisted together in a continuous series. The
openings between the bands can be filled with ornaments.
The
Italianate style was derived from the villas of the Italian
countryside. Two full stories, low-pitched hip roofs with
cupolas, and expansive overhangs supported by decorative
brackets are typical features of the style. These houses
often had small porches and double entrance doors. Interior
spaces were large with tall ceilings and massive decorative
features.
Spires
with onion-shaped crowns, usually either free standing or
much taller than any surrounding support structure.
A
type of decorative corbel used in Islamic architecture that
in some circumstances, resembles stalactites
Or
"new" classical, architecture defines structures which are
inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome.
This architectural style is a product of the neoclassical
movement that began in the mid-18th century in Europe and
arose as a reaction against the Rococo style and some
aspects of Baroque. Typical features include external
symmetry, grandiose columns in the Doric or Roman order,
triangular pediments, domed roofs, and white facades.
Neoclassicism found a common application in the U.S. among
government and university buildings. 
A
Neo-eclectic home can be difficult to describe because it
combines many styles. The shape of the roof, the design of
the windows, and decorative details may be inspired by
several different periods and cultures. Features of
Neo-eclectic Homes: constructed in the 1960s or later,
historic styles imitated using modern materials like vinyl
or imitation stone, details from several historic styles
combined, details from several cultures combined, brick,
stone, vinyl, and composite materials combined. In the
Midwest, these houses are typically abundant in suburban
regions. 
French for an attached covered
entryway to a building large enough for a vehicle to pass
through in order to shelter exiting passengers typical in
Renaissance and Renaissance revival periods of architecture.
Pueblo
Revival houses became popular in the early 1900s and are
still a popular style in the southwestern regions of the
United States. Since
ancient times, Pueblo Indians built large, multi-family
houses, which the Spanish called pueblos (villages). In the
17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish made their own Pueblo
homes, but they adapted the style. They formed the adobe
into sun-dried building blocks. After stacking the blocks,
the Spaniards covered them with protective layers of mud.
Modern-day Pueblos might not
be made of adobe. Instead, some contemporary adobe homes
have massive, round-edge walls made with concrete blocks or
other materials covered with adobe, stucco, plaster, or
mortar. Also typical of this style are flat roofs,
rounded parapets, stepped levels, deep windows and door
openings, porches and enclosed patios.
A
domestic style of architecture originating in the 1870's and
1880's in England and in the United States which borrows
various elements from English Renaissance, Flemish, Tudor
Gothic and is based on the cottage Elizabethan and country
house-style. Characteristics include an asymmetrical
two-story design with a wrap-around veranda, a front-facing
gable, spindlework, finials, a turret, horizontal siding,
bargeboards, steeply pitched roofs, extensive decorative and
ornamental features. 
Also
known as the California Ranch, was a dominate style in
suburban America during the 50's and 60's. This single-level
design is asymmetrical, characterized by an "L" or
"U"-shaped plan which is typically open, the exterior often
has large picture windows, a low-pitched hipped roof,
moderate or wide eave overhangs, and wood, brick, stone or
stucco used as facade materials. Many ranches contained
patios and carports. The split-level variation arose from
the common ranch to accommodate for the need of additional
space and privacy.
An
insulated concrete form (ICF for short) that is made from
recycled post-consumer polystyrene (aka foam) waste
products. Rastra is the trademark name for the actual
material, which is called Thastyron. It is used for both
interior and exterior construction much the same way
concrete blocks are including lintels, retaining walls, and
load-bearing walls. A
The
Renaissance Revival style is based on the 16th-century
architecture of Renaissance Italy and France, with
additional elements borrowed from Ancient Greek and Roman
architecture. Renaissance Revival is a general term which
encompasses the various Italian Renaissance Revival and
French Renaissance Revival styles. The Renaissance Revival
style was popular during two separate phases. The first
phase, or the First Renaissance Revival, was from about 1840
to 1885, and the Second Renaissance Revival, which was
characterized by larger and more elaborately decorated
buildings, was from 1890 to 1915. Due to the expensive
materials required and the elaborate style, Renaissance
Revival was best suited for public and commercial buildings,
and very grand homes for the wealthy. This style is often
typified by a symmetrical facade, smooth stone or stucco
walls, low-pitched hip or Mansard roof with balustrades,
horizontal stone banding between floors, a series of arched,
recessed openings, columns, grouped or singular decorative
crests on facade; Palladian windows or openings which are
ornately carved stone trim, and wide eaves with large
brackets.
Style
of Romanesque Revival-style architecture almost exclusively
proliferated by Henry Hobson Richardson during the late 19th
century. Popular with public buildings i.e. libraries,
courthouses, churches, university buildings, etc., this
style features round broad arches framing windows and door
openings, deep reveals, massive stone walls, unique
sculptured shapes in stone, short columns, a heavy massing,
and typically one tower and sometimes two.
The
Some historians argue that the
Rococo is a style, but others claim that the Rococo is not a
style in its own right, like the Baroque, but the last phase
of the Baroque. The latter group would argue that the great
breaks in European art and thought took place at the
beginning of the Baroque and again at the beginning of
Neoclassicism. The
Rococo is chiefly represented
by a type of decoration initiated in France, by lightness in
color and weight, where the Baroque had been dark and
ponderous, and, in south Germany and Austria, by a great
spatial complexity, which, however, is the direct
continuation of the complexity of Baroque. Rococo is often
asymmetrical and abstract with shell-like, coral-like forms
and many curves naturalistic flowers, branches, trees, whole
rustic scenes.
Masonry
cut in large blocks separated by deep joints, used to give a
bold, exaggerated look to the lower part of an exterior
wall, or to frame a door or window.
Rusticated masonry is
squared-off and left with a more or less rough surface, with
a deep "V" or square joint or with finished flanking corners
that emphasize the edges of each block. Rustication gives a
texture which contrasts with smooth ashlar masonry.
Rustication is often used to give visual weight to the
ground floor in contrast to smooth ashlar above.
A
drainage opening in a wall, parapet or curb. Also, any
downspout or flat roof drain which typically is connected to
a downspout.
Style
named from the reign of Napoleon III of France (1852-1870)
characterized by its signature mansard roof often with
dormer windows, rounded cornices, cupolas, tall first story
windows and a small entry porch. 
Shingle
Style, built from about 1880 to 1900 and is distinguished by
the fact that the house is covered nearly 100% by shingles,
sometimes including even the porch pillars. The style
evolved out of the Queen Anne style, its overall effect is
simpler and quieter, with more emphasis on volume and
horizontal lines and less variety in color and materials,
also features little to no external decoration, roomy
porches, and a complex roofline. The Shingle Style is
considered to be a completely original American style, with
no direct European antecedents.
The
architectural term for the traditional Japanese sliding
screen doors, room dividers or windows made of translucent
paper framed within a bamboo or wood grid. Although
washitsu is the paper traditionally used for these
doors, in contemporary construction processes a hybrid form
of paper is substituted in addition to the use of plastic.
Additionally, shoji construction would not comprise the
exterior surface of a building. 
An
architectural style based on the Spanish Colonial style
prevalent throughout the early Spanish colonies in North and
South America. This style is closely related to the
Mission-revival and Pueblo styles of the American West and
Southwest borrowing details from Spanish and Mexican
architecture. Typical features include a ranch-style plan,
stucco or smooth exterior facades, colorful low-pitched or
flat terra cotta roofs, arched arcades and windows, tall
wood casement or double-hung windows with multiple lights,
decorative iron trim. 
A
Victorian residential style considered be transitional
between Gothic and Queen Anne architecture and is also
referred to as Eastlake. Typical characteristics of these
buildings include slender horizontal, vertical and diagonal
planks or "stickwork" placed on the exterior facade, steep
roof gables, rectangular in form, ornamental trusses,
decorative braces & brackets. 
The
Tudor style house was derived from early English sources.
Steeply-pitched roofs, decorative half-timbering and
casement windows are commonly found on most variations.
Interiors are frequently dark with stained trim,
wainscotings, and doors. The hardware and lighting fixtures
are often wrought or simulated wrought iron.
A
wedge-shaped stone of which an arch or vault is formed