archtitecture terms
Terms
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- abacus
- the flat slab at the top of a capital directly under the entablature
- ashlar
- a highly finished, precisely cut block of stone
- acropolis
- the citadel of an ancient greek city, located at its highest point and housing temples, a treasury, and sometimes a royal palace
- ambulatory
- the passage (walkway) around the apse in a basilican church or around the central space in a central-plan church
- entablature
- the horizontal elements above the columns and capitals
- clerestory
- the topmost zone of a wall with windows in a basilica extending above the aisle roof
- diptych
- two panels of equal size hinged together
- apse
- a large semicircular or polygonal niche protuding from the end wall of a building
- arch
- in architecture, acurved structural element that spans an open space
- drum
- a segment of the circular shaft of a colmn
- dome
- a round vault usually over a circular space
- column
- an architectural element used for support and/or decoration
- basilica
- a large rectangular building
- crypt
- the vaulted chamber beneath the floor of a church, usually under the sanctuary
- central-plan building
- any structure designed with a primary central space surrounded by symmetrical areas on each side
- cloister
- an open space, part of a monastery
- amphiprostlye
- term describing a building usually a temple, with porticoes at each end but without columns along the other two sides
- compound pier
- a pier or large column with shafts, pilasters, or colonnettesattached to it on one or more sides
- bailey
- the outermost walled courtyard of a castle
- archivolt
- curved molding formed by the voussoirs making up an arch
- blind
- adjective describing decorative elements attached to the surface of a wall, with no openings
- baptistry
- a building used for christian ritual of baptism
- capstone
- the final, topmost stone in a corbel arch or vault
- elevation
- the arrangements, proportions, and details of any vertical side or face of a building
- colonnade
- a row of columns, spporting a straight lintel or a series of arches
- dentil
- one of a series of small, toothlike blocks arranged in a continuous band
- citadel
- a fortress or defended city
- cella
- the principal interior room of a greek temple
- agora
- an open space in a greek town used as a central gathering place or market
- crossing
- the juncture of the nave and the transept in a church, often marked on the exterior by a tower or dome
- adyton
- the back room of a greek temple
- engaged column
- a column attached to a wall
- cornice
- the uppermost section of a classical entablature
- architrave
- the bottom element in an entablature, beneath the frieze and the cornice
- crenellation
- alternating high and low sections of wall, giving a notched appearence and creating permanent defensive shields in the walls, giving a notched appearence
- campanile
- the italian term for a freestanding bell tower
- barrel vault
- an elongated or continuous semicircular vault, shaped like a half cylinder
- boss
- a decorative knoblike element
- capital
- the sculpted block that tops a column
- base
- any support
- choir
- the section of a christian church reserved for the clergy or the religous, either between the crossing and the apse or in the nave just before the crossing
- baldachin
- a canopy placed over an honorific or sacred space such as a throne or church altar
- arcade
- a series of arches, carried by columns or piers and supporting a common wall or lintel
- aisle
- passage or open corridor of a church, hall, or other building that parallels the main space, usually on both sides
- corbel
- a bracket of building material, as stone or brick. projecting from wall and generally used to support a cornice or arch
- echinus
- a cushion-like circular element found below the abacus of a doric capital
- bay
- a unit of space defined by architectual elements such as columns, piers, and walls
- atrium
- an unroofed interior courtyard or room in a roman house, sometimes having a pool or garden, sometimes surrounded by columns
- basilica plan
- a plan consisting of a nave and side aisles
- buttress
- an architectural support