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D
Dado
1 lower section of a wall, sometimes separated from the upper by a molding.
2 part of a pedestal between the base and cornice.
Diaper
an all-over pattern of small square or lozenge-shaped units, found in
Romanesque and Gothic buildings. The term is also applied to a similar
pattern in stain glass.
Dogtooth
1 small ornament shaped like a pyramid, with the flat faces cut back.
2 ornament on a molding, in the form of four lobes or leaves radiating
from a center, found in 13th-century English architecture.
Dome
convex covering set over circular or polygonal base.
Doric: see Orders of Architecture.
Drum
1 circular or polygonal wall supporting a dome. 2 circular blocks of stone
forming a column.
E
Eave
lower edge of a roof, overhanging a wall.
Elevation
1 the face or side of a structure. 2 drawing or plan of the side of a
building.
Entablature
upper section of a Classical Order consisting of architrave, frieze, and
cornice.
Entasis (Greek)
a slight swelling of the contour of a column, designed to counteract the
optical illusion of concavity and generally found in Classical architecture.
Exedra
semicircular or angular recess in a wall, common in Greek and Roman architecture.
F
Facade
face of a building, usually the main face.
Finial
the ornamental termination of part of a building such as a spire or pediment.
Flamboyant
the last phase of French Gothic architecture, from c.1460, characterized
by elaborate, flowing window tracery.
Flying buttress: see buttress.
Foliated
covered with leaf ornamentation.
Frieze
1 part of an Entablature between the architrave and cornice, sometimes
decorated in relief. 2 horizontal band of decoration along the upper part
of a wall or on furniture. 3 woolen cloth.
G
Gable
triangular part of a wall at the end of the roof ridge.
Gable End
gable-shaped canopy over a door or window, or a gable-topped wall.
Gallery
1 an upper story in a church above the aisle. 2 in Elizabethan or Jacobean
architecture, a long room, usually extending the full length of the house.
3 place where works of art are displayed.
Gargoyle
waterspout projecting from the gutters of a building (especially in Gothic
architecture) often in the form of an open-mouthed grotesque human or
animal head.
Giant order
Column or Pilaster that extends over more than one story of a building;
also known as colossal order.
Greek cross
cross with arms of equal length, often used as an architectural ground
plan.
Greek orders of architecture: see Doric, Ionic, Corinthian,
and Orders.
Groin
Arch supporting vault (see vault construction), or the intersection of
two barrel vaults.
H-J
Hall church
church whose nave and aisles are about the same height.
Iconostasis
in Russian or Byzantine churches, the screen on which Icons are placed.
Ionic
the second Classic order of Greek architecture; see Orders of architecture.
Irish architecture
see architectural monuments
of Ireland.
K
Kalighat
Indian temple in Calcutta, built in 1809 and dedicated to the Buddhist
deity Kali.
Keystone
central wedge-shaped block of an arch.
L
Lancet
tall, narrow, acutely pointed window, a feature of Early English architecture
(13th century).
Lintel
horizontal beam above a door or window.
Loggetta
small arcade or open gallery.
Loggia
covered colonade or archade, open on at least one side.
Lozenge
diamond shape with four equal sides.
M
Marble
type of limestone used since Antiquity for sculpture and building. It
occurs in various colours, from pure white to black, often veined.
Masonry
stonework.
Master Mason
skilled, senior mason.
Mausoleum
1 the tomb of Mausolus of Caria at Halicarnassus, 350 BCE. 2 large, imposing
structure erected as a tomb.
Megalith
large monumental stone.
Metope
space between Triglyphs in a Doric frieze (see Orders of architecture).
Mezzanine
intermediate level between two floors.
Mihrab
niche in the Qibla wall of a mosque, indicating the direction of Mecca.
Mimbar
pulpit in a mosque.
Minaret
slender tower of a mosque from which worshipers are called to prayer.
Mortar
building material made from lime, sand, plaster of Paris, and fibrous
materials mixed with water, which sets by hydration or carbonation. The
term may refer to this mixture in the wet state, or to any similar mixture
used as a cement for stone or brick.
Mosaic
design formed from small pieces of stone, glass, marble, etc.
Mullion
the vertical member that divides a window into two or more lights; see
tracery.
N
Narthex
porch across the west end of a church, used by those not yet taking full
communion, e.g. penitents.
Nave
main body or aisle of church.
Neoclassicism
the late 18th-century European style, lasting from c.1770 to 1830, which
reacted against the worst excesses of the Baroque and Rococo, reviving
the Antique. It implies a return to classical sources which imposed restraint
and simplicity on painting and architecture.
Neo-Gothic
revival of the Gothic style in 18th-century England, especially in architecture.
Net Vault
Gothic vault in which the Lierne Ribs form a net-like pattern; see vault
construction.
Niche
recess in a wall, often containing a statue.
Nymphaeum
Roman "temple of the nymphs" or house of pleasure, often with
statues.
O
Obelisk
tall, four-sided free-standing pillar. It originated in Egypt as a solar
symbol.
Oculus
originally the circular window at the west end of a church; it may also
mean an illusionistic painting of a window or circular opening.
Orders of Architecture
the five Classic orders, each composed of a column, having a base, shaft,
capital, and entablature with Architrave frieze, and cornice. There are
three Greek orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. These were adapted by
the Romans, who added Tuscan and Composite.
Oriel
bay window on an upper story.
P-Q
Palladian style
English architectural stvle, from c.1715, in imitation of the style of
Andrea Palladio; a reaction against the Baroque in favour of the Classical;
also called Neo-Palladian.
Pantheon
literally, a temple of "all the gods"; usually the one at Rome
built c.27-25 BCE. Sometimes also used as a collective noun for all the
gods.
Parapet
low wall around a balcony or similar structure.
Parthenon
The chief temple of Athena in Athens, on the Acropolis, built c.447-433
BCE.
Pediment
in Classic Greek architecture, a triangular gable under the roof of a
building, or similar triangular field.
Pendant
1 projecting or suspended boss in Gothic architecture. 2 decoration at
the end of a Gable roof. 3 one of a pair of works.
Pendant vault
vault decorated with hanging stone bosses or terminals; found in late
Gothic architecture: see vault construction.
Pendentive
curved triangular section of vaulting in a Dome.
Peristyle
colonnade around Classical temple or court, or an inner court in a large
house surrounded by a colonnade.
Perpendicular
the English Gothic style of c.1335 to c.1530; its most characteristic
feature is vertical window tracery.
Pier
solid support between door or window openings, or supporting a bridge;
usually square although it may be cylindrical, hence cylindrical pier.
A compound pier in Gothic architecture is a group of Shafts. See vault
construction.
Pilaster
rectangular attached column that projects from a wall by less than one
third of its width.
Pillar
vertical supporting member; unlike a column, it may be square.
Pinnacle
conical or pyramid-shaped ornament on top of a spire, especially in Gothic
architecture.
Plate tracery
of windows, early form of Gothic tracery with simple wide mullions.
Plinth
1 the rectangular stone slab or block that forms the lowest member on
which a column or statue stands. 2 projecting base of a wall.
Podium
1 continuous base of a building or room. 2 raised platform.
Porch
covered entrance, usually at the main door of a building.
Portal
imposing entrance of a building.
Portico
covered colonade at the entrance to a building.
Porticus
small porch built on the north or south side of English pre-Conquest churches.
Sometimes a porticus was built on both sides, thus forming rudimentary
transepts.
Predella
1 a platform on which an altar stands. 2 lower part of painted altarpiece.
Presbytery
east end of a church, between the choir and High altar; sometimes synonymous
with sanctuary.
Pyramid
Egyptian stone or brick tomb; rising from a square base to a triangular
apex.
Qibla
west wall of a mosque, indicating the direction of Mecca.
Quadrangle
rectangular or square figure, or four-sided courtyard.
Quatrefoill
four-arc opening in Gothic tracery. 2 four-lobed decorative motif.
Quincunx
an arrangement of five objects with four at the corners of a square and
one in the center.
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