The complete guide to architectural terms from basic to advanced with detailed examples and usage notes
Architecture vocabulary encompasses specialized terms used to describe buildings, design elements, construction techniques, and aesthetic principles in the built environment.
Mastering architectural terminology is essential for academic writing in design fields, professional communication in construction and real estate, and success on standardized tests that include reading passages about art history or urban development.
Terms describing fundamental building components:
Terms classifying historical and modern design approaches:
Terms for specific parts of structures:
Terms for common and specialized building materials:
Terms describing aesthetic and functional concepts:
Terms for architectural techniques and methods:
A series of arches supported by columns or piers, either freestanding or attached to a wall.
Colonnade (series of columns), Loggia (roofed gallery)
A projecting support built against a wall to strengthen it, especially to counteract lateral thrust.
Notre-Dame Cathedral's flying buttresses allowed for taller walls and larger windows.
A projecting beam or structure supported at only one end, creating an overhang without external bracing.
Cantilevers must carefully balance tension and compression forces.
A hemispherical vault forming a roof, often placed atop a circular base.
The Pantheon in Rome features the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.
A scaled drawing showing a vertical surface of a building (front, side, or rear view).
Facade (principal front), Section (cut-through view)
The arrangement, proportioning, and design of windows in a building.
Includes window-to-wall ratio, orientation, glazing type, and shading devices.
The triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof.
Tudor-style houses often feature steeply pitched gables with decorative half-timbering.
A hall with a roof supported by many columns, characteristic of ancient Egyptian and Persian architecture.
From Greek "hypo" (under) + "stylos" (column)
The side post or lining of a doorway, window, or fireplace.
The Gothic portal featured sculpted figures on its jambs, welcoming visitors to the cathedral.
The central, wedge-shaped stone at the top of an arch that locks all other stones in place.
Often represents the central, indispensable element of a system or organization.
A horizontal support across the top of a door or window opening.
The ancient Greek temple featured massive stone lintels above its columned entryways.
A vertical element dividing window units or screens into sections.
Transom (horizontal crossbar dividing window sections)
The central supporting pillar of a spiral staircase, or the post at the top/bottom of a stair rail.
From Old French "noel" (kernel, core), ultimately from Latin "nux" (nut)
A projecting bay window supported by corbels or brackets, typically starting above ground level.
The Elizabethan manor featured an elaborate oriel window overlooking the gardens.
A shallow rectangular column projecting slightly from a wall, primarily decorative but suggesting support.
Unlike engaged columns, pilasters are flat with minimal projection.
Masonry blocks at the corner of a wall, often emphasized for decorative purposes.
Originally provided structural strength at vulnerable building corners.
A round building or room, often covered with a dome.
The museum's rotunda served as a grand central space with natural light from the oculus.
The triangular space between the curve of an arch and its rectangular enclosure, or between adjacent arches.
In structural engineering, refers to the panel between the top of a window and bottom of the window above.
Ornamental stonework in the upper part of Gothic windows, screens, or panels.
The cathedral's rose window featured intricate tracery resembling a spider's web.
A roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor.
Southern colonial homes often wrap around verandas to provide shade and outdoor living space.
Wooden paneling applied to the lower portion of interior walls.
The dining room featured oak wainscoting topped with a decorative chair rail.
Match the architectural term to its correct definition:
"A projecting support built against a wall to strengthen it"
Answer: buttress
"The ______ windows of Gothic cathedrals often featured intricate stone tracery patterns."
Answer: clerestory (or rose)
"The author mentions 'flying buttresses' primarily to:"
Answer: illustrate a technological advancement in medieval architecture
"The building's corbels supported the overhanging gable" (unless actually corbels)
"The building's brackets supported the overhanging gable" or "The building's corbels supported the projecting bay window"
"The Romanesque building featured pointed arches" (characteristic of Gothic)
"The Romanesque building featured rounded arches"
"The pediment was supported by decorative pilasters" (pediments are triangular gables)
"The portico was supported by decorative pilasters"
"The old building had nice window decorations"
"The Gothic revival building featured elaborate tracery in its lancet windows"
Match each term to its correct definition:
Definitions:
1-C, 2-A, 3-B, 4-D, 5-E
Complete these sentences with appropriate architectural terms:
Identify the architectural style based on these characteristics:
| Category | Basic Terms | Intermediate Terms | Advanced Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structural | beam, column, wall | cantilever, truss, load-bearing | diagrid, exoskeleton, tensegrity |
| Styles | Gothic, Classical | Baroque, Art Deco | Deconstructivism, Metabolism |
| Elements | window, door, roof | clerestory, oriel, quoin | hypostyle, tracery, spandrel |
| Materials | brick, wood, glass | terracotta, glulam, ferroconcrete | photovoltaic glass, aerogel, self-healing concrete |
| Concepts | balance, symmetry | proportion, hierarchy | parametric design, biomimicry |
When learning architectural terms, associate each word with a famous building example (e.g., "flying buttress" with Notre-Dame). This creates memorable visual connections.