Abacus

A flat slab forming the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column.

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Aisle

Subsidiary space alongside the body of a building, separated from it by columns, piers, or posts.

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Apse

Vaulted semicircular or polygonal end of a chancel or chapel. That portion of a church, usually Christian, beyond the "crossing" and opposite the nave. In some churches, the choir is seated in this space.

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Arcade

Passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or vaults supported by columns. Blind arcade or arcading: the same applied to the wall surface.

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Arch

A curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight.

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Architrave

Formalized lintel, the lowest member of the classical entablature.

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Arris

Sharp edge where two surfaces meet at an angle such as the corner of a square column or shaft.

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Articulation

Articulation is the manner of describing parts such that each part is clear and distinct in relation to the others.

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Ashlar

Masonry of large blocks cut with even faces and square edges.

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Attic

Small top story within a roof above the uppermost ceiling.

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Baluster

A small moulded shaft, square or circular, supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase.

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Balustrade

A series of balusters supporting a handrail or coping is called a balustrade.

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Bargeboard

A board fastened to the projecting gables of a roof.

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Barrel vault

An architectural ceiling element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance.

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Basement

Lowest, subordinate storey of building often either entirely or partially below ground level.

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Basilica

Originally a Roman, large roofed hall erected for transacting business and legal matters.

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Bays

Internal compartments of a building, divided by columns or vault design.

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Bay window

Window of one or more storeys projecting from the face of a building.

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Bond brickwork

Brickwork with overlapping bricks. Types of bond include stretcher, English, header, Flemish.

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Boss

An ornamental projection, a carved keystone of a ribbed vault at the intersection of the ogives.

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Bracket

Weight-bearing member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall.

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Buttress

Vertical member projecting from a wall to stabilize it or to resist the lateral thrust of an arch, roof, or vault.

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Cantilever

An unsupported overhang acting as a lever, like a flagpole sticking out of the side of a wall.

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Capital

The topmost member of a column (or pilaster).

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Casement window

Window hung vertically, hinged one side, so that it swings inward or outward.

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Chimney

A structure which provides ventilation.

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Clerestory

Upper part of the nave of a large church, containing a series of windows.

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Coffer

A coffer, in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon, usually in a ceiling or vault.

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Column

A structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below.

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Coping

The capping or covering of a wall.

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Corbel

A structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight.

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Corinthian order

One of the three orders of classical architecture characterised by columns, their vertical shafts fluted with parallel concave grooves topped by a capital decorated with acanthus leaves.

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Cornice

Upper section of an entablature, a projecting shelf along the top of a wall often supported by brackets or corbels.

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Cupola

A small, most often dome-like, structure on top of a building.

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Dentil

A small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.

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Doric order

One of the three orders classical architecture characterised by columns, their vertical shafts fluted with parallel concave grooves topped by a smooth capital.

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Dormer

A structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface.

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Dutch gable

A gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top.

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Eaves
The underside of a roof projection over building walls.

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Entablature
A superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals.

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Entasis

The application of a subtle convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes.

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Facade

An exterior side of a building, usually the front.

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Fanlight

Window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan.

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Fascia

Horizontal board attached to the lower end of rafters at the eaves.

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Flying buttress

A type of buttress that transmits the thrust to a heavy abutment by means of a half-arch.

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Foil

An architectural device based on a symmetrical rendering of leaf shapes, defined by overlapping circles.

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Gable

A triangular portion of an end wall between the edges of a sloping roof.

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Gauged brickwork

Brickwork constructed of soft bricks rubbed to achieve a fine smooth finish with narrow joints between courses.

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Hip roof

A type of roof where all sides slope downwards from the ridge to the eaves.

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Ionic order

One of the three orders of classical architecture characterised by columns, their vertical shafts fluted topped by a capital with volutes.

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Keystone

The architectural piece at the crown of a vault or arch and marks its apex, locking the other pieces into position.

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Latticework

An ornamental, lattice framework consisting of small strips in a criss-crossed pattern.

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Lights

The openings in a window between mullions and muntins through which light enters an interior space.

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Lintel

A horizontal block that spans the space between two supports usually over an opening such as a window or door.

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Loggia

A gallery formed by a colonnade open on one or more sides. The space is often located on an upper floor of a building overlooking an open court or garden.

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Lucarne

A small window or opening into unoccupied attic or spire space.

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Mansard roof

A hip roof in which each face has two slopes, the lower one steeper than the upper.

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Modillion

Enriched block or horizontal bracket generally found under the cornice of the Corinthian entablature.

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Moulding

Decorative finishing strip.

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Mullion

Vertical bar of wood, metal or stone which separates two or more windows in a series.

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Muntin

A vertical or horizontal piece that divides a pane of glass into two or more panes or lights in a window.

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Mutule

Rectangular block under the soffit of the cornice of the Greek Doric temple, which is studded with guttae.

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Narthex

An enclosed passage between the main entrance and the nave of a church.

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Nave

The main body of a church where the congregants are usually seated. It provides the central approach to the high altar.

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Newel

The central supporting pillar of a spiral staircase

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Niche

In classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse.

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Oculus

A circular opening in the center of a dome such as the one in the roof of the Pantheon in Rome or in a wall.

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Order

A term for a standard arrangement of architectural features.

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Panelling

Is a wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components.

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Parapet

A low wall built up above the level of a roof, to hide the roof.

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Patera, Paterae

Small circular or oval ornamental disc.

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Pavilion

A free standing structure near the main building or an ending structure on building wings.

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Pedestal (also Plinth)

The base or support on which a statue, obelisk, or column is mounted.

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Pediment

In classic architecture the triangular-shaped portion of the wall above the cornice which formed the termination of the roof behind it.

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Pendentive

Three-dimensional spandrels supporting the weight of a dome over a square or rectangular base.

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Piano nobile

The principal floor of a large house, built in the style of renaissance architecture.

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Pier

An upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge.

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Pilaster

A slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall.

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Plinth

The base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests.

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Porte-cochère

A porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which a motor vehicle can pass.

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Portico

A series of columns or arches in front of a building, generally as a covered walkway.

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Quoin

The cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins are also common in some brickwork corners that are alternately recessed and expressed.

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Return

Receding edge of a flat face. On a flat signboard, for example, the return is the edge which makes up the board's depth.

 

Rib vault

Vault built around several structural ribs.

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Rotunda

A large and high circular hall or room in a building, usually but not always, surmounted by a dome.

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Sash

The horizontal and vertical frame that encloses the glazing of a window. A sash may be fixed or operable and may be of several different types depending on operation (i.e. casement, single or double hung, awning, hopper or sliding).

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Scroll

Ornamental element featuring a sequence of spiraled, circled or heart shaped motifs.

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Spire

A tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building.

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Springer

The lowest voussoir on each side of an arch.

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Trabeated arch

A simple construction method using a lintel, or architrave as the horizontal member supported by two vertical columns.

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Tracery

The stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window.

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Transom

Window or element, fixed or operable, above a door but within its vertical frame.

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Truss

A structural component made of straight wood or metal members, usually in a triangular pattern.

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Tympanum

Triangular space enclosed between the horizontal cornice of the entablature and the sloping cornice of the pediment.

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Volute

A spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order.

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Voussoir

A wedge-shaped or tapered stone between the springer and the keystone used to construct an arch.