Common Architecture Terms

Fenestration The design and placement of windows in a building.

Examples

CMU -Concrete Masonry Unit: a large rectangular brick used in construction. -Made from cast concrete

COR-TEN Best known as weathering steel, is a group of steel alloys which were developed to eliminate the need for painting, and form a stable rust-like appearance if exposed to the weather for several years.

Baluster: -A short pillar or column in a series supporting a rail or coping.

Parapet A parapet is a barrier usually on a roof or balcony. They are also built on bridges as guard rails to prevent cars and people from falling off. On buildings, they are mainly used to prevent fires from spreading, and used to be for defending the building from attack.

Pitch: Degree of roof slant stated in inches rise per foot

Cantilever Definition: A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support the over hanging section of the building.

Definition of Section A section or cross section is a term used in architectural drawing for describing when a vertical line cuts through an object In the drawing, the dark line represents the floor cutting through the building’s walls

Column and Post Column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is an structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below.

Curtain Wall A wall that encloses the space within a building but does not support the roof, it is not load bearing. They are typically featured on modern high-rise buildings.

Eaves Eaves of a roof are the part of a roof that overhangs the exterior of a house. They usually project beyond the walls of the building to carry away rain water

Pictures of Eaves

Beam and Joist In architecture and engineering, a joist is one of the horizontal supporting members that run from wall to wall, wall to beam, and beam to beam. A beam is a horizontal or vertical structural element that is capable of withstanding a load by resisting bending.

Beam and Joist

Gable- The portion of the front or side of a building enclosed by or masking the end of a pitched roof.

Gable Roof

Gambrel Roof Definition a gable roof with two slopes on each side and the lower slope being steeper.

Grade The slope of soil on a site or next to a building

Header and Lintel Definition: horizontal beam that contributes to the construction of framing buildings – Used above windows and doors or other entryways as support Can also be used as decoration (ex. Fireplace mantles)

Hip Roof A roof where all the sides slope downward usually on a fairly gentle slope. It has no gables or vertical sides of the roof.

Hip Roof

Mansard Roof A mansard roof (also known as a French roof) is a Gambrel style roof characterized by two slopes on each side with a lower slope.

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Clerestory Window: an upper portion of a wall containing windows for supplying natural to a building

Mullion

Muntin The Muntin is a strip of wood or metal that holds glass panes into place

RAFTER A rafter is a system of repetitive smaller beams that support the roof of a building

A retaining wall is a wall that holds back earth or water on one side of it. It is designed to restrain soil to unnatural slopes.

Saw-tooth Roof A roof composed of a series of small parallel roofs of triangular cross section, usually asymmetrical with the shorter slope glazed It allows for natural lighting to shine through while still having a solid roof

Truss A Truss is any structure that has at least one triangular unit that has its ends connected by joint, otherwise called nodes.

Elevation: A view of a building looking directly at a side.

Gutter & Downspout A Gutter gathers water from the roof and the water travels down a downspout to drain away from the house

Gutter and Down Spout Down Spout Gutter

Cricket A cricket is a structure designed to divert water on a roof, from one area of a roof to another. This is typically found behind a chimney.

Cricket

Ridge and Valley Ridge: Line on a roof, where two slopes intersect on top

Valley Valley: Line where two slopes on a roof intersect on the sides