Architectural

Vocabulary and
Building Materials
PRESENTATION BY- AR. PRANAV
PRADHAN
“Architecture should be rooted in
the past, and yet be a part of our
own time and forward looking.”

- AR.MOSHE SAFDIE
WHAT IS ARCHITECTURE?
Glossary of Architectural Terms
•Over the course of centuries, architects and builders have developed specialized terms to describe
their buildings.

•A brief look according to how we generally perceive a building, from the large to the small. Thus we
start with some of the terms that help describe a building’s basic form: the plan and roof shape.

•Windows and doors are often a source of great interest for designers and some of the key technical
terms associated with those elements are noted here.

•Finally, the multitude of details that may be applied to a building are introduced, with some of the
more common terms defined.
Plan Shapes

• Whether for the sake of efficiency, cost,

tradition, or style, building designers often
look to a basic plan shape to determine the
overall form, or massing, of their building.

• The most common shape is the rectangle,

but others, illustrated here, are also
frequently used.
PLAN: The top view of any structure that is represented
through bold lines and a hierarchy of line-weights that
denote various information.

SITE PLAN:
The plan that gives information regarding the surrounding
land and the building complex as a whole is called a site-plan.
Elevation
Section
Glossary
•There are a few additional technical words that are used with reference to the basic shape of a
building:
Bay:
a regularly repeated visual division of a façade

Façade:
the exterior face or presentable front of a building

Pavilion:
a part of a façade given prominence because it projects out from
the façade

Storey :
the habitable space between a floor and a ceiling, floor or roof
above
ALTAR:
1 : a usually raised structure or place on which sacrifices are offered or
incense is burned in worship.

2 : a table on which the eucharistic elements are consecrated or which

serves as a center of worship or ritual

ARCH:
1 : a typically curved structural member spanning an opening and serving
as a support (as for the wall or other weight above the opening).
TYPES OF ARCHES
 Pendentive:
One of the concave triangular members that
supports a dome over a square space

Vault:
is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick,
serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. The simplest
kind of vault is the barrel vault, which is generally semicircular
in shape. The barrel vault is a continuous arch, the length
being greater than its diameter.

Barrel Vault:
Built like an arch would be built, complete with key stone, but
then extruded into depth.
An arch will hold a wall above a door or a bridge, anything
narrow in width when compared to its height, length, and
mass.
Where as a barreled vault can support a room.
Column:
A supporting pillar; especially : one consisting of a usually round shaft, a capital, and a base
Base:
(1) : the lower part of a wall, pier, or column considered as a separate architectural feature
(2) : the lower part of a complete architectural design.
Cornice:
the decorated projection at the top of a wall provided to protect the wall face or to ornament
and finish the eaves. The term is used as well for any projecting element that crowns
an architectural feature, such as a doorway.
Architrave:
the architrave is the lowest section of the horizontal entablature. It acts as a lintel or beam that
rests on the capitals of the vertical columns. It is generally topped with a frieze and cornice.
Frieze:
is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or
decorated with bas-reliefs.
Entablature:
is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on
their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided
into the architrave, the frieze and the cornice.
Pedestal:
It is the lower portion of the column on which rests the base of the column. It is also the most
sturdy part of the column as it supports the entire load of the column.
Capital:
The uppermost member of a column or pilaster crowning the shaft and taking the weight of the
entablature
TWO TYPES OF COLUMNS:
Cathedral:
Of, relating to, or containing a bishop’s official throne (cathedral)

Dome:
A large hemispherical roof or ceiling.

Geodesic dome:
spherical form in which lightweight
triangular or polygonal facets consisting of
either skeletal struts or flat planes, largely
in tension, replace the arch principle and
distribute stresses within the structure
itself. It was developed in the 20th century
by American engineer
and architect Richard Buckminster Fuller.
Gothic:
• of, relating to, or having the characteristics of a style of architecture developed in
northern France and spreading through western Europe from the middle of the 12th
century to the early 16th century that is characterized by the converging of weights
and strains at isolated points upon slender vertical piers and counterbalancing
buttresses and by pointed arches and vaulting
• of or relating to an architectural style reflecting the influence of the medieval Gothic
era.
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or
projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the
wall. ... The term counterfort can be synonymous with buttress,
and is often used when referring to dams, retaining walls and
other structures holding back earth.

Flying Buttress:The flying buttress is a specific form of buttress

composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a
pier of great mass, in order to convey to the ground the lateral forces that
push a wall outwards, which are forces that arise from vaulted ceilings of
stone and from wind-loading on roofs.
Minaret:
In Islamic religious architecture, the tower from which the faithful are called to prayer five times each day by a
muezzin, or crier. ... Such a tower is always connected with a mosque and has one or more balconies or open galleries.
Nave:
central and principal part of a Christian church,
extending from the entrance (the narthex) to the
transepts (transverse aisle crossing the nave in front of
the sanctuary in a cruciform church) or, in the absence
of transepts, to the chancel (area around the altar).
TYPES OF ROOFS
Pitch of roof: the slope or the angle of inclination of the
roof is the pitch of the roof.
Ceiling:
The top part of a room that gives the
feeling of an enclosed space is the
ceiling.
VERANDAH: PERGOLA: The horizontal members placed on top of two
a usually roofed open gallery or portico attached to vertical posts typically used as a shading device.
the exterior of a building
COLUMN:
Column, in architecture, a vertical element, usually a
rounded shaft with a capital and a base, which in most cases
serves as a support. A column may also be nonstructural,
used for a decorative purpose or as a freestanding
monument. Beam: is a horizontal member spanning an opening
and carrying a load that may be a brick or stone wall
above the opening, in which case the beam is often
called a lintel.
Staircase Components
Types of windows
The openings in the walls of a building—the windows and the doors—
are the source of great attention in a design. (The technical name for the
placement of openings in the walls of a building is fenestration, from the
French, “fenêtre,” meaning window). The placement and the detail work
that comprises windows and doors can be the source of great attention.
Curtain Wall