Architectural Terms and

Symbols
Arts and Design Track 8: Lesson 1
Architecture
• The art and science of
designing and constructing
buildings
Parts of a Building
Story
• A complete
horizontal division
of a building
Floors
• Ground floor
• The floor nearest to
ground level
• Basement
• A story of a building
that is wholly or partly
below ground level
• Mezzanine
• A low or partial story
between two main
stories of a building
Facade
• The front of a building or
any of its sides facing a
public way or space
Porch Stoop
• An exterior
appendage to a • A raised platform, approached
building, forming a by steps and sometimes
covered approach having a roof, at the entrance
or vestibule to a of a house
doorway
Terrace
• An open, paved
area connected
to a house or
building and
serving as an
outdoor living
area
Balcony
• An elevated platform projecting
from the wall of a building and
enclosed by a railing or parapet
 Atrium
• A skylit, central court in
a building esp. a large
interior surrounded by
several stories of
galleries
Veranda
• A large, open porch,
usually roofed and
partly enclosed, as by
a railing, often
extending across the
front and sides of a
house
Gazebo
• A freestanding roofed
structure, usually open on
the sides, affording shade
and rest in a garden or
park
Trellis
• A frame supporting latticework, used
as a screen or a support for growing
vines or plants
Ceiling
• The overhead interior
surface or lining of a room,
often concealing the
underside of the floor or
roof above
Stairs
Straight-run stair
• A stair extending from one
level to another without
turns or winders
Quarter-turn stair
• A stair making a right-angled
turn, consisting of two
straight flights connected by
an intervening landing or a
series of winders
• Also called L stair
Half-turn stair
• A stair that turns 180° or
through two right angles
at an intervening landing
Spiral stair
• A circular stair having a
wedge-shaped treads
winding around and
supported by a central post
Double-return stair
• A stair having one wide flight
from the main floor to an
intermediate landing, and two
side flights from that landing to
the floor above
Doors
Swinging Door Sliding door
• A door that turns on • A door that operates or moves
hinges or pivots about a by sliding on a track, usually
vertical edge when parallel to a wall
pushed or pulled
Folding door
• A door with hinged sections
that can be folded flat
against one another when
opened

• Bi-fold door - A folding door

that divides into two leaves

• Accordion door – A multi-

leafed door that is hung
from an overhead track
Revolving door
• An entrance door for
excluding drafts from the
interior of a building
providing a legal
passageway on both sides
of the door pivot
Pocket door
• A door that slides into and out
of a recess in a doorway hall
Window
Sliding window
• A window having two or more sashes,
of which at least one slides along
grooves or tracks
Jalousie window
• A window having horizontal glass
or wood louvers that pivot
simultaneously in a common
frame
Awning window
• A window having one or
more sashes swinging
outward on hinges
generally attached to the
top of the frame
Picture window
• A large, usually fixed single-pane
window, placed to frame an attractive
exterior view
French window
• A pair of casement
windows extending to
the floor and serving as
a doorway
Bay window
• A window or series of windows projecting
outward from the main wall of a building
Roofing
Flat roof
• A roof having no slope, or one with only a slight pitch so as to
drain rainwater
Gable roof
• A roof sloping downward in two
parts from a central ridge, so as
to form a gable at each end
Hip roof
• A roof having sloping ends
and sides meeting at an
inclined projecting angle
Shed roof
• A roof having a single slope
Butterfly roof
• A roof having two slopes,
each descending inward
from the eaves
Barrel roof
• A roof or ceiling having a semi cylindrical form
Pavilion Roof
• A pyramidal hip roof
Dormer
• A projecting structure
built out from a sloping
roof
Drawing
The art, process, or technique of representing an object, scene, or idea by
means of lines on a surface
• Sketch
• A simply or hasty executed
drawing representing essential
features of an object or scene
without the details
• Study
• A drawing produced as a
preliminary to a final work.
(sometimes referred to as a
referential drawing)
• Esquisse
• A sketch showing the general
features of a design or plan
• Line
• A thin continuous mark
made on a surface
• Outline
• A line describing the
outer boundary of a
figure or object
• Profile
• An outline of a form or
structure seen or
represented from the side
Drafting lines
• Object line
• A solid line representing a
contour of an object.
• Dashed line
• A broken line used to represent
object lines that are hidden or
removed from view
• Centerline
• A line used to represent the axis
of a symmetrical element or
composition
Drafting lines
• Dimension line
• A line terminated by arrows, short
slashes, or dots, indicating the
extent or magnitude of a part or the
whole, and along which
measurements are scaled or
indicated
• Extension line
• A line extending from an edge or
feature of an object, to which a
dimension line is drawn
Drafting lines
• Leader
• A short line leading the eye from a
note or dimension to a reference
point, line, or area
• Break line
• A broken line consisting of relatively
long segments joined by short zigzag
strokes, used to cut off a portion of a
drawing
Other terms
Arch
• A curved structure for
spanning an opening
design to support a vertical
load primarily by axial
compression
Dome
• A vaulted structure having a circular plan
and usually the form of a portion of a
sphere
Vault
• An arched structure forming a ceiling
over a hall, room, or other wholly or
partially enclosed space
Truss
• A structural frame based on the geometric
rigidity of the triangle and composed of linear
members subject only to axial tension or
compression
Reference book:

• A Visual Dictionary of Architecture by

Francis D. K. Ching