

Describing Architecture
a walk around Paris
 How do we describe architecture?

The following We can describe structures according to:

slides have
vocabulary to  Function
help you
describe
architecture.  Types of Residential Buildings

Copy and  Building Materials

define the
words that  Building Features
are new for
you.
 Architectural Adjectives & Phrases
 Function

residential retail

commercial / office
building religious
industrial
 All of these words are used as adjectives

o We live in a residential building.

o Industrial buildings can still be beautiful.
o It is a lovely religious structure.
o We live near a huge retail center.
o The Empire State Building is New York’s most
famous office building.


Some phrasings…
 Types of Residential Buildings

cabin
mansion

apartment building (USA) /

apartment block (UK)

cottage townhouse / rowhouse

 All of these words are used as nouns

o Do you live in a house or an apartment building?

o My family owns a cabin in the woods for going on
vacation.
o Since we live in a townhouse, we can sometimes
hear our neighbor’s TV through the shared wall.
o Since my grandma lives alone, she lives in a small
cottage.
o The mansion down the street is HUGE!


Some phrasings…
 Building material

brick frame

glass and steel

timber stone / masonry
 All of these words are used as adjectives to describe
buildings.

o I prefer brick houses, because you don’t have to

paint them.
o Almost all modern skyscrapers are glass and steel
structures.
o You have to be careful with timber structures,
because they can catch fire.


Some phrasings…
 Building Features

dome balcony

arch

columns (individual) & colonnade

(series in a row)
 Some descriptors
Write a
definition  Wide / Narrow
to each of
these  Tall / Squat
words.
 To the right of / To the left of
You may
use your  Opposite / Across from
dictionary.
The first
to get  Adjacent
them all
correct is  Surrounded by
the
winner!  One-story / two-story / three-story (etc.) building
Let’s think about how we could describe this building.
- This building has a long front running along the street.
- It is a two-story building, made of pink brick and stone.
- It has columns in front of its entrance and a squat dome in the
center of the roof.
- There are smaller buildings to the right and to the left of this
building.
- What else can you say about this building?
 Now, for a little game! 

 Form groups of 3 students.

 One student must have their back to the board

and NOT look at the picture on the screen. This
student is the artist.

 The other two describe the building in the

picture on the screen, and the artist draws the
building as it is described.

 After time is up, compare team pictures to see

whose is the most accurate.