Architecture Vocab Terms

Scale drawing

A drawing in which all elements are drawn to the same relative scale

Perspectival drawing

A 2-D representation of a building with objects getting smaller as they recede from the picture plane

Plan

A scale representation of the horizontal layout and structure of a building

Elevation

A scale drawing of the front of a building with no diminution of scale

Section

A scale drawing representing a building as if it has been cut through

Bas Relief

Half sculptures that project from the background

Tympanum

The semi-circular decorative wall surface over an entrance or door

Bay

A repeated element of a façade, typically a window opening between two vertical supports

Pax Romana

The two-century long period of stability and prosperity in the Roman Empire

Gallo-Roman period

The period from around 80 BCE to 300 CE when Gaul was fully integrated into the Roman Empire

Forum

An enclosed public square serving as a marketplace and a center of civic life in ancient Rome

Basilica

A large roofed building within the Forum serving as a meeting hall and site for legal matters

Apse

A rounded recess or projection in the wall opposite the entrance of a Basilica

Barrel Vault

A roof in the form of an arch or a series of arches

Groin Vault

roof in the form of 2 barrel vaults intersecting perpendicularly

Decumanus

The east-west axis of a Roman-type city

Cardo Maximus

A main north-south axis of a Roman camp or settlement

Portico / Temple Front

The marking entrance of a sacred building in the Greco-Roman tradition

Column

The free-standing vertical supporting element in architecture

Capital

The ornamented top of a column where it meets the entablature

Shaft

The vertical element of a column

Doric order

The architectural order associated with masculine deities, 1:6 ratio, Doria reign

Ionic order

The architectural order characterized by proportions of 1:8 or 1:10 and two spiral scrolls for the capital, motherly archetype

Corinthian order

The architectural order from Corinth, characterized by decadence and complex designs, 1:8 ratio

Cornice

Ornamental edge below pediment

Rustication

The heavy lines style on ashlar to create a sense of solidity

Herm

bust of deity(hermes) placed on un-ornamented square plinth as a fence to demarcate sacred boundaries

Triumphal Arch

Free standing ornamented monumental entrance

Opus Mixtum

Mixed material

Ashlar

precision cut masonry

Feudalism

kings or lords granting lands to knights/nobles in exchange for obedience and military service, serfs pay portion of production to lords

society of orders

clerics, kings + knights + nobles, peasants

Tripartite division of Paris

1, Ile de la Cite - centre with cathedral and palace; 2, Right bank - trade and hotel de ville; 3, Left bank - academics and religion

Grotesque

The hooded statues or figures often depicted on cathedrals to ward off evil

Reliquary

elaborately decorated container for preserved body part of a saint or special treasure

Pilgrimage

journey to sites associated with Christ or saints

Cathedral

Large church served as seat of the Bishop and his chapter

Buttress

A support built perpendicular to a wall that reinforces its strength

Lancet window

tall but narrow windows often defensive; in churches symbolize battle between good and evil

Bifor window

2 lancet windows

Nave

main body of church/basilica

aisle

circulation spaces on either side of the nave, separated by row of columns

Transept

space between nave and choir

Choir

eastern end of the church comprising the chancel and ambulatory

Rood screen

A decorative screen that separates the transept from the choir in a church

Narthex

paired towers on a cathedral facade, symbolism as a fortress of god (front of basilica)

Rose Windows

round window at the centre of church fronts

portal

large elaborately decorated ceremonial doorway

Gallery of Kings

28 -statues of Ancient Testament kings, intended to recall Mary and Jesus's distinguished royal lineages, but also to evoke contemporary secular power, and the role of the king as intercessor between his people and the divine.

Gargoyale

grotesque figure with spout of a drain

Grotesque

sculpted figure represented to ward off evil

Apotropaic figure

image intended to turn away harm or evil influences

poly chrome

multi colour material

tracery

stone bars or ribs in window that divides it into sections, often decorative

Crusades

A church-sanctioned religious war from 1095 to the 1230s

crenellation

battlements of a castle, manor, or church

dias

raised platform, covered by canopy, seat of a notable person, or later for bedchamber

donjon/keep

place of last resort in medieval castle, highly defensible, symbolic building on the skyline showcasing authority

fortified hall

residence of lord or monarch, consisting of two halls on top of each other

great hall

reception room of a monarch or noble

Etienne Marcel’s revolt

1356, takeover of the palais de cite which lead to the monarchy moving to the Louvre

Parlements

senior judiciary, palais de cite, delegated authority

Vehicular Revolution

1560s, horse drawn carriages, congestion and need for wider streets, difference in the ways that elites and common people move about

Apartment

suite of rooms dedicated to the use of one person - antichamber, salon, bedchamber, cabinet

Honor court

courtyard before entrance of house

hotel particulier

townhouse between court and garden

l’orangerie

free-standing structure used to protect orange trees over winter - super thin

Counter Reformation

efforts in the 16th and early 17th centuries to oppose the Protestant Reformation and reform the Catholic church

Grand manner classicism/ Louis XIV style

french alternative to italian baroque, domes, and flat roofs

the fronde

1650s civil war ‘children slinging mud’

Absolutism

A system of monarch in which there are no institutional checks on the monarch's power

Colonnade

A row of columns supporting an entablature.

Arcade

A row of arches

Academies

there were academies of painting, sculpture, belles lettres, dance, the sciences etc

axis

imaginary line that constitutes the central spine of architect or design composition

goose-foot

radiating avenues that converge at one point

French East India Company

A trading corporation re-established by Colbert under Louis XIV in 1664

monopoly on trade with Asia; Principal products: porcelain, tea and silk from China, and cotton from India. Sugar, coffee, cowrie shells, cotton, tobacco and mahogany from colonies

Chinese export goods

silk, porcelain, paper, tea, silver ornaments, lacquer

Chinoiserie

a style of ornamentation currently chiefly in the 18th century in Europe, characterized by intricate patterns and an extensive use of motifs identified as Chinese

Enfilade

arrangement of rooms in linear sequence

salon

final room in enfilade, early 1700s, for conversation and learning of aristocrats

ornamentalist

artist specializing in producing drawings of extravagant objects that will be produced by artisans

Regency

1715-1722, reign of Duc of Orleans on behalf of Louis XV, relaxed morality and love of luxary

Exoticism

Western European fascination for distant cultures and peoples

Maison de Plaisance

vacation homes for the wealthy, suburbs on the outskirts of Paris

Manuscript newsletters

uncensored and illegal forms of news journal, first handwritten then printed after 1777