INTERIOR DESIGN BY DK CHING

Accessibilty

A property of design describing elements of the physical environment that allow people with disabilities or special needs to use them with safety and dignity

Active-solar heating

A heating system that uses mechanical means to collect, store and distribute solar energy

Adaptive reuse

Changing the function of a building onto something not intended for the original structure

Alternating current (AC)

An electric current that reverses direction at regularly recurring intervals

Ambient lighting

Lighting designed to provide a non directional, shadowless light level from all sides

Ampere

A measure of the actual amount of energy flow or current in an electric current

Axonometric Projection

A paraline drawing having all lines parallel to the three principal axes drawn to scale, but with diagonal and curved lines distorted

Bariatic

Relating to or specializing in the treatment of obesity

Beam

A rigid structural member designed to carry and transfer transverse loads across space to supporting elements

Brightness

The sensation by which an observer is able to discern how much light energy is reflected by a surface

Building Envelope

The shell of a building, consisting of its exterior walls, windows, doors and roof which protect and shelter interior spaces from the exterior environment

Building Information Management (BIM)

A digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a building that serves as a shared knowledge resource.

Chroma

The degree by which a color differs from a gray of the same lightness or brightness, corresponding to saturation of the perceived color

Color Rendering Index (CRI)

A measure of a lamp's ability to render color accurately when compared with a reference light source of similar color temperature

Column

A rigid, relatively slender structural member designed primarily to support loads applied at its ends along its axis

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

Fluorescent lamp with integral ballast, available in many forms

Complementary Hues

Those hues directly opposite each other on a color wheel

Computer Aided Design (CAD)

The use of computer technology for the process of design and design documentation

Conduction

Direct transfer of heat from the warmer to the cooler particles of a medium or of two bodies in direct contact

Contract furnishings

Furnishings purchased for commercial office spaces under a furniture, furnishings and equipments (FF&E) contract

Convection

Heat transfers due to the circulatory motion of the heated parts of a liquid or gas

Cornice

A continuous molding that crowns or horizontally divides wall

Cove

A concave surface at the edge of a ceiling that eliminates the interior angle between the wall and ceiling planes, and a concave molding or trim

Dead loads

Static loads acting vertically downward on a structure, including the weight of the structure itself and the weight of building elements, fixtures and equipment permanently attached to it

Decibel (dB)

A unit expressing the relative pressure or intensity of sounds on a uniform scale from zero for the least perceptible sound to about 130 for the average threshold of pain

Direct Current (DC)

A electric current flowing in one direction only

Ductile

Capable of being drawn into wire or hammered thin

Dynamic loads

Loads applied suddenly to a structure, often with rapid changes in the size of the force and the point to which it is applied, including earthquakes and the loads caused by winds

Efficacy

The measure of the efficiency of a light source in lumens per watt

Elastomers

Fibers capable of returning to their original shape after being stretched

Embodied energy

The total energy consumption associated with a particular material, from raw material acquisition and manufacturing through transportation to point of use

Emphasis

The stress or prominence given to an element in a composition by means of contrast, anomaly or counterpoint

Ergonomics

The application of human factors to design

Evaporation

Heat loss due to the process of converting moisture into a vapor

Evidence-based design

An approach to design that seeks to create better design outcomes by basing decisions on credible research

Faux-finish

Any of various techniques intended to imitate natural materials, such as wood graining and marbleizing; the term is often used for any decorative painting finish

Fenestration

The design and placement of windows in a building

Figure-ground

The relationship between the outline or exterior surface of a shape or form (figure) and the receding part of a visual field against which the figure is seen

Flame retardant chemical

A compound that inhibits, suppresses, or delays the production of flames to prevent the spread of fire

Floor plan

A drawing representing a section through a building or portion of a building after a horizontal slice is made and the upper part removed

Flutter

A rapid succession of echoes with sufficient time between each reflection for the listener to be aware of separate, discrete signals, produced by repetitive reflections off hard surfaces arriving at different times and perceived as a buzzing or clicking sound

Alternating current (AC)

An electric current that reverses direction at regularly recurring intervals

Active-solar heating system

A heating system that uses mechanical means to collect, store, and distribute solar energy

Focal lighting

Lighting that offers a contrast in brightness that is directive and creates a sense of depth

Foot candle

A unit of illuminance derived from the light produced by a candle at the distance of one foot, equal to one lumen incident per square foot

Form

The shape and structure of something, as distinguished from its substance or material

Foundation

The substructure that forms the base of a building, anchors

it to the ground, and supports the building elements and spaces above.

Furniture, furnishings and equipments (FF&E)

Terms used in commercial design for office furnishings purchased under contract

Furring

Wood strips or metal channels attached to a wall to provide a base for lath or a finish material, or to add an air space to composite construction

Gable

The triangular portion of wall enclosing the end of a pitched roof

Galvanic corrosion

Deterioration of a metal caused by an electric current flowing between dissimilar metals through a liquid that conducts electricity

Girder

A large primary beam designed to support concentrated loads at isolated points along its width

Glazing

The panes or sheets of glass or other transparent material made to be set in frames, as in windows, doors or mirrors

Golden section

Proportion between two unequal parts of a whole in which the ratio between the smaller and greater parts is equal to the ratio between the greater part and the whole

Harmony

The consonance or pleasing agreement of elements or parts in a composition

Header

A framing member supporting the ends joists, studs, or rafters to transfers and a masonry unit laid horizontally in a wall with its end parallel to the surface

High-intensity discharge (HID) lamp

A lamp that produces light by the discharge of electricity through a metallic vapor in a sealed glass enclosure

Hue

The attribute by which we recognize and describe a color, such as red or yellow

Illuminance

The quantity of light striking a surface measured in footcandles or lux

Infiltration

The flow of outside air into an interior space through cracks around windows and doors or other openings in the envelope of a building

Interior elevation

An orthographic projection of any of the significant interior walls of a building.

Joists

A series of small, parallel beams for supporting floors, ceilings or flat roofs

Kerf

A groove cut into edges of a material, such as an acoustical tile, to receive a supporting grid

Laminated glass

Two or more plies of glass bonded to an interlayer that retains the fragments if the glass is broken

Lamp

A device that produces light; a bulb or tube within a lighting fixture and common name for a plug-in lighting fixture, such as table lamp or floor lamp

Lateral force

Any force acting horizontally on a structure

Lath

Thin strips of wood or metal attached to framing to provide a substructure for plaster

Lavatory

A bowl or basin with running water for washing the face and hands

Line

A geometric element that conceptually has only one dimension, length. A line's length visually dominates whatever thickness it must have to be visible

Lintel

An arch or a short beam that supports the wall load above an opening and allows compressive stresses to around the opening to adjacent sections of the wall

Live loads

Loads that change over time, but generally gradually, including the weight of a building's occupant, any mobile equipment and furnishings and any collected snow and water

Load-bearing wall

A wall capable of supporting an imposed load, as from a floor or roof

Lumen

A measure of the amount of light emitted by a light source or falling onto a surface, regardless of directionally

Luminance

A measure of brightness of a light source or an illuminated surface

Motif

A distinctive and recurring shape, form, or color in a design

Multiview drawings

A set of related orthographic projections of an object or construction, including plans, elevations and sections

Natural ventilation

Providing fresh air by means of the natural movement of air, rather than by mechanical means

Oblique projections

The representation of a three-dimensional object with one principal face parallel to the picture plane, created by projecting parallel lines at angles other than 90 degrees to the picture plane

Off-gassing

The vaporization of chemical compounds into surrounding air

Orthographic drawing

A method of projection in which parallel projectors meet the picture plane at right angles; any element that is parallel to the picture plane remains, true in size, shape and configuration

Paraline drawing

A drawing in which parallel lines remain to each other rather than converge, as they do in linear perspective

Partition

A non-loadbearing interior wall dividing a room or part of a building into separate areas

Passive solar-heating system

A heating system that uses a building's design and the natural flow of heat to collect, store and distribute solar energy, with minimal use of fans or pumps

Pattern

The decorative design or ornamentation of a surface that is almost always based on the repetition of a design motif

Perspective drawing

A drawing that represents three-dimensional surface as they might appear to the eye

Photovoltaic (PV)

Of or related to a technology that uses a solid-state device capable of converting solar energy into electrical energy, such as that employed by a solar panel to produce an electric current when exposed to light

Pigment

A finely ground, insoluble substance suspended in a liquid vehicle to impart color and opacity to a coating

Pilaster

A shallow rectangular projection from a wall, architecturally treated as a column

Plane

A surface generated by a line moving in a direction other than its intrinsic direction. A plane's width and length dominate whatever thickness it must have to be visible

Plenum

The space between a suspended ceiling and the floor structure above, or the space below a raised access floor, especially when used for distributing or returning conditioned air

Point

A dimensionless geometric element marking a location space. Conceptually, it has no length, width, or depth; commonly manifested as a lot

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE)

Chemicals used as flame retardants in building materials, furnishings, polyurethane foams, and textiles, which may be associated with fertility problems in humans

Potable

Water fir for human consumption

Proportion

The relationship of one part to another or to the whole, or between one object and another

Rabbet

A channel, groove or notch cut along

Radiation

Heat energy emitted by a warm body, transmitted through an intervening space and absorbed by a cooler body , without being affected by air motion or temperature

Reveal

A continuous recess that visually separates the meeting two planes and articulates their edges by the shadow lines they create

Reverberation

The persistence of a sound within a space, caused by multiple reflections of the sound after its source has stopped

Rhythm

Movement characterized by a patterned repetition or alteration of formal elements or motifs in the same or a modified form.

Riser

The vertical face of a stair step, and a pipe, conduit or duct in a utility system