Architectural dictionary

An architectural dictionary

Arcade: an architectural element consisting of two supports (pillars or columns) connected by an arch.

Architects: persons who design buildings and supervise their construction.

Architectural design: a document containing information necessary for construction, including information on technologies andmaterials to be used.

Architectural plan: a drawing that shows the layout of the rooms on the building floor.

Avant-corps: a part of a building that juts out from the principal or main block of the building, often taller than its other parts.

City map: a large-scale map of a city which maps out the layout of the streets with their names and marks important places.

Column: a free-standing architectural support for a building or figure, usually a large round shaft, which has both a load-bearing and decorative function.

Cornice: any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building element. A projecting cornice on a building has the function of throwing rainwater free of its walls. It is also an ornamental element.

Courtyard: an open space surrounded by a building or complex, open to the sky, often with utilitarian and representative functions.

Engineer: A person who is trained in a profession of engineering, competent to apply the scientific method and outlook to design various devices, improve their operation and solve engineering problems. The profession requires knowledge of mathematics, physics and other science subjects, as well as knowledge of modern technology.

Facade: the front of a building; often representative face of a building with special architectural treatment. Some buildings, such as Baroque palaces, have two representative facades – one facing the entrance and one facing the garden. Often the internal divisions of the building can be read from the facade, such as the number of its floors.

Foundation: the element of a structure which connects it to the ground. Usually, it was made of stone or brick, sometimes also wood.

Land surveyor: a person who measures the shape of the land and gathers data for civil engineering and construction projects.

Official residence (or residenz): a location of an official, such as a head of state, head of government, governor, or other senior figures. The residence may serve as a place where these individuals conduct their work and where they live.

Pavilion: a small, usually single-storey building of light construction, usually part of a complex of buildings. Small garden pavilions were popular between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Pillar: an upright support for a structure or superstructure in the form of a column bearing the weight of a building, bridge, viaduct, etc.

Reconstruction: the act or process of rebuilding, repairing, or restoring the damaged building or its part to the condition before the destruction. This is done based on surviving plans, photographs or drawings.

Saxon Axis: an eighteenth-century Baroque architectural and urban complex in Warsaw. Its design was related to the construction of the new residence of King Augustus II the Strong. The axis, running perpendicularly to the Vistula River and Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, subordinated the layout of the remaining buildings to that of the Saxon Palace with its courtyard and garden.

Staircase: a room in a building where a stair is located and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height.

Triumphal Arch: a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, usually richly decorated. Its history dates back to the second century BC. It was built to celebrate important people or events, such as victories in battles.

Tympanum: a semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window, bounded by a lintel and an arch, often with sculpture or other imagery or ornaments.

Urban spatial layout: the spatial arrangement of a city or residential area, including the layout of roads, squares, buildings, infrastructure or green areas.