Architectural Terms and Symbols

Arts & Design Track 8: Lesson 1

Architecture – the art and science od designing and constructing buildings

3 Fundamental Factors
1. Venustas - beauty
2. Firmitas - strength
3. Utilitas – functionality

Parts of a Building

1. Story – a complete horizontal division of a building

2. Floors
a. Ground Floor - the floor nearest to ground level
b. Basement - a story of a building that is wholly or partly below ground level
c. Mezzanine - a low or partial story between two main stories of a building

Façade
– the front of a building any of its sides facing a public way or space

Porch
– an exterior appendage to a building, forming a covered approach vestibule to a doorway

Stoop
- a raised platform, approached by steps and sometimes having a roof, at the entrance of the house

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 enclose by raising or parapet.

Atrium
- a sky lit, central court in a building especially a large interior surrounded by several stories of galleries
 Veranda
- a large open bowl, usually roofed and party enclosed, as by railing, open extending across the front and sides of
a horse

Gazebo
- a free standing roofed structure, usually open on the side, 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 plant

Ceiling
- the overhead interior space or lining of a room, often concealing the underside of the floor
or roof above

Stairs (Basic Type)

1. Straight run stair

- a stair extending from one level to another without turns or winders

2. Quarter-turn Stair
- a stair making a right-angled form, consisting a two straight flights connected by an

3. Half-turn Stair
- a stair that turn 180’ or through two right angles at an intervening landing

4. Spiral Stair
- a circular stair having a wedge-shaped treads winding around and supported by a central spot

5. Double-return Stair
- a stair having one wide flight from the main door to an intermediate landing, and two side flights from that
landing to the floor above
DOORS

1. Swinging Door
- a door that turns on a hinges or pivots about a vertical edge when pushed or pulled

2. Sliding Door
- a door that operates or moves by sliding on a track, usually parallel to a wall

3. Folding Door
- a door with hinged sections that can be folded that against one another when opened

4. Bi-fold Door
- a folding door that divides into two leaves

5. Accordion Door
- a multi-leafed door that is hung from an overhead track

6. Revolving Door
- an entrance door excluding drafts from the interior of a building providing a legal passageway on both sides of
the door pivot

7. Pocket Door
- a door that slides into and end of a recess in a doorway hall

WINDOWS

1. Sliding Window
- a window having two or more sashes of which at least one slides along grooves or tracks

2. Jalousie Window
- a window having horizontal glass or wood lowers that pivot simultaneously in a common frame

3. Awning Window
- a window having one or more sashes swinging outward on hinges generally attached to the top of the frame

4. Picture Window
- a large, usually fixed single pre-window, placed to the frame on attractive exterior view

5. French Window
- a pair of casement of windows extending to the floor an serving us a doorway
6. Bay Window
- a window or series of windows projecting outward from the main wall of a building

ROOFING

1. Flat Roof
- a roof having no slope, or one with only a slight pitch so as to drain rain water

2. Fable Roof
- a roof sloping downward in two parts from a central ridge, so as to form a cable at each end

3. Hip Roof
- a roof having sloping ends and sides meeting at an inclined projecting angle

4. Shed Roof
- a roof having a single slope

5. Butterfly Roof
- a roof having two slopes each ascending inward from the leaves

6. Barrel Roof
- a roof or ceiling having a semi cylindrical form

7. Pavilion Roof
- a pyramidal hip roof

8. Dormer
- a roof projecting structure built out from a sloping roof

DRAWING

1. Sketch
- a simple or hasty executed drawing representing essential features of an object or scene without details

2. Study
- a drawing produced as a preliminary to a final work (sometimes referred as referential drawing)

3. Esquisse
- a sketch showing the general features of a design or plan

4. Line
- a thin continuous mark made on a surface

5. Outline
- describing the outer boundary of an object

6. Profile
- an outline of a form or structure seen or represented from the side

Drafting Lines

1. Object Line
- representing a contour of an object
2. Pasted Line
- a broken line used to represent object lines that are hidden

3. Center Line
- to represent the axis of a symmetrical element or composition

Draftline Lines

1. Dimension Lines
- line terminated by arrows, short lashes or dots, indicating the extent on magnitude of a part or the whole, and along which
measurements are scaled or indicated

2. Extension Lines
- a line extending from an edge of feature of an object, to which a dimension line is drawn

3. Drafting Lines
- a short line leading the edge from note or dimension to a reference point, line, or area

4. Break Lines
- a broken line consisting a relatively segments joined by a short zigzag arrows, used to cut off a portion of a drawing

Other Terms

Arch
- a curved structure for spanning an opening design to support a vertical lead primarily by axial composition

Dome
- a vaulted structure having a circular plan and usually the form

Vault
- an arched structure forming a ceiling over a hall room, or other wholly or partially enclosed space

Tross
- a structural frame based on the geometric rigidity of a triangle and composed of linear members subject only to axial tension or
compression