This website makes references to a number of terms that may not be familiar to you. Use the links below to explore this glossary.

 

Abatson

anything to reflect sound downwards or outwards, such as a louvre; series of sloping louvres in a belfry

 

Accolade

two ogee curves meeting in the middle to form a decorative treatment. Used over an arch, door, or window American Colonial Revival a period revival based upon broad interpretations of New England Colonial, Beaux-Arts Classicism, Georgian or Southern Colonial styles; Dutch and Spanish Colonial elements were also popular

 

Arcade

series of arches

 

Arch

curved structure spanning across the top of an opening in a vertical surface (such as a wall)

 

Architecture

the art and science of designing and building structures

 

Architrave

lowest member of an entablature

 

Art Nouveau

design movement shunning imitation of past styles; popular primarily in the 1890s; characterized by stylized undulating natural forms such as waves, flower stems, leaves and flowing hair

 

Arts and Crafts Movement

design movement in architecture led by the British designer, William Morris (1834-1896); characterized by stylized, two-dimensional forms, naturally finished materials and hand-crafted production; in the first two decades of the 20th century The Craftsman magazine was an influential exponent of these design principles in the Unites States; often referred to as the Craftsman movement

 

Ashlar

hewn stone blocks with straight-cut edges

 

Asymmetrical/Asymmetry

composition that is off-balance with respect to a point of reference, such as an imaginary centre-line, as it is drawn through the plan of a facade

 

Attic

space beneath the sloping pitch of a roof and above the uppermost full storey of a building