Definitions Flashcards
Enfalade
A series of rooms with the doorways aligned. EX. Baroque palaces
Appartement
A suite of rooms in a French residence.
Hôtel
A town house. EX. Hôtel de Soubise
Entwurff einer historischen Architectur
A Plan of Civil and Historical Architecture (1721)
Gesamtkunstwerk
Total work of art, ideal work of art, universal artwork. The term was first used by the German writer and philosopher K. F. E. Trahndorff.
Mansart/Mansard Roof
A roof that has four sloping sides, each of which becomes steeper halfway down. This term is coined after the French architect Francois Mansart, who did not invent the roof but instead used it efficiently. EX. Chateau de Blois
Salon
A reception or sitting room in a large house. Commonly used to gather people to share conversation. EX. Salon de Princesse in Hôtel de Soubise
Rococo
An architectural time period characterized by an elaborately ornamental late baroque style of decoration prevalent in 18th-century Continental Europe, with asymmetrical patterns involving motifs and scroll work.
Trajan’s Column
A Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars.
Imperial Plan
Double return stairway.
Spire/Steeple
A tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common onChristian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure.
Anglo-Palladianism
An architectural movement, primarily in England between 1710 and 1760,
set up in reaction to the Baroque style of architecture; marked by the
rediscovery of works of Inigo Jones and the earlier works of Andrea
Palladio. Occasionally called Burlingtonian style or PalladianRevival.
Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture
An Italian written work on architecture by the architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). Celebrated the idea of the purity and simplicity of classical architecture.
Feng Shui
“wind and water” form of geomancy or design philosophy based in harmony in nature. For instance, Qi, Polarity and Bagua.
Pagoda
Form of a stupa found in Japan and China comprised of multi-stories.
EX. Song Dynasty
Ying Zao Fashi
A building manual written in 1103 by Li Jie. The 34 chapters in the book specify in detail the units of measurement, the construction of moats and fortifications, and standards for stonework as well as for greater and lesser woodwork.
Torii
Ceremonial entry gate to shrine. It symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.
Tatami
Type of dimeonsional mats used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms.
EX. Used to proportionally compose the Katsura Palace.
Japanese Gardens
There are two types:
Minimalistic- Zen Sand Gardens
Landscape Gardens- a representation of the world in miniture
Domed Mosque (vs. Hypostyle Mosque)
The domes, often placed directly above the main prayer hall, may signify the vaults of heaven and the sky.
With a combination of columns and arches, the hypostyle hall became one of the two main types of mosque construction. EX: The Great Mosque, Córdoba
Pendentives
A constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular room.
Cami/Jami
Friday (Jami Masjid= congregational Friday Mosque). It is located in Yevpatoria, Crimea. Built between 1552 and 1564, and designed by the famous Turkish architect Mimar Sinan.
Quibla Wall
The direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salat; wall that faces Mecca (birthplace of Muhammad).
Mihrab
Niche in quibla wall.
Minbar
A pultpit or seat installed to the right of the mihrab in mosques.
Iwan/Eyvan
A vaulted or domed recess open on one side of the courtyard in mosque.
Madresa/Madrasa
College for students of religion or religious law.
Pietra Dura
Stone inlay; A term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is considered a decorative art.
Jali
A perforated stone or latticed screen.
Peacock Arches
Arches with scallopes.
Diwan-I-Am
Public audience hall. Located in the Red Fort of Delhi, it was where the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658) and his successors received members of the general public and heard their grievances.
Diwan-I-Khas
Private audience hall. In the Red Fort of Delhi was the place where the Mughal emperor received courtiers and state guests.
Sinan the Great AKA Koca
(c.1491-1588) He was the chief Ottoman architect and civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He was responsible for the construction of more than 300 major structures and other more modest projects.
Daga
Finishing layer of clay on a building.
Regional differences between Colonial houses in New England and in Virginia
ASK ELENA
Saltbox
A frame house having up to three stories at the front and one fewer at the back with a steeply pitched roof.
Quoins
An angle at the outside corner of a building.These special stones or bricks reinforce the corners of brick or stone buildings.
Palladian Window
A large window consisting of a central arched section flanked by two narrow rectangular sections.
