MISC ARCHITECTURE VOCABULARY Flashcards
ABACISCUS
diminutive form of the word abacus
a patterned tile or rectangular area in a mosaic
ABACUS
flat squared slab at the very top of a classical column, the upper part of a capital above an echinus and below an entablature
ABRASION
the act of being rubbed or worn down
ABRASION RESISTANCE
the resistance of a surface, coating, etc. to marking or scratching
ABS
acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
opaque engineering thermoplastic widely used in electronic housings, auto parts, consumer products, pipe fittings
ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY
the moisture content of air measured as the weight of water vapor per unit volume of air
SI units are kg/m^3
ABSORPTION
a physical phenomenon, the soaking up of a liquid by a porous solid, a gas by a liquid, or energy in the form of sound, heat or light by matter; see sound absorption, attenuation.
ACACIA
genus of bushes and hardwood trees from warm climates, whose wood is used for outdoor furniture;
specimens often planted as ornamentals in countries w/ suitable conditions of warmth
Acacia Melanoxylon
ACANTHUS
carved and decorative ornament found especially adorning classical Corinthian capitals, based on stylized leaves of the Mediterranean acanthus plant
ACCELERATED SET
in concrete work, an increase in the rate of stiffening during the setting of concrete
ACCENT LIGHTING
interior lighting designed to illuminate or accentuate features in a room, such as artwork, architectural details and furnishings
ACCEPTOR
a metal or extruded plastics product attached at the edge of a wall opening, to which a door or window frame can be easily attached.
ACCESS CONTROL
any of a number of security systems using locks, surveillance equipment and card readers w/in a building or restricted areas to allow the circulation of authorized persons but inhibit the passage of intruders
ACCESS COVER
a covering hatch, plate or construction attached over an access opening in a drainage pipe, duct or vessel, removed to allow for cleaning and maintenance
ACCOUPLED
in classical architecture, a description of columns or pilasters arranged in pairs, twinned or joined together
ACCRINGTON BRICK
a hard, dark red brick made of shale from East Lancashire in England, used for engineering and industrial purposes
ACER
genus of trees commonly known as maples
128 species
ACID CLEANING
a cleaning treatment for metals using sulphuric, phosphoric or citric acids in combination with surfactants to remove contaminants, rust and scale from the surface
ACORN
ovoid finial resembling the fruiting body of an oak tree
used as an ornamental terminating element for a balustrade or pier
ACROTERION, ACROTER
in classical architecture, a plinth or pedestal for statues, set at the apex or eaves of a temple
also often the statures or ornaments themselves
plural - acroteria; latin - acroterium. greek - akroterion
ACRYLIC SHEET
strong translucent or opaque lightweight sheet of polymethyl methacrylate plastics used for glazing and cladding
marketed as perspex and plexiglas
ACYLIC
a synthetic polymer resin used in plastics, paints, adhesives and textiles
ACOUSTIC PLASTER
plaster containing lightweight or other porous aggregates, used for its acoustic properties, especially sound absorption
also called acoustic mortar
ADAM STYLE
a style in interior decoration in England from 1760-70 named after the Adam brothers, John, Robert, and James, and characterized by classical motifs and bold colours
ADIABATIC
referring to a thermodynamics process which occurs w/o the transfer of heat
ADULARIA
a transparent variety of the mineral orthoclase or potash feldspar found in the Alps
a milky variety of this is known as moonstone
AEDICULE,
AEDICULA (LATIN)
classical architecture
a niche, recess or pedimented structure, especially one housing a statue, surrounded by columns, pilasters, or colonnettes
AEOLIC CAPITAL
in classical architecture, a forerunner of teh ionic capital with a rectangular upper section supported by volutes divided by palmette decoration
AERATED CONCRETE
cellular, porous
various types of light-weight concrete for in-situ work and precast products with good thermal insulation produced by the introduction of bubbles of gas into the mix, either by a foaming agent, by adding foam, by mechanical foaming or by adding a chemical which reacts with the concrete to produce gas bubbles
AERATION
the introduction of air into a material such as soil, water, concrete etc
especially the introduction of oxygen into raw sewage to reduce the quantity of other dissolved gases
AERIAL
antenna - a telecommunications receiver for airborne electromagnetic transmissions
AEROSOL
a suspension of fine particles of solid or liquid in a gas, usually air
AFRICAN MAHOGANY
a group of west African hardwoods with relatively strong and durable orange-brown timber
used for interior joinery, furniture and boat building
true mahogany comes from the south and central American trees swietenia spp.
AFRICAN WALNUT
ALONA, CONGO WOOD
west African hardwood with plain golden brown timber; used for furniture, paneling and veneers.
AGGLOMERATED CORK
a light, porous, buoyant material manufactured by reconstituting granulated cork to form slabs and other products
AGGREGATE
inert granular material such as sand, gravel, crushed rock and clinker used as a main solid constituent in concrete, plaster, tarmacadam and asphalt
AGGREGATE EXPOSURE
a finish treatment for a concrete surface in which water, or in some cases acid, is sprayed to wash away the surface layer of cement, revealing the coarse aggregate; the result is called exposed aggregate concrete.
AIR ADMITTANCE VALVE
a valce in a drainage system to permit the entrance of ventilating fresh air an to even out pressure differences.
AIR BRICK / VENTILATING BRICK
a brick with regular round perforations from stretcher face to stretcher face, used to reduce the weight of walling construction and for ventilating cavity walls, basement spaces, etc…
AIR-CHANGE RATE
the specified number of times per hour that
ventilating air in a room is completely renewed and old air extracted, expressed as the hourly volume of air provided to a space divided by the volume of the space.
AIR-DETRAINING ADMIXTURE
AIR-DETRAINING AGENT
in concrete work, an admixture included in the concrete mix to inhibit the inclusion of air
