GLOSSARY

What is a "cornice"?
The cornice is the uppermost section of moldings along the top of a wall or just below a roof.

A simple cornice set below the roof.

A highly decorative cornice set along the top of a

wall.

What is a frieze?
A frieze is a horizontal band which runs above doorways and windows or below the cornice. The frieze
may be decorated with designs or carvings.

Cornice

Frieze

What is a pediment?
A pediment is a low-pitched triangular gable on the front of some buildings in the Grecian or Greek
Revival style of architecture.

What is a pilaster?
A pilaster is a rectangular support which resembles a flat column. The pilaster projects only slightly
from the wall, and has a base, a shaft, and a capital. Greek Revival homes often have pilasters.

Simple Pilaster Ornate Pilaster

What is a gable?

A gable is the triangle formed by a sloping roof. A building may be front-gabled or

side-gabled. The house shown here is cross-gabled -- It has a gabled wing. Porches and dormers may
also be gabled.

What is a dormer?

A dormer is a window which is set vertically on a sloping roof. The dormer has its
own roof, which may be flat, arched, or pointed.

What is a hipped roof?

A hipped (or hip) roof slopes down to the eaves on all four sides. Hipped roofs are often found on
French Inspired and American Foursquare style homes. Although a hipped roof is not gabled, it
may have dormers or connecting wings with gables.

This mail-order home from Sears, Roebuck

has a hipped roof and a dormer

What is an eave?

An eave is the edge of a roof. Eaves usually project beyond the side of the building. Some
buildings, such as Craftsman Bungalows, have very wide eaves with decorative brackets.

What is a "cupola"?
A cupola is a dome-shaped ornamental structure placed on the top of a larger roof or dome. In some
cases, the entire main roof of a tower or spire can be a cupola. More frequently, however, the cupola
is a smaller structure which sets on top of the main roof.

Illustration from ArtToday.com

Often, you can reach the cupola by climbing a stairway inside the building. This type of cupola is
called a belvedere or a widow's walk. Some cupolas, called lanterns, have small windows which
illuminate the areas below.

What is a balustrade?
A balustrade is a row of repeating balusters -- small posts which support the upper rail
of a railing. Staircases and porches often have balustrades.

What is a mansard roof?

A mansard roof has two slopes on each of the four sides. The lower slope is steeper
than the upper slope. Dormers are often set in the lower slope. The upper slope is
usually not visible from the ground.

Illustration from ArtToday.com

The term "mansard" comes from the French architect Franois Mansart (1598-1666) of
the Beaux Arts School of Architecture in Paris, France. Mansart revived interest in this
roofing style, which had been characteristic of French Renaissance architecture, and
was used for portions of the Louvre.
Another revival of the mansard roof occurred in the 1850s, when Paris was rebuilt by
Napoleon III. The style became associated with this era, and the term Second Empire is
often used to describe any building with a mansard roof.
Mansard roofs were considered especially practical because they allowed usable living
quarters to be placed in the attic. For this reason, older buildings were often remodeled
with mansard roofs. In the United States, Second Empire -- or Mansard -- was a
Victorian style, popular from the 1860s through the 1880s.

What
What
What
What

is a battlement?
is a crenellation?
are embrasures?
are merlons?
On a castle or fort, a battlement or a crenellation is a parapet with open spaces for
shooting. The raised portions of a battlement are called merlons, and the openings are
called embrasures. Masonry buildings in the Gothic Revival style may have architectural
decoration which resembles battlements.

What is a parapet?
A parapet is a low wall projecting from the edge of a platform, terrace, or roof. Parapets may rise
above the cornice of a building or form the upper portion of a defensive wall on a castle. In Mission
style homes, rounded parapets are often used as decorative features.

What is a quatrefoil window?

A quatrefoil window is a round window which is composed of four equal lobes, like a four-petaled
flower.
The quatrefoil pattern is common in Moorish and gothic architecture. Also, many Mission style homes
have quatrefoil windows.

What is an oriel window?

An oriel window projects from the wall and does not extend to the ground. Oriel
windows originated as a form of porch. They are often supported by brackets or corbels.
Buildings in the Gothic Revival style often have oriel windows.

Oriel Window

Illustration from ArtToday.com

What is a "column"?
A column is an upright pillar or post. Columns may support a roof or a beam, or they may be purely
decorative. The lower portion of a column is called the base. The upper portion of a column is called
the capital. The area which the column supports is called the entablature. Classical columns are built
according to the Classic Orders of Architecture as recorded in the late 1500's by the Renaissance
architect, Vignola. The classical column designs are:
A combined style, known as Composite, was developed in Ancient Rome.

What is stucco?
Traditional stucco is a cement mixture used for siding, usually on Mission or other
Spanish style homes. The cement is combined with water and inert materials such as
sand and lime. Usually, wooden walls are covered with tar paper and chicken wire or
galvanized metal screening. This framework is then covered with the stucco mixture.
Sometimes, the cement mix is applied directly to specially prepared masonry surfaces.
This Spanish style home in Miami Springs, Florida has stucco siding. The homeowner,
Kim, sent this photo for our Mystery House series, where you can see more views of the
house.
Although stucco-sided homes became popular in twentieth century America, the
concept of using cement mixtures in architecture goes back to ancient times. Wall
frescoes by ancient Greeks and Romans were painted on fine-grained hard plaster
surfaces made of gypsum, marble dust and glue.
Stucco techniques were elaborated by the Italians during the Renaissance and spread
through Europe. This marble dust compound could be molded into decorative shapes,
polished to a sheen or painted.
Many homes built after the 1950s use a variety of synthetic materials which resemble
stucco. Mock stucco siding is often composed of foam insulation board or cement panels
secured to the walls. Although synthetic stucco may look authentic, real stucco tends to
be heavier. Walls made of genuine stucco sound solid when tapped and will be less likely
to suffer damage from a hard blow. Also, genuine stucco holds up well in wet
conditions. Although it is porous and will absorb moisture, it will dry easily, without
damage to the structure.
One type of sythetic stucco, known as EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems),
has been associated with moisure problems. The underlying wood on EIFS sided homes
may suffer rot damage. However, other types of synthetic stucco are quite durable. It's
always a wise to have a professional inspection before purchasing a stucco-sided home.
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For more information about stucco problems, see EIFS Central from your Guide to Home
Repair. For close-up photos, check out his disturbing feature, Bad Stucco in a Good
Neighborhood.

What is "half-timbered" construction?

A "half-timbered" building has exposed wood framing. The spaces between the wooden timbers are
filled with plaster, brick, or stone.

In Medieval times, many European houses were half-timbered. The

structural timbers were exposed. In the United States, harsh winters
made half-timbered construction impractical. The plaster and masonry
filling between the timbers could not keep out cold drafts. Builders
began to cover exterior walls with wood or masonry.

Illustration from ArtToday

In the 19th and 20th centuries, it became fashionable to imitate Medieval building techniques. Many
Queen Anne and Stick style houses were given false half-timbering. Timbers were applied to wall
surfaces as decoration. Tudor, or Medieval Revival, style houses were often lavishly covered with
ornamental half-timbering.

What is a "chimney pot"?

Tudor or Medieval Revival style buildings often have wide, very tall chimneys with round
or octagonal "pots" on top of each flue. Multiple chimneys have separate flues, and each
flue has its own chimney pot. Some chimney pots are beautifully decorated, like the
ones shown here.

What is Beaux Arts?

Pronunciation: bO-zr'; or bO-zar' in French
In French, the term beaux arts means fine arts. Based on ideas taught at the legendary cole des
Beaux-Arts in Paris, the Beaux Arts style flourished between 1885 and 1920.
Combining ancient Greek and Roman forms with Renaissance ideas, Beaux Arts is an eclectic
Neoclassical style. Colossal masonry buildings are highly ornamented with garlands, flowers or
shields. Often you'll find a profusion of columns, pilasters, balustrades and window balconies. Because
of the size and grandiosity of these buildings, Beaux Arts became the favored style for court houses,
museums, railroad terminals and government buildings.
The Beaux Arts movement was also concerned with formal design and city planning. In the United
States, these ideas inspired planned suburbs with vast parks and wide, manicured boulevards lined
with large, showy houses.
Beaux Arts architecture fell out of favor by the mid-20th century. The massive, elaborate buildings
were considered ostentatious. Frank Lloyd Wright called them "Frenchite pastry" (In the Course of
Architecture). However, later in the 20th century some postmodernist theorists awakened a new
appreciation for Beaux Arts ideas.

What is a bargeboard?
What is a vergeboard?
Bargeboards -- also called vergeboards -- hang from the projecting end of a roof.
Bargeboards are often elaborately carved and ornamented. Homes in the Carpenter
Gothic style have highly ornamented bargeboards. Other common terms to describe
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bargeboards and vergeboards include: fly rafters, gable rafters, gableboards and barge
rafters.

Gable with vergeboard

Illustration from ArtToday.com

What is a buttress?
What is a flying buttress?
A buttress is a support -- usually brick or stone -- built against a wall to support or
reinforce it. A flying buttress is a free-standing buttress attached to the main structure
by an arch or a half-arch.

Flying Buttress
Illustration from ArtToday.com

Cob Houses
In Old English, cob was a root word which meant lump or rounded mass. Cob houses are made of
clay-like lumps of soil, sand and straw. Unlike adobe and straw bale construction, cob does not use
bricks or blocks. Instead, wall surfaces can be sculpted into smooth, sinuous forms. A cob home may
have sloping walls, arches and lots of wall niches.
Cob homes are possibly the most practical form of earth architecture. Because the mud mixture is
porous, it withstands long periods of rain without weakening. A plaster made of lime and sand may be
used to windproof the exterior walls from wind damage. Cob houses are suitable for the desert or for
very cold climates.

What is a dentil molding?

A dentil is one of a series of a series of closely spaced, rectangular blocks that form a molding. The
dentil molding usually projects below the cornice, along the roofline of a building. However, the dentil
molding can form a decorative band anywhere on the structure.

This Caryatid porch from ancient Athens, Greece has Ionic dentils
Illustrations from ArtToday.com

What is a gargoyle?
A gargoyle is a sculpture or rain spout carved to resemble a grotesque creature or monster. Gothic
cathedrals often have gargoyles.
This ancient "gargoyle" comes from the Acropolis in Greece.

What is a Palladian window?

A Palladian window is a large window which is divided into three parts. The center section is larger
than the two side sections, and is usually arched. Renaissance architecture and other buildings in
classical styles often have Palladian windows. On Adam or Federal style houses, there is often a
Palladian window in the center of the second story.
The term "Palladian" comes from Andrea Palladio, a Renaissance architect
whose work inspired some of the greatest buildings in Europe and the
United States. Modeled after classical Greek and Roman forms, Palladio's
buildings often featured arched openings.
Shown here is a detail drawing of arched windows in Andrea Palladio's
basilica.
Architecture Glossary

What is trompe l'oeil?

French for "fool the eye," trompe l'oeil is decorative painting which creates
the illusion of reality. In Portmeirion, Wales, for example, the Gloriette has
trompe l'oeil designs which suggest real windows.
Trompe l'oeil is a form of Faux Pas -- false finish -- painting, and the two
terms are often used interchangeably.