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150 Weird Words That Only Architects Use


09:30 - 19 October, 2015 | by Rory Stott

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For most students of architecture, the first few years of learning involve ademanding crash course in
architectural jargon. From learning terms as obscure as "gestalt" to redefining your understanding of ideas


as simple as "space," learning the architectural lexicon is one of the most mind-bending processes involved
inbecoming a designer.

This challenge is clearly a universal experience as well: when we asked our readers last monthto suggest
their picks for the "weirdest words that only architects use," we were inundated with suggestions
-including 100 comments on the post itself and over 400comments on our firstFacebook post. Perhaps
even more striking, though, was the fact that inall of these comments, there was remarkably little overlap
in the words and phrases people were suggesting. The huge variety allowed us to select a list of 150 words -
just a fraction of the total suggested.

Why Do Architects Use Such Strange Language?

First up, to give our list some context we'll be discussing our readers' comments about theissues
surrounding architectural language - those who are here for the list alone, feel free to scroll down!

Architecturallanguage can, of course, be used for good reason. Sometimes, concepts are too complex to
express ineveryday language, and some words refer to obscure architectural ideas that the general public
would likely not have previous knowledge of. This was pointed out by jsarhitekt:


Why limit, criticize or mute expression? Architecture has its own language,
not unlike other professions, pursuits, and genres. Does everything have to be
diminished and diluted to lowest common denominator? - jsarhitekt
But as noted in Dougilis' response to jsarhitekt, there's a di erence between talking to other architects and
talking to people outside the profession:

I don't think we are contributing to public discourse by using a language that


is incomprehensible to a layman. When I talk to a physicist, I expect him to be
able to translate his work into terms that I can understand, and all trades and
professions should be held to the same standard. If you cannot explain your
work simply, you don't fully understand your work. - Dougilis
As Lee Calisti points out, the important distinction to make is about intent:


Perhaps it's the wrong question to ask. Motivation is more important. Is one
trying to be a better storyteller with their words or simply being pretentious? -
Lee Calisti, AIA
Margit Rudy points out how our use of language therefore impacts the way others think about architects:

If those of us calling ourselves 'architects' want our hard-earned skill sets


taken seriously in the larger context that we actually view to be our field of
relevance, then it's high time we meet that broader field at least half way in
terms/terminology that we all understand. - Margit Rudy
And finally, perhaps the best argument for simple language was made by Greg Hudspeth, a builder who
clearly isn't impressedby architects' intellectual posturing:

As a builder who has been in the industry for over 20 years, I understand what
I'm doing and consider myself intelligent enough to grasp relatively complex

concepts in construction. However, I have a running list of the ridiculous words
and phrases that the architects we work with are using. I spend a portion of
each day stripping away the flu and overly complicated explanations and
descriptions for simple ideas. It is the biggest waste of time and ego. Sell that
stu to the client but give me the design and plans in the most direct and
correct manner. I can work faster and make fewer changes. - Greg Hudspeth
via Facebook
150 Weird Words That Only Architects Use

Bearingin mind the above comments, it's important to remember that this isn't a list of words you should
immediately stop using; simply be aware of who you're talking to, and besure that if you do use any of
these words they are necessary and appropriate in the context you use them.

This list is by no means exhaustive; with over 750 comments across our original articleand
threeFacebookposts, we had to cap it somewhere! Included here are the words that were mentioned
most o en and which we had encountered ourselves. Sowithout further ado, and in no particular order,
here is our readers' list of 150 weird words that only architects use:
Architecture-specific jargon:

Pastiche
Sustainability
Ergonomy
Genius loci
Facade
Charette
Regionalism
Threshold
Massing
Enfilade
Materiality
Poch
Post-industrial
Diagrammatic
Vernacular
Modular
Deconstruction
Typology
Parametric
Program
Skin
Building envelope
Vault
Arcade
Fenestration
Truncated
Parti
Flneur
Phenomenology
Brutalism
Cantilever
Curvilinear
Rectilinear
Miesian
Corbusian
Permaculture
Blobitecture
Exurbia
Walkability
Pilotis
Verticality
Rebate
Mullion
Muntin
Gentrification
Stylobate

Simple words given new meaning by architects:

Concept
Space
Fabric (urban or building)
Metaphor
Legibility (of something other than writing)
Dimension (meaning a characteristic of something)
Moment
Celebrate
Negotiate
Dynamic
Language
Context
Gesture
Proud (the countertop is proud of the cabinet)
Taxonomy
Hierarchy
Scale
Section
Formal
Nodes
Pods
Grain
Extrapolate
Device
Elevation

Obscure words that architects overuse (or misuse):

Iconic
Organic
Dichotomy
Eclectic
Kitsch
Sequence
Stasis
Interstitial / Interstice
Iteration
Juxtapose/Juxtaposition
Stereotomic
Tectonics (and architectonics)
Liminal
Articulate
Ephemeral
Domesticity
Anthropogenic
Regenerate
Hybrid
Generative
Ambiguity
Catalyst
Penetrate
Appropriate
Inspiration
Contemporary
Amalgamation
Performative
Hegemony
Curate
Bifurcate
Superimpose
Confluences
Gestalt
Zeitgeist
Banal
Blas
Motifs
Procession
Homogenous
Palimpsest
Paradigm
Dissonance
Adjacencies
Parallax
Assemblage
Aesthetic
Monolithic
Uniformity
Morphology
Duality
Nuance
Transient
Redundancy
Robust
Bespoke
Holistic (sometimes even wholistic)
Simultaneity
Esoteric
Concretization
Schism
Unusual terms or phrases that architects love:

Play with (light, space, materials)


Human scale
Create/provide a gesture
How the ____ is received by the ____
Spatial composition
Map out
Explores the notion
Programmatic adjacencies
Activate the space
Public Realm
Outdoor room

Strangeconcepts within architecture:

Solid/Void
Interiority/Exteriority
Push/Pull
Bottom up/Top down
Transparency/Opacity
Served and Service
Negative/Positive space

150 Weird Words Defined: Your Guide to the Language of Architecture

Main image viaShutterstock.com

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Cite: Rory Stott. "150 Weird Words That Only Architects Use" 19 Oct 2015. ArchDaily. Accessed 22 Sep 2017.
<http://www.archdaily.com/775615/150-weird-words-that-only-architects-use/>

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