This glossary is to help you familiarize with the field of architecture. It's really not an easy field of study so it's important to start with the basics.
Arcade
noun
A series of arches supported by columns or other vertical elements.
Balcony
noun
A platform that projects from the wall of a building, and which is enclosed on its outer three sides by a balustrade, railing, or parapet.
Bay
noun
A section of a building distinguished by vertical elements such as columns or pillars. Often, a bay will protrude from the surface of the wall in which it is situated, thus creating a small, nook-like interior space, often of a rectangular or semi-hexagonal outline.
Chevron
noun
A design that incorporates a pointed shape similar to an accent mark, common to Art Deco architecture
Colonnade
noun
A range of columns that supports a string of continuous arches or a horizontal entablature.
Column
noun
A supporting pillar consisting of a base, a cylindrical shaft, and a capital on top of the shaft. Columns may be plain or ornamental.
Cornice
noun
A crowning projection at a roof line, often with molding or other classical detail.
Decorative Motif
noun
A repeated pattern, image, idea, or theme. In classical architecture, series of urns and continuous or repeated swags of garlands are common decorative motifs.
Dormer Window
noun
A perpendicular window located in a sloping roof; triangular walls join the window to the roof. Dormer windows are sometimes crowned with pediments, and they often light attic sleeping rooms; “dormer” derives from “dormir,” French for “to sleep.”
Facade
noun
An exterior wall, or face, of a building. The front facade of a building contains the building’s main entrance, the rear facade is the building’s rear exterior wall, and the side facades are a building’s side exterior walls.
Gallerie
noun
A wide, wrap-around covered porch lined with columns on one side, and common to French Colonial architecture of Louisiana. A gallerie connects interior rooms together, much like a hallway.
Mansard Roof
noun
A four-sided hipped roof featuring two slopes on each side, the lower slopes being very steep, almost vertical, and the upper slopes sometimes being so horizontal that they are not visible from the ground. The Mansard roof was named after the French 17th-century architect Francois Mansart (1598-1666), who popularized the form.
Order
noun
A classical style of architecture. The three primary orders, used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, are, chronologically: the Doric order, the Ionic order, and the Corinthian order.
Parapet
noun
A low wall, located at the top of any sudden drop, such as at the top of the facade of a building.
Patio
noun
Similar to a terrace, a patio is an outdoor extension of a building, situated above the ground level, and open to the sky. Colloquially, a patio is a more informal space than a terrace.
Pillar
noun
A structural support, similar to a column, but larger and more massive, and often without ornamentation. Pillars can be round or square in section, and are most often made of brick, stone, cement, or other masonry, although substantial wooden timbers can be formed into pillars.
Projection
noun
A side wing, tower, or window bay that protrudes from a building.
Roof Ridge
noun
The horizontal intersection of two roof slopes at the top of a roof.
Terrace
noun
An outdoor extension of a building, situated above the ground level, and open to the sky. See patio.