Dictionary of Architectural Terms

Словарь архитектурных терминов

Dictionary of architectural terms. Erker, Shirinka, Rotunda, Pryloslo, Portico, Portal, Porebrik, Pilaster, Buttress, Column, Capitel, Zakomara, Comb, Garland, Gulbishche, Voluty, Belvedere, Balusters, Balustrade, Atticus, Entablement and others ...

When creating the section, materials were used: "Architectural and Construction Dictionary" by VSPoplavsky and other sources.

A visual guide for those who want to understand architecture (To the next time you could easily distinguish the balustrade from the baluster, we made a simple and understandable guide on the basic architectural terms and forms.)

Entablature (French Entablement, from table - table, board) - the upper horizontal part of the structure, usually lying on the columns , is an integral element of the classical architectural warrant . The entablature is divided into a bearing part - architrave, on the frieze supported on it and the crowning part - the cornice. The entablature arose on the basis of a wooden beam ceiling and in its forms reflects its structure. [ Picture ]

Apsida , apsida (from the Greek Hapsis , genus case h apsidos - vault) - located in the eastern part of the Christian temple altar ledge, semicircular, faceted or rectangular in plan.

Arch (from lat. Arcus - arc, bend) - curvilinear overlapping of an aperture in a wall or space between two supports. Arches first appeared in the architecture of the Ancient East, were widely used in the architecture of ancient Rome. See the creeping arch .

Arcade (From the French Arcade) - a series of arches of the same shape and size, supported by columns or pillars. Most often it is used for the installation of open galleries. [ Picture ]

Arkatur (from Arkatur) - a series of decorative false arches on the facade of the building or on the inner walls of the premises. Sometimes it looks like a belt, supplemented by columns on brackets ( arkaturno-columnar belt ). [ Picture ]

Arkaturno-columnar belt - see the Arcatura .

Architrave - see entablement .

Attic (from the Greek Attikos - attic) - the wall erected above the cornice crowning the architectural structure, the rectangular completion of the portico . [ Picture ]

Balustrade (French balustrade) - fencing (usually low) of stairs, terraces, balconies, etc., consisting of a series of figured columns (balusters), connected from above by a horizontal beam or handrails. [ Picture ]

Balusters - low figured columns (sometimes with carved decor), supporting the railings of balconies, stairs, etc.

The drum is a cylindrical or multi-faceted base of a dome (in Russian architecture of the XVII century sometimes - a decorative bulbous head ), usually cut through the windows. [ Picture ]

The Runner is a decorative brickwork in the form of a girdle of triangular depressions, turned vertically alternately up and down. drawing

Gazebo (Italian Belvedere, lit. - beautiful view) - superstructure above the building, usually round in plan drawing

Vase - decorative decoration in the form of a vase. Characteristic of baroque and Naryshkin baroque. [ Picture ]

Voluta (Latin and Italian Voluta, lit. - curl, spiral) - an architectural motif in the form of a spiral curl with a circle (eyelet) in the center. Part of the Ionic capital , is also part of the Corinthian and composite capitals. The form of the volute has various architectural details, characteristic of the Baroque style. [ Picture ]

The octagon is in the Russian stone and wooden architecture octagonal in terms of construction or part of the structure. Distributed mainly in church architecture. The octagons were usually placed on a quadrangular base (type "octagon on a quadrangle"), less often they complete a cruciform in terms of volume.

Gallery (French galerie, from Italian galleria) is a long covered light room in which one of the longitudinal walls is replaced by columns , poles or balustrades adjacent to the building wall. See the gulbishche , the porch .

Garland - an ornamental motif of undulating drooping leaves, flowers, ribbons, etc. Characteristic for baroque. drawing

The wrench is a figured detail in the form of an overturned pyramid made of brick or stone. The weights are suspended on a hidden iron rod in the masonry and support the decorative arches, usually located under the large arch that unites them. Girka was widely used in Russian architecture of the 16th-17th centuries. In the decor of the gate, the porch, the window openings, as well as in pseudo-Russian eclecticism. [ Picture ]

The head , the head - the outer decorative completion of the drum . The heads are helmet-shaped, pear-shaped, bulbous, umbrella, conical, etc. They give the upper part of the architectural structure a characteristic silhouette and great picturesqueness, which is enhanced by the gilding of the coloring, as well as the texture of the covering materials (tiles, plowshares, figured iron, etc.).

Crests, scallops - in the architecture of the Naryshkin Baroque, the curly curls that adorned the top of the wall corresponded in shape to the torn pediment . [ Picture ]

Gulbishche - in the Old Russian architecture, an external gallery that surrounds the building at the level of the overlapping of the podklet. They were common in the cult architecture of the 16th-17th centuries, sometimes found in secular buildings. If the gulbische is located in front of the church entrance, it is also called the porch . [ Picture ]

Denticles - see crackers .

The melon is a decorative detail in the Russian wooden and stone architecture of the 13th - 18th centuries: thickening on pillars, columns, in the casing of windows and door portals . It was used in Old Russian architecture and pseudo-Russian eclecticism. [ Picture ]

Zakomara (from dr.rus mosquito - vault) - semicircular or keel-like completion of the wall section, closing the adjacent inner cylindrical (box, cross) arch. [ Picture ]

Castle stone , castle (castle) - wedge-shaped stone or brick in the top of the arch or arch . Often has ornamental or sculptural treatment. Sometimes it turns into a decorative detail, decorating arches and flat crosspieces. Characteristic for classicism. [ Picture ]

Tightening - horizontal or inclined beam, pulling together parts of any structure, usually the sides of the arch. [ Picture ]

A prong (merlon) is the protrusion of a fortification wall or a tower designed for defense. In Russian architecture, a tooth of a special form - the "swallowtail" - was often used.

Cornice - see the entablement .

Capital - the top of the column or pilasters, the form of which is determined by the warrant . [ Picture ]

Kokoshnik - in the Russian church architecture of the XVI-XVII centuries. Semicircular or keeled fake zakomara, which has a decorative purpose. Are located on walls, arches , and also decreasing upwards by tiers at the bases of tents and drums of heads. In the period of the ornamental pattern the windows were also decorated with kokoshniks. Drawing .

Belfry - tower with an open tier for bells. Was put near the temple or included in his composition. In the medieval Russian architecture, pillar-shaped and tent-shaped bell towers are known along with belfries of the wall and ward type.

Column (French colonne, from Latin columna - pillar) is an architecturally processed, round in cross section vertical support with an artistically designed capital and base, a core element of architectural orders . [ Picture ]

Buttress (from French contreforce - counter force) - a stone, concrete or reinforced concrete transverse wall, a vertical protrusion or rib reinforcing the main supporting structure (mainly the outer wall) and perceiving horizontal forces (for example, a rasp from the vaults overlooking the building). Buttresses are also widely used to strengthen the walls during the restoration of architectural monuments. Drawing , picture2

Koruna - multi-beam kokoshnik above the window, outlines reminiscent of the crown. [ Picture ]

Goblet column - support with smooth expansion in the central part [ figure ]

The dome (Italian cupola - dome, vault, from the Latin cupula, diminutive of the cupa - barrel) is a kind of overlap ( vault ), close in shape to the hemisphere.

The swallowtail is a kind of serpent with a bifurcation in the upper part. [ Picture ]

Stucco - relief embellishments (figured and ornamental) on the facades and in the interiors of buildings, usually cast or pressed from plaster, plaster, concrete or other materials. It was especially widely used in baroque and Naryshkin baroque.

A shovel is a flat vertical strip protruding on the surface of the building wall. The blade can be a structural thickening of the wall or be of decorative significance, being one of the means of dividing the facades. See also the pilaster . [ Picture ]

Mascaron (French mascaron, from Italian mascherone - a large mask) - a decorative relief in the form of a mask depicting (often in a grotesque or fantastic form) a human face or animal's head. Mascarons are placed mainly on locks of arches , window and door openings. Mascarons were used in the architecture of classicism and modernity. Picture drawing2

Machiculi (French machicoulis) - hinged loopholes, located in the upper parts of the walls and towers of medieval fortifications. Having lost a defensive value with the development of firearms, machine-guns were used as an element of architectural decor. [ Picture ]

Merlon - see the prong

The column set is a column, usually decorative, made up of small carved elements. Widely used in Old Russian architecture, especially in the period of patterned. Pattern picture2 pattern3

Clypeus - decorative framing of the window opening. The term "clypeus" is usually applied to the Russian architecture of the XV-nach. XVIII centuries.

Narthex , the vestibule (late Greek Narthex , from the Greek narqhx - casket, casket) - the entrance hall, usually adjacent to the western side of the Christian church. Narthex was intended for persons who did not have the right to enter the main room for the worshipers.

Nef (French nef, from latin navis - ship) is an elongated room, part of the interior (usually in buildings like the basilica), bounded from one or both longitudinal sides by a row of columns or pillars.

Orders of architectural (from the Latin ordo - order) - artistically meaningful combination of bearing and bearable parts.

Bearing parts: a column with a capital , a base, sometimes with a pedestal.
Insuperable: architrave, frieze and cornice, which together constitute an entablature .

A classical order system developed in Ancient Greece. The basic warrants, received the name from the Greek tribes and areas: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian (a kind of Doric order - Tuscan, Corinthian and Ionic - composite). The warrant is the most important element of the architecture of classicism, it was sometimes used in baroque.

The porch is a room in front of the church entrance, which looks like a small gallery .

Pecura is a vaulted depression on the inner side of the fortification wall for the installation of guns. [ Picture ]

Pilaster - a flat vertical protrusion on the wall surface. From the shoulder blade is different in that it has the same order parts (trunk, capital, base) as the column . [ Picture ]

The creeping arch is an arch , whose supports are located on different levels. [ Picture ]

Porebrik - a kind of ornamental brickwork, in which one row of bricks is laid at an angle to the outer surface of the wall. Picture drawing2

Portal (German Portal, from the Latin porta - entrance, gate) - architecturally designed entrance to the building. For the ancient Russian architecture, perspective portals are characteristic. [ Picture ]

The portico (from the Latin porticus) is a characteristic element of buildings built in the style of classicism: a series of columns (sometimes pilasters), placed in front of the facade of the building, ends with an attic or pediment . drawing

The chapel - in the Orthodox church there is a small supportless annex on the south or north side of the facade or a specially allocated part of the main building, which has an additional altar for individual services.

Straight - a section of the wall between two blades or pilasters . In serf architecture - a section of the wall between the two towers. [ Picture ]

The torn pediment is a decorative pediment , located above the window, the frame of which is torn in one or several places. A characteristic element of the Naryshkin Baroque. Picture drawing2

The shell , rocaille (from French rocaille, lit. - small, crushed stone, shells) - the motif of the ornament in the form of a stylized shell. Shells, located in kokoshniks , are borrowed from the decor of the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, are characteristic of the Naryshkin Baroque. Picture drawing2

Rotunda (Italian rotonda, from Latin rotundus - round) is a centric structure, a construction in general plan (temple, mausoleum, pavilion, hall), usually crowned with a dome . Rotunda often completes the central part of the building in the style of classicism drawing [ figure ]

Rust, rustic, rustic (from the Latin rusticus - simple, rough) - the decoration of the walls, imitating a large masonry. Animating the plane of the wall with the play of chiaroscuro, the rust-making gives the impression of power, the massiveness of the building. When finishing the facade with plaster rust is simulated by breaking the wall into rectangles and stripes. Characteristic for classicism. [ Picture ]

A vault is a spatial construction, overlapping or covering of structures having a geometric shape formed by a convex curved surface. Under the load, the vault, transmits to the supports not only the vertical load, but also horizontal forces (struts).

Suhariki, dentikuly - ornamental decoration in the form of a series of downward-directed teeth. In the old Russian architecture they were called suharikas, with reference to styles of western origin (eg Baroque), the word dentikuly is used. [ Picture ]

Timpan (Greek tumpanon ) is a triangular field of the pediment ; A deeper part of the wall (niche) of a semi-circular, triangular or ogival outline above a window or door. In the tympanum, sculpture, pictures, emblems, etc. are often placed.

The refectory (from the Greek trapeza - a table, a dish) - a spacious low annex on the western side of the Christian church, which served for divine services in the winter and the public needs of the parishioners. Characteristic for the Russian architecture of the 17-18 centuries.

The facade (the French facade, from the Italian facciata, from the faccia - the person) is the outer side of the building or structure. Depending on the configuration of the building and its surroundings, the main facade, street facade, side facades, street, yard, park and other facades are distinguished.

Freese (French frise)

  1. In architectural orders, the horizontal horizontal part of the entablature , between the architrave and the cornice; Filled with a continuous ribbon of reliefs or left blank; drawing
  2. A continuous strip of decorative, sculptural, pictorial and other images (often of an ornamental character) bordering the top of the walls, the floor of the room, the field of the carpet,

Fronton (French fronton, from the Latin frons, frontis - forehead, front part of the wall) - a triangular (rarely lateral) end of the portico , bounded by two ramps along the sides and a cornice at the base. The field of the pediment ( tympanum ) is often decorated with sculpture. Decorative gables adorn the doors and windows of buildings with a drawing (see also the torn pediment ).

Cherub - ornamental decoration in the form of a child's face, sometimes with wings. Widely used in baroque architecture. [ Picture ]

Chetverik - in Russian stone and wooden architecture, a quadrangular in terms of construction or a component of the composition of tent and tiered churches, including in combination with the octagonal part (the "octagon on the four-legged").

Marquee , tent cover - the completion of the centric buildings (temples, belfries, towers, fenders) in the form of a high tetrahedral, octagonal or polyhedral pyramid. Distributed in the Russian stone architecture from the XVI century. Brick tents were composed of inclined rows or horizontal rows of bricks with a padding, wooden - the crowning with decreasing lengths of the sides. In religious buildings, the tent was usually crowned with an onion head, in civil and military - with a sentinel tower, with a weather vane. [ Picture ]

Shirinka - decorative decoration in the form of a rectangular recess, sometimes decorated with a tile, stucco molding. It is typical for the style of the uzorochya. Often the buildings were decorated with a belt of widths. drawing

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