Author: Nancy Condee (condee@pitt.edu)
Maintained by: David J. Birnbaum (djbpitt@gmail.com)
Last modified:
2015-01-02T20:19:11+0000
Glossary of architectural terms
- Aisle
- portion of a church or basilica that parallels or encircles the major sections of
the structure, such as the nave, choir, or apse
- Apse
- the semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or aisles of a church. The
term generally denotes that part of the church where the clergy are seated or the
altar placed
- Arcade
- a series of arches carried by columns or piers, a passageway between arches and a
solid wall, or a covered walkway
- Basilica
- originally a building used by the Romans as a place for public meetings, with
courtrooms, etc., attached. In earlier centuries of Christianity, the church built
basilicas for worship using the plan developed by the Romans
- Capital
- crowning element of a column, pier, anta, pilaster, or other columnar form,
providing a structural support for the horizontal element (entablature) or arch
above
- Cupola
- small dome, often resembling an overturned cup, placed on a circular, polygonal, or
square base or on small pillars or a glassed-in lantern. It is used to crown a
turret, roof, or larger dome. The inner vault of a dome is also a cupola
- Dome
- hemispherical structure evolved from the arch, usually forming a ceiling or
roof
- Drum
- a circular or polygonal wall supporting a dome or cupola. The term also refers to
any of the cylindrical stone blocks composing a column that is not a monolith
- Façade
- the face of a building, especially the principal face or front
- Gallery
- any covered passage that is open at one side, such as a portico or a colonnade
- Nave
- central and principal part of a Christian church, extending from the entrance (the
narthex) to the chancel (area around the altar). In a basilican church which has
side aisles, nave refers only to the central aisle. The nave is that part of a
church set apart for the laity
- Pier
- a solid vertical supporting element, usually stone, brick, or concrete, square or
polygonal in section, and broad in relation to its height
- Pilaster
- shallow rectangular column that projects slightly beyond the wall into which it is
built and conforms precisely to the order or style of the adjacent columns
- Portico
- colonnaded porch or entrance to a structure, or a covered walkway supported by
regularly spaced columns
- Spire
- steeply pointed pyramidal or conical termination to a tower
- Vault
- a structural element consisting of an arrangement of arches, usually forming a
ceiling or roof