Hypostyle Hall
Pilaster
Pediment
tympanum
Minarets
Catacomb
Mullions
Coffer
Curtain Wall
Mihrab
Basilica
Stupa
Oculus
Atrium
Post & Lintel
Rib Vault
A lightweight wall that is not load bearing (carries no weight of the building). Most often made of glass windows, emulating a thin, sheer curtain.
A large interior space filled by rows of columns. Seen at the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak and the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
The interior vaulting caused by the use of pointed arches. Diagnostic of gothic architectural styles.
The semicircular area enclosed by the arch above an entryway. This area is often decorated with sculpture in the Romanesque and Gothic periods.
(Latin: “eye”). In ancient Roman and later architecture, a circular window in the center of a dome.
A square or polygonal ornamental sunken panel used in a series as decoration for a ceiling or vault. Seen in the Pantheon.
The entrance hall of an ancient Roman house, open to the sky at the center and usually featuring a pool for the collection of rainwater (impluvium).
A type of building used by the ancient Romans for diverse functions (such as law courts) - adapted to serve as the basis for the new churches.
Tall thin towers that often frame the structure of a Mosque from which the muezzin calls people to prayer.
The vertical bar that separates window panes. Notably ornamented with small bronze I-beams on the facade of the Seagram Building.
Underground hallways and small rooms where both Christians and pagans were buried.
A triangular shape atop the facade of a building, usually supported by columns above an entrance. Often encases a sculptural relief.
Simplest form of construction in which two vertical posts support a horizontal beam.
Semicircular mound used as a burial/reliquary. Meant to represent the body of the Buddha and act as an axis mundi.
A niche in the Qibla wall of a mosque, at the point nearest to Mecca, toward which the congregation faces to pray
A rectangular column that is attached to a wall as seen on the Palazzo Rucellai.
