See also buildings; houses
acropolis
a citadel or elevated fortification of a settlement.
architectonics
the science of architecture. See also art; philosophy. —architectonic, architectonical, adj.
Asiaticism
a style of architecture distinguished by excessive ornamentation or floridity. —Asiatical, adj.
baroque
a highly decorated form of art or ornamentation. —baroque, adj.
Brutalism
an aggressive 20th-century style, usually in rough-textured and unfinished materials, that frankly exhibits both structural and mechanical systems.
bungaloid
a 20th-century style dwelling, usually of one story, imitative of the true bungalow form characterized by low, sweeping roof gables and a large verandah in the front.
classicism
1. the employment of compositional formulas and decorative techniques based upon the architecture of ancient Greece or Rome, but often including new ideas.
2. the employment of formulas and decorative techniques with an emphasis upon the subordination of utility in order to stress perfection of form.
columniation
1. the use of columns in architectural design.
2. the pattern of columns used.
cuspidation
a form of ornamentation composed of cusps or curves meeting in pairs at a tangent to the area being decorated. —cuspidate, cuspidal, adj.
eclecticism
an international movement, most in vogue from 1820 until about 1930, characterized by almost total freedom of choice among historical styles of both overall composition and decoration in the design of public buildings, the freedom tempered by the intended use or location of the building.
Egyptian Revivalism
a style imitative of antique Egyptian temple architecture, most influential after Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt and lasting in the U.S. into the early 20th century.
entasis
the slight convexity or outward curve given to a tower or other tall, narrow structure.
eurhythmy
harmonious proportions in a building.
federalism
an American style based upon the classical theories and decorations of the English architect Robert Adams and his contemporaries, with lightness and delicacy as its outstanding qualities; practiced from 1775 until overwhelmed by Greek Revivalism, its most typical external features are doorways with fanlights and sidelights (often with attenuated pilasters) and the play of other curved elements against a basically boxlike structure. Also called Early Federal Style, Early Republican.
functionalism
a philosophy of architectural design rather than a separate style, expressed in Louis Sullivan’s “form follows function” and Le Corbu-sier’s concept of a house as a machine for living in, under the premise that buildings ought to express construction, materials, and accommodation of purpose, usually with the assumption that the result would be aesthetically significant. Also called structuralism. —functionalist, n., adj.
Georgianism
1. in England, the modes of architecture, furniture, decoration, and silver produced from about 1714 to 1830; architecturally, it embraced several styles: Palladian, Early Gothic Revival, Chinese, and various other classical and romantic manners.
2. in America, the architectural style of the English colonies during the 18th century, based first upon the ideas of Christopher Wren and James Gibbs and later upon the Palladian style. It is typically characterized by construction in red brick with white or colored trim and double-hung windows, central halls, elaborately turned stair balusters, paneled and warmly colored walls, fine woodwork, and white plastered ceilings.
Gothicism, Gothic
the general term employed to denote the several phases of European architecture in the period 1100-1530 that employ the pointed arch, or their imitations.
Gothic Revivalism
a universal style current since its inception in Britain in the late 18th century, passing from a period of superficial decoration to one in which true Gothic massing yielded such masterpieces as the British Houses of Parliament and Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning.
Greek Revivalism
an austere American style of the period 1798-1850, embracing in either form or decoration such Greek features as bilateral symmetry, low-pitched roofs, frontal porticos with pediments, and horizontal doorheads; often executed in wood and painted white, the structures usually featured modifications of the classical orders and occasional imaginative use of interior vaulting.
intercolumniation
the space between columns; the pattern of spacing between columns.
internationalism, International Style
a style, current since the 1920s, that makes use of modern constructional advances to create buildings reflecting characteristic industrial forms and emphasizing both volume and horizontality through ribbon windows, smooth and undecorated wall surfaces, and flat roofs, with contrasts introduced by curved or cylindrical forms and cantilevered projecting features.
Neo-Expressionism
a current style emphasizing dynamism achieved by employment of sweeping curves, acute angles, and pointed arches.
New Formalism
a current American manner, characterized by buildings that are freestanding blocks with symmetrical elevation, level rooflines (often with heavy, projecting roof slabs), many modeled columnar supports, and frequent use of the arch as a ruling motif to produce a kind of classicism without classical forms.
Palladianism
the classical style evolved by the 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio, featuring harmonic proportion based upon mathematics, extensive use of porticos, a neat contrast between openness and solidity, and features of Roman decoration; partially influential today in the so-called “Palladian motif,” a window or other opening consisting of a central high arch flanked by lower rectangular areas, the whole supported by four columns (a feature actually invented before Palladio’s time and used only sparingly by him).
Renaissance Revivalism
a style originating in England c.1830 and influential in the U.S. from 1850 through 1930, derived from the Renaissance palace architecture of Rome, Florence, and Venice; in the U.S., the structures were executed in masonry, wood, or cast iron.
structuralism
functionalism.
tectonics
a general term for the theory and techniques of construction. —tectonist, n. —tectonic, adj.
