Buildings

From blocks to bricks, we are fascinated with building. Villages become towns and towns become cities and cities metropolises, filled with streets and streets of buildings. What buildings has your narrative?

Buildings Menu (types)

  • house, home, domicile, abode, dwelling, hut,
  • shack, shanty, hovel, lean-to, tent,
  • silo, outbuilding, barn, pen, shed,
  • tower, spire, column,
  • holy site, church, temple, shrine, mosque, synagogue, sanctuary, cathedral,
  • colonnade, arcade, portico, cloister, entablature,
  • statue, idol, monument, icon,
  • wall, barrier, fortification,
  • chalet, cottage, lodge,
  • fort, castle, keep, palace, palazzo,
  • shack, shed,
  • bridge, overpass, flyover,
  • walkway, pedway, boardwalk,
  • warehouse, dispensary, storage facility,
  • dock, pier, wharf,
  • pergola, shade,
  • stack, pile, collection, mound, heap,
  • earthenwork, berm,
  • levy, dam, weir,
  • stockade, pen, cage, corral,
  • pagoda,

Buildings Menu (uses, purposes)

  • hospital, hospice, care facility,
  • homes, houses, living spaces, dwellings,
  • hostel, hotel, inn, motel, rest stop, way station,
  • city hall, guild hall, town office,
  • sky scraper, corporate tower, business office,
  • apartment, condominium, condo, walk up, flat, studio apartment, loft apartment, penthouse,
  • clock tower, town bell,
  • prison, cage, jail, cell, holding facility, detention centre,
  • communal bakehouse, bakery, oven, cook house, mess hall, kitchen,
  • school, university, training facility, college,
  • senate, parliament, legislature,  great council longhouse, assembly hall, commons,
  • debate hall, meeting chamber,

Buildings Menu (styles, periods)

  • modern, contemporary, industrial chic, international style, eclectic, universal design, exotic,
  • organic, flowing, natural,
  • mechanical, functional, industrial,
  • pueblo, row house, town house, duplex,
  • ancient, classical, Greek, Roman, Ionic, Corinthian, Doric, Pompeian,
  • feudal, medieval, Romanesque, half-timber,
  • Elizabethan, Victorian, Georgian, Jacobean,
  • Stick-style,
  • Renaissance, Baroque,
  • Gothic,
  • colonial, poteaux-en-terre, wattle-and-daub,
  • Art Deco,
  • Federal Style,
  • Rivival,
  • Vernacular, local architecture,

Parts of a building

  • door, gate, portal, double door, entry door, secret door, sliding door, french doors, hood or drip molding, portico,
  • promenade, walk, boulevarde,
  • passage, hall, gallerie, aisle,
  • foyer, lobby, vestibule, anteroom, narthex,
  • for lots of different room uses go to the ROOMS page
  • for specifics to castles and fortifications, go to the CASTLES page
  • bay, alcove, nook, setback, bay window, bow window, , breakfast nook, apse,
  • drawing room, sitting room, parlour,
  • wall, stone wall, glass wall, plaster, timber frame, solid, hollow, panel, paper, hide, mesh, metal, plate, reinforced, one-way see through (mirror), holographic, energy field, magical, mosaic, tiled, brick and mortar,
  • stairs, ramp, lift, escalator, elevator, circular stair, stairwell, stairway,
  • basement,
  • upper story, jettied story,
  • veranda, porch, patio, deck, loft, balcony, terrace,
  • room, gallery, chamber,
  • ceiling, arch, vaulted ceiling, archway, open rafter, jack arch, ogee arch, pointed arch, rafters, truss, rib vault,
  • roof, bell roof, clay roof, tile roof, gable roof, steel roof, thatch roof, cone roof, onion dome, cornice, crenelation, parapet, eaves, shingles, flared roof, ridge, gambrel roof, rake, overhang, hipped roof, saltbox, spire,
  • attic, cornice, attic window, belvedere, cupola, turret,
  • arcade, columns, colonnade, pillar, pilaster, piers, loggia,
  • fireplace, wood stove, clay oven, bake oven, stove, hearth, fender, fireback, firedog, brazier, fire pit, central hearth, furnace, heater, fire grate, hob grate, mantel, chimney breast,
  • baluster, rail, railing, balustrade, handrail, glass panel,
  • window, casement, dormer, bay, sash window, double-sash, sliding window, peek-a-boo, sky light, fan light, transom, mullion, muntin, oriel, roundel, arch window, shutter, rose window, wheel window, alabaster,
  • fire escape,
  • aqueduct, well, cistern, holding tank,
  • chimney stack, flue, duct, paired chimney,
  • adornments, statue, fountain, frieze, quoins, crocket, entablature, mosaic, gold leaf, gilding, tesserae, mouchette, foil (trefoil, quatrefoil, cinquefoil), leaf, cusp, gargoyle, lion,
  • courtyard, loggia,
  • facing, facade,
  • pavilion, projection,
  • spire, pinnacle, point, horn, rib, gable, canopy, projection, capital,

Building Materials

  • masonry, stone, brick, rock, shale, granite, marble, adobe, clay, mud, lime, mortar, lime and sand, animal dung, straw, rubble brick,  striated brick, slate,
  • glass, stained glass, glass chips, diamond pane,
  • copper, bronze, brass, gold plate, lead, pewter, patina, oxidation, distressing,
  • siding, stucco, rock chip, board-and-batten, whitewash,
  • paint, wall paper, stipling, clap-board, paneling, wainscoting,
  • siding, lapboard, tongue and groove,
  • plywood, OSB, particle board,
  • drywall, gypsum, plaster, adobe, clay, mud, bousillage, moss,
  • grass, reeds, thatch, straw, hay bales,
  • fabric, fibre,
  • hides, skins, furs, pelts,
  • truss,
  • sticks, bent willow, branches, brush, rush, grass, straw, bark, timber, lumber, wood,
  • rope, twine, cord, wire, cable,
  • wood: pine, spruce, fir, elm, oak, mahogany,
  • concrete, rebar,
  • ductwork, sheet metal,
  • iron, steel, bronze, copper, wrought iron, cast iron, tin, alloys,
  • brace, bracket, buttress, flying buttress,
  • cornice, molding, strips, battens, dentils, flutes, grilles, band, border, outline, casing,
  • gingerbreading, curlicues, decoration, meander, grating, frets, pattern, motif,
  • lattice-word, joinery, joints, dovetail, wood work, carving, mortise and tenon,

Links and Resources

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