Architectural and Engineering Glossary
A device for protecting an opening from the passage of flame,smoke,or hot gases.
A panel or glass light,above a door,which may be opened for ventilation.
The pressure indicated by a gauge in part of a system,when the system is in normal operation.
On drawings,abbr.for “opposite.”
A device on some transits and theodolites;used to center the instrument over a point,in place of a plumb bob,which moves in a strong wind.
Same as isodomum.
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Roman masonry of brick or tiles,or of a brick or tile facing on a concrete core.
A Roman wall constructed of bricks and stone in alternate layers.
Same as lithostrotum opus.
A Roman mosaic decoration employing small cubes of colored glass or enameled work.
In ancient Roman masonry,coursed ashlar having courses of unequal height.
Masonry of squared stones in regular ashlar courses.
See sectile opus.
An ancient Roman construction material which was employed as flooring;consisted of tiles,broken into tiny pieces,that were mixed with mortar.
Masonry of the ancient Romans that is laid in a herringbone pattern.
An early Roman concrete masonry faced with fired brick.
A small private chapel furnished with an altar and a crucifix.
A pit immediately in front of,or wholly or partly under,the forestage of an auditorium.
A massive,sound reflective structure which closes off the flies and wings of a theatrical stage to form a performing area for music,or is used in an open air theater to direct sound to the audience.
A law or rule adopted by a local governmental authority.
A village tavern in an early American community.
Said of a material or compound derived from vegetable or animal life.
A silt with a high organic content.
A term descriptive of a mode of Exotic Revival architecture that is suggestive of the architecture of the Middle East and/or Far East.
A secret dungeon in the deepest parts of a medieval stronghold,having as its only entry a trapdoor through which prisoners were dropped.
See wave molding.
Same as overall.
Said of a member that is free from twist.
Not truly vertical,according to a plumb line.
A service performed in other than the normal or natural order of succession.
Not in exact alignment (as a part which is slightly twisted).
A failure in the electric power supplied by a utility company.
In masonry,a jambstone which is laid as a stretcher and cut to take a frame.
Bonded,or forming a bond,along the face of a wall;composed largely or entirely of stretchers.
A building subsidiary to,but separate from,a main house or building.
That portion of a rock formation or stratum that breaks the surface of the ground.
See front hearth.
Same as outside casing.
The string at the outer and exposed edge of a stair,away from the wall.
The place of ultimate deposit of drainage or sewage waters.
A sewer that receives the sewage from a sewage collection system and carries it to the point of final discharge or treatment.It is usually the largest sewer in the system.
An arrangement of incandescent lamps or gaseous tubes which outlines and emphasizes certain features such as the shape of a building or the decoration of a window.
A preparatory specification,not necessarily complete but containing sufficient detail to serve as the basis for a contract specification;usually included with design development documents or schematic design documents.
1.Same as outrigger.2.A covering over a doorway or opening in the face of a build- ing to provide a small degree of shelter;also see hanging gable.
A beam at the ridge of a roof that extends beyond the end wall of the building to serve as a support for hoisting tackle or the like;also called an outlooker or lookout.
A scaffold supported by brackets fastened to the wall of a building.
A temporary bracket to support a projecting feature.
The extension of a building under a lean to roof.
Same as outshot.