Vocabularly
List for Designing Spaces and Places
agronomy-a branch of agriculture dealing with field-crop production and soil.
allée-French word for a planned walkway.
ancestor-a member of your family who lived a long time ago, usually before your grandparents.
arbor-a shaded structure often covered with shrubs, vines or branches.
architect-someone who designs and lays out plans for buildings and then sees that the plans are followed by the workers who construct the buildings.
astronomer-a scientist who studies the planets, and other objects and matter outside the Earth's atmosphere.
atelier-French word for studio.
atrium-a large space in a building open to the ceiling. An atrium usually has a glass ceiling or many windows to let in a lot of light.
balance-when both sides of something weigh the same or are equal in other ways.
Bauhaus-a design school founded in Weimar, Germany, in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius. Many of the new experiments in design, architecture (The International Style), painting and sculpture in the 1920s came from the Bauhaus. Although architecture was a main focus, some of the most famous designs for chairs, tables, stacking stools, lights, textiles, and dinnerware are still in use today.
bracket-a support or fixture to hold something up.
building code-rules made by a government about how a building must be constructed.
capping ceremony-a Chinese ceremony held when a boy turns thirteen.
carport-a roofed, open-sided storage place for a car.
clamp-a tool for holding things firmly in place.
client-a person or group of people who hire a professional for his or her services.
collaborate-to work together and cooperate on a project.
collaboration-cooperation, teamwork.
collage-a composition of different images and sometimes different media.
column-a tall, upright pillar that helps support a building.
commission-an order for something, such as a work of art. One person can commission an artist to create a work of art; a group or an organization like a museum can commission an artist. When an artist is commissioned to make a work of art, he or she takes into account the wishes of the people or group who have commissioned the work of art.
concept-idea. In art, it is the idea of what the final work will be.
Confucius-a Chinese philosopher who lived from 551 to 479 B.C. His teachings are called Confucianism, a system of ethics that was very important in China.
corncrib-a structure used by farmers out in the fields to store ears of corn.
courtyard house-a type of house where small structures are grouped around an open area surrounded by walls, typical of Chinese houses.
crossbeam-a piece of wood that crosses an open space as part of a building's frame.
Crystal Palace-a large iron and glass structure built in London, England 1851, by Sir Joseph Paxton, a designer of greenhouses. It was built as an exhibition hall (think of a World's Fair) and was so big that it enclosed many trees that grew on the site.
crystal-often a clear or transparent material that has an internal arrangement of interesting and varied patterns.
cultivate-to encourage the growth of something.
diagonal-a straight line joining corners of a square or rectangle.
dichroic-something that is dichroic changes color when different light, such as sunlight or light from a lightbulb, strikes it.
exterior-the outside of a building.
formal-following set or prescribed rules.
frame-the basic structure over which something is built.
frontier-the far edge of a country, where few people live.
gnomon-pronounced NO-mon, a Greek word meaning "the one who knows." The gnomon is the pointer on a sundial, the part of the sundial that "knows" the time.
harvest-the act of gathering a crop from the field when it is ripe. Also, the reward for trying hard.
hierarchy-a system of dividing people or things into ranks.
Holland-popular reference to the country known as The Netherlands. Holland is actually a province (state) in The Netherlands.
installation-art that is created for a specific gallery space or outdoor site, comprised of individual works to be viewed as an entire whole or environment
interior designer-someone who designs the furniture and decoration of the inside of a house or room.
International Style-a style of architecture which appeared in Europe between the 1920s and 1930s. Some of the characteristics included the use of new materials that allowed buildings to have outside walls of materials such as glass, instead of large heavy walls. The exterior of buildings had no decorations. Interiors were wide, open, free-flowing spaces instead of small, boxy rooms.
kimono-a long, loose robe with wide sleeves and a sash, worn in Japan.
landscape architect-architect who designs parks and gardens in artistic ways.
Louis Sullivan-one of the first modern architects. He is known for his tall buildings, which had steel frameworks. Some of his buildings had exterior designs inspired by nature. As a young man, Frank Lloyd Wright studied under Sullivan.
management-the supervising or directing of an enterprise.
memorial-something designed to preserve the memory of a person or an event, like a monument or a special day. The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., and Presidents Day in February are both memorials to our first president.
modern-a style of architecture using simplicity of design, minimal decoration and large, free-flowing spaces.
mythical-having to do with a traditional or legendary story, usually one that contains superhuman beings or magical events. For example, stories about Greek gods like Hercules are mythical stories.
ornament-details added to a surface for decoration.
physics-the study of matter and energy.
plaza-a broad, paved, open-air public area.
Pop Art-art of the 1960s that used objects from everyday life, or popular culture; for example, soup cans, french fries, and spoons.
process-a series of actions to produce a goal.
reception hall-a large room for gatherings or parties.
royalty-the family of the ruler of a country.
scale-the size of an object in relation to things around it.
silhouette-an outline drawing solidly colored in.
site-the place or plot of land where something is built, or a particular space or place, in this case for a work of art.
site-specific-made for one particular place or space.
studio-space where an artist works.
symbolic-using a symbol or an object to stand for a greater idea.
symmetrical-balanced, evenly placed, the same on both sides.
technique-a method or way of doing something.
temple-a building used for worship.
trusses-large beams that are often arranged in triangles, which support a roof or bridge across an open space.
virtual tour-a computer-generated tour in which the viewer gets the sense of actually walking through the space.
zodiac-a band in the sky along which the moon and most of the planets move. It is divided into twelve parts, with each part named for a nearby constellation. It is these constellations, or signs of the zodiac, and their positions in relation to other planets, that are said to influence our personalities.