Content tagged with “architecture” under “Stuff I Looked Up”

There are 10 item(s) tagged with “architecture” in this section.

See items tagged with “architecture” across the entire site.

Other tags used by these items: military, geography, economics, engineering, city-planning, religion, faith

Armory
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
September 9, 2023
Words
740

“It’s for the National Guard. Many cities have buildings that were built to house the local National Guard’s equipment (including weapons). Hence, this became known as ‘the armory.’ In many cases, these buildings are no longer used for those purposes – the National Guard unit has moved into other…”

Balustrade
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
October 16, 2023
Words
100

“Basically, it’s a railing of some kind, like those on a balcony or open staircase. Technically, the balustrade is the horizontal part (where your hands would rest), while the vertical parts are called balusters (the balustrade sits atop of the balusters). It comes from an Italian word for the…”

Biltmore Estate
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
December 18, 2024
Words
132

“This is a large, Gilded Age home in Ashville, North Carolina. It was built by the Vanderbilts in the early 1890s. It would technically be the largest private residence in the United States at 135,000 sq. ft., but it’s been a museum since the 1950s. It’s owned by a private company, open to the…”

Bourse
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
September 16, 2023
Words
132

“ This is the French word meaning ‘stock exchange’ or ‘merchant exchange.’ It comes from a historic word meaning ‘meeting of merchants.’ ”

Cantilever
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
May 20, 2024
Words
210

“In it’s strictest terms, this is simply a physical element that’s only connected to a large structure at one end, so the other end ‘hangs out in space.’ Architecturally, a cantilever is a building structure that protrudes into open space, such as a balcony. A great example is The Guthrie Theater…”

Cenotaph
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Words
59

“ It’s literally Greek for ‘empty tomb.’ Many times, it’s a monument to a group of people who died, made in the form of a tomb to memorialize them. There’s a vague, blurry line between a cenotaph and a regular memorial. Linguistically, ‘cenotaph’ is considered a hyponym or subtype of ‘monument.’ ”

Floor Area Ratio
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
November 7, 2021
Words
309

“This is a zoning code formula that compares the total floor size of a building (all floors together) to the lot size it’s built on. There are rules around this number. For example, if I want to build a 100-story building with each floor having 20,000 square feet of space, that’s a total of 2…”

Hagia Sofia
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
March 25, 2023
Words
155

“Lots of churches are named ‘Hagia Sofia,’ it turns out. The phrase is Greek for ‘holy wisdom,’ which can apply to a lot of things. The Hagia Sofia is a mosque in Istanbul. It was originally an orthodox church, then a Roman Catholic church, then a museum, and now (very recently) it’s a mosque. When…”

Narthex
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
January 25, 2022
Words
177

“Basically, the ‘lobby’ of a Christian church. From Wikipedia: […] the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church’s main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper. There was a specific…”

Penthouse
Section
Stuff I Looked Up
Type
Explanation
Date
February 22, 2022
Words
418

“Originally, ‘penthouse’ referred to a small building on top of another building. From the French word apentis for ‘attached building.’ The penthouse was literally on the roof, set back from the walls of the building. Thus, the person occupying the penthouse got the benefit of usage of the flat…”