Architecture Dictionary
marble
Term
a medium-hard metamorphic rock of crystallized limestone
Term Detailsmasonry
Term
unit blocks of stone, brick, or concrete used for construction
Term Detailsmassing
Term
the arrangement of forms of a building
Term DetailsMid-Century Modernism
Style
By the middle of the 20th century, architects trained in the tenets of Modernism began to experiment…
Term DetailsLudwig Mies van der Rohe
Architect/Firm
It’s difficult to imagine what the skyline of Chicago might look like without architect Ludwig Mies van…
Term Detailsnave
Term
the middle part of a church, typically where the congregation gathers
Term DetailsFrederick Law Olmsted
Architect/Firm
Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed some of the Chicago area’s most picturesque green…
Term Detailspediment
Term
a large triangular form on top of a series of columns
Term Detailspier
Term
a vertical section of the wall, between two window openings
Term Detailspinnacle
Term
a small vertical structure that is on top of a Gothic buttress or pier
Term DetailsPostmodern
Style
A reaction to Modernism Postmodernism began as a critique. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Modernism…
Term DetailsPrairie Style
Style
The Prairie style emerged in Chicago around 1900 from the work of a group of young architects, including…
Term Details