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| Mail Order House | Between 1906 and 1940, thousands of North American homes were built according to plans sold by mail order companies such as Sears and Montgomery Wards. Often the entire mail order house (in the form of labeled timbers) came via freight train. Other times, builders used local materials to construct homes according to the mail order catalog house plans. Catalog house plans by Sears, Montgomery Wards, Aladdin, and other companies were widely distributed in the United States and Canada. |
| Traditional Neighborhood Development | a New Urbanist approach to designing cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Planners, developers, architects, and designers try to reduce traffic and eliminate sprawl. Homes, shops, businesses, theaters, schools, parks, and other important services are placed within easy walking distance. |
| stick-built | A home that is is constructed on the building site, piece by piece. |
| Organic Architecture | a term Frank Lloyd Wright used to describe his approach to architectural design. The philosophy grew from the ideas of Frank Lloyd Wright's mentor, Louis Sullivan, who believed that "form follows function." Wright argued that "form and function are one." |
| Modernist architecture | architecture emphasizes function. It attempts to provide for the specific needs rather than imitate nature. |
| Manufactured home | A home is one that is constructed almost entirely in a factory. The house is placed on a steel chassis and transported to the building site. The wheels can be removed but the chassis stays in place. |
| geodesic dome | A sphere-like structure composed of a complex network of triangles. The triangles create a self-bracing framework that gives structural strength while using a minimum of material. |
| Gargoyle | A sculpture or rain spout carved to resemble a grotesque creature or monster. Gothic cathedrals often have them. |
| American Foursquare | A post-Victorian style that shared many features with the Prairie architecture pioneered by Frank Lloyd Wright. The boxy shape provided roomy interiors for homes on small city lots. The simple, square shape also made the style especially practical for mail order house kits from Sears and other catalog companies. |
| Floor plan | a simple line drawing showing rooms as though seen from above. Walls, doorways, and windows are often drawn to scale. |
| Deconstructivism | an approach to building design that attempts to view architecture in bits and pieces. The basic elements of architecture are dismantled. The buildings may seem to have no visual logic. They may appear to be made up of unrelated, disharmonious abstract forms. |
| Custom home | The home is one that is especially designed to meet the specifications of the person who commissioned it. |
| Cupola | a dome-shaped ornamental structure placed on the top of a larger roof or dome. In some cases, the entire main roof of a tower or spire |
| Buttress | a support--usually made of brick or stone--built against a wall to support or reinforce it. |
| Bungalow Styles | These homes were variations of an affordable housing type that swept across America. The houses may reflect many different architectural styles, and the word is often used for any small 20th century home that uses space efficiently. |
| Professional Building Designers | They specialize in designing single family homes. In some cases, they may also design other light frame residential buildings, agricultural buildings, and decorative facades for larger buildings. Unlike architects, They are not legally required to pass exams or receive special licenses. |
| Beaux Arts | Combining classical Greek and Roman architecture with Renaissance ideas, It was a favored style for grand public buildings and opulent mansions. |
| arts and crafts | The houses have many of these features\: Wood, stone, or stucco siding Low-pitched roof Wide eaves with triangular brackets Exposed roof rafters Porch with thick square or round columns Stone porch supports Exterior chimney made with stone Open floor plans; few hallways Numerous windows Some windows with stained or leaded glass Beamed ceilings Dark wood wainscoting and moldings Built-in cabinets, shelves, and seating |
| Architect | A licensed professional who organizes space. They design houses, office buildings, skyscrapers, landscapes, and even entire cities. They are trained in many areas, from historic preservation to structural engineering. Like doctors and lawyers, they have completed university programs and lengthy internships. In most parts of the world, they must pass a series of rigorous exams in order be licensed. |
| Antebellum Architecture | It means "before war" in Latin. The architecture refers to elegant plantation homes built in the American South in the 30 years or so preceding the Civil War. It is not a particular house style. Rather, it is a time and place in history. The features we associate with the architecture were introduced to the American South by Anglo-Americans who moved into the area after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Most of homes are in the Greek Revival, Classical Revival, or Federal style\: grand, symmetrical, and boxy, with center entrances in the front and rear, balconies, and columns or pillars. |
| Adobe | It is often used in the southwestern United States and Spanish speaking countries. Although the word is often used to describe an architectural style, it is actually a building material. The "bricks" are usually made with tightly compacted earth, clay, and straw. However, construction methods and the composition of the adobe will vary according to climate and local customs. |
| Adaptive Reuse | Old buildings often outlive their original purposes. Adaptive reuse, or re-use, is a process that adapts buildings for new uses while retaining their historic features. An old factory may become an apartment building. A rundown church may find new life as a restaurant... And a restaurant may become a church. |
| Neoclassical | "new" classical, architecture describes buildings that are inspired by the classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. The building is likely to have some (but not necessarily all) of these features: Symmetrical shape Tall columns that rise the full height of the building Triangular pediment Domed roof |
| Earth sheltered | house lies mostly beneath the ground surface. The surrounding soil provides natural insulation, making these houses inexpensive to heat and cool. The best location for an earth sheltered house is on a well-drained hillside. Windows facing the south or an overhead skylight will fill the interior with sunshine. |
| Dormer | a window which is set vertically on a sloping roof. It has its own roof, which may be flat, arched, or pointed. |
