English is the shared language of international competitions, design reviews, architecture journals, design software and the many offices where Turkish architects work with foreign clients and consultants. This glossary collects the words architects and architecture students use every day, from plans, sections and massing to juries, building codes and sustainable design, with Turkish equivalents and realistic examples. It also points out studio words such as pafta, maket, vaziyet planı and emsal that do not translate the way Turkish speakers expect.
100 terms
10 topics
53 core terms
200 example sentences
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Design Process
sketch
noun
Meaning
A quick freehand drawing used to explore or explain an idea, usually made early in the design process and not drawn to an exact scale.
Where you use it
Architects sketch on tracing paper, in sketchbooks and during meetings with clients. You make, do or draw a sketch. 'Sketch' is also a verb, and 'sketch out an idea' means to draw it roughly to see if it works.
Examples
She did a quick sketch of the courtyard on tracing paper during the meeting.
Let me sketch out two options for the entrance before we decide.
Usage note
In Turkish schools an 'eskiz' can also be a short design exercise done in a few hours or days; in English call this a 'sketch problem' or 'short design exercise'.
Common phrases
make a sketch · quick sketch · sketch out an idea · concept sketch · sketchbook
The central idea that guides a design and gives it a clear direction, such as a strong relationship with the landscape or a building organised around light.
Where you use it
Heard in every studio, jury and competition. You develop, explain, present or stick to a concept; a concept diagram or concept sketch explains it quickly. In the UK, 'concept design' is also the name of an early project stage.
Examples
The concept is simple: every room opens onto the central garden.
The jury liked the concept but felt the plan didn't support it.
A document that sets out what a building must provide: its uses, the list of spaces and their sizes, the budget, the schedule and the client's goals.
Where you use it
Clients and competition organisers write or issue the brief; architects read it, question it, develop it and respond to it. British English says brief; American English often says program (architectural program). Studio projects also start with a brief.
Examples
According to the brief, the library needs a reading room for 120 people.
The client changed the brief twice, so we had to rethink the layout.
Usage note
Turkish 'program' in this sense is usually 'brief' in British English. Here brief is a noun, not the adjective meaning short.
Common phrases
design brief · competition brief · respond to the brief · write a brief
A study of a site before design starts, looking at its size, slope, climate, sun, wind, views, access, surrounding buildings and planning rules.
Where you use it
Usually the first task in a studio project or office job, presented with diagrams, maps and photos. Architects carry out or do a site analysis, then use its findings to justify massing and orientation in front of a jury or client.
Examples
Our site analysis showed that the strongest winds come from the north-east.
Start with a site analysis before you draw any plans.
Common phrases
carry out a site analysis · site analysis diagrams · detailed site analysis · climate data
The central course in architecture education, where students develop design projects over a term with regular crits and juries; also a design office.
Where you use it
Students often just say 'studio': 'I'm in studio until midnight'. Each design studio has a brief, tutors and a final review. In practice, many small architecture firms also call themselves a studio.
Examples
This semester's design studio is about student housing on a sloping site.
Our design studio meets on Mondays and Thursdays for desk crits.
Usage note
Turkish students say 'proje dersi'; in English say 'design studio' or just 'studio', not 'project lesson'.
Common phrases
design studio project · studio tutor · studio culture · work in studio
A simple, abstract drawing that explains one idea about a design, such as how spaces connect, how people move or where the sun comes from.
Where you use it
Used at every stage, from analysis to the final jury. A bubble diagram shows how rooms relate; concept, circulation and structural diagrams explain the design. Juries often ask students to 'explain it with a diagram'.
Examples
Start with a bubble diagram before drawing the plan.
Your circulation diagram makes the idea much clearer.
An existing building or project that architects study to learn from its ideas, organisation or details and to support their own design decisions.
Where you use it
Common in schools: tutors ask students to research precedents or do a precedent study. In practice, architects show precedents to clients to explain an idea. The stress is on the first syllable: PRESS-i-dent.
Examples
For the precedent study, compare three libraries with central reading rooms.
We showed the client some precedents to explain what a courtyard house feels like.
Usage note
In Turkish planning language 'emsal' means floor area ratio, not precedent; a Turkish architect's 'emsal' is FAR in English.
Common phrases
precedent study · research precedents · architectural precedent · precedent analysis
The early design stage in which the architect develops the main layout, massing and character of a building from the brief, before detailed design begins.
Where you use it
An American term from the standard project phases: schematic design (SD), design development (DD) and construction documents (CD). In the British RIBA stages, a similar phase is called concept design. Clients usually approve schematic design before the team moves on.
Examples
We're only in schematic design, so the client can still change the layout easily.
The schematic design package includes plans, two sections and massing images.
Common phrases
schematic design phase · schematic design package · design development · approve the schematic design
A trip to the site of a project to observe and record its conditions, or, during construction, to check the progress and quality of the work.
Where you use it
Students go on site visits at the start of a studio project; architects in practice make regular site visits during construction and write site visit reports. You go on, make or carry out a site visit.
Examples
On the site visit, take photos of the neighbouring buildings and note the noise from the road.
I have a site visit on Wednesday to check the facade installation.
Common phrases
go on a site visit · site visit report · regular site visits · carry out a site visit
A drawing that shows a building from above as if it were cut horizontally about a metre above the floor, showing walls, doors, windows and rooms.
Where you use it
The most common architectural drawing, used from the first sketches to the final drawing set. Architects draw, develop and revise floor plans, usually at 1:100 or 1:50, and name them by level: ground floor plan, first floor plan, basement plan.
Examples
Can you send me the ground floor plan as a PDF before the meeting?
In the new floor plan, the kitchen opens directly onto the living room.
Usage note
In British English the first floor is the floor above the ground floor (Turkish 1. kat); in American English the first floor is the ground floor.
Common phrases
ground floor plan · draw up a floor plan · typical floor plan · revise the floor plan
A drawing of a building cut vertically from top to bottom, showing the floors, ceiling heights, roof, stairs and how the inside spaces relate to each other.
Where you use it
Used with plans and elevations in every drawing set. You cut a section through a building, and sections are named after the cut line on the plan: section A-A, section B-B. A long section runs along the length of a building and a cross section across it.
Examples
The section shows how the double-height living room connects to the bedrooms above.
Please cut another section through the staircase so we can check the headroom.
Common phrases
cut a section · section A-A · long section · cross section · wall section
A drawing that shows one side of a building straight on, without perspective, so that heights, openings and materials on that face can be read and measured.
Where you use it
Elevations are named by direction or position: north elevation, front elevation, street elevation. Architects draw, develop and study elevations; when they mean the real outer wall of the building, they usually say facade instead.
Examples
The south elevation shows vertical fins that shade the windows.
We moved the entrance, so the elevations need updating too.
Usage note
Elevation also means height above a reference level, like Turkish kot, especially in American English: 'finished floor elevation'.
Common phrases
north elevation · front elevation · street elevation · draw an elevation
A drawing that shows the whole plot from above: the building's position, boundaries, access roads, landscaping, levels and its relationship to neighbouring buildings.
Where you use it
Required in almost every planning or permit application and usually drawn at 1:500 or 1:200. It shows the north arrow, setbacks, entrances and parking. Architects distinguish the existing site plan from the proposed site plan.
Examples
The site plan shows the building set back ten metres from the street.
Add the trees and the car park entrance to the site plan.
Common phrases
proposed site plan · existing site plan · site plan at 1:500 · north arrow
The ratio between the size of a drawing or model and the real size of the building; at 1:100, one centimetre on paper equals one metre in reality.
Where you use it
Every drawing and model has a scale, written in the title block. Plans are often at 1:100 or 1:50, details at 1:20 or 1:5, site plans at 1:500. Say 1:50 as 'one to fifty'. A drawing is 'at' a scale, and it is either 'to scale' or 'not to scale' (NTS).
Examples
The plans are at 1:100, but the jury wants the main section at a larger scale.
This sketch isn't to scale, so don't measure from it.
Usage note
Turkish writes scales as 1/100, but English uses a colon: 1:100. On drawings for international clients, write 1:100.
Common phrases
at a scale of 1:50 · to scale · not to scale · scale bar · change the scale
A drawing or image that shows a space as the human eye sees it, with lines meeting at vanishing points so that distant objects look smaller.
Where you use it
Used to show atmosphere in presentations and to test views during design. The most common types are one-point and two-point perspective; 'eye level' and 'vanishing point' are key terms. Hand-drawn perspectives are still valued in sketching.
Examples
Draw a one-point perspective of the corridor to show how the light changes.
The main perspective on the board is taken from the riverbank at eye level.
A three-dimensional drawing without vanishing points, in which parallel lines stay parallel, so the object can be measured along its main axes.
Where you use it
Popular in competitions and portfolios because it explains a whole building at once. Architects often say 'axo' for short. An exploded axonometric separates the layers or parts of a building, and an isometric is one type of axonometric.
Examples
An exploded axonometric would explain the structure better than three sections.
Can you draw a quick axonometric of the roof garden?
A large-scale drawing that shows exactly how parts of a building are put together, such as a window frame, roof edge or wall junction, with materials and dimensions.
Where you use it
Details are drawn at 1:20, 1:10, 1:5 or even 1:1 and are part of the working drawings. Architects develop, draw and resolve details. 'Detail' is also a verb: 'detail the roof edge' means to work out how it will be built.
Examples
We need a 1:5 detail of the junction between the glass and the roof.
The contractor asked for a detail showing how the balcony is waterproofed.
Common phrases
construction detail · 1:5 detail · wall section detail · resolve a detail · typical detail
Short for computer-aided design: software used to produce precise two-dimensional drawings and three-dimensional models instead of drawing by hand.
Where you use it
Said as one word. Architects work in CAD, export CAD files (often DWG) and ask consultants for 'the CAD'. AutoCAD is the best-known program; many offices now use BIM software, but CAD files are still exchanged every day.
Examples
Could you send me the CAD files of the existing building?
She drew the first plans by hand and then redrew them in CAD.
Common phrases
CAD file · CAD drawing · work in CAD · CAD software · CAD technician
Short for building information modelling: designing with a shared 3D model in which each element, such as a wall or window, carries data like material, size and cost.
Where you use it
Common in larger offices and international projects; Revit and Archicad are popular BIM tools. Teams build a BIM model, coordinate it with engineers and check for clashes. Plans, sections and schedules are generated from the same model.
Examples
The client requires all drawings to be produced from a BIM model.
The BIM coordinator found a clash between a duct and a beam.
The detailed, fully dimensioned set of drawings that a contractor uses to build a project, including plans, sections, elevations, details and schedules.
Where you use it
A British term; American offices usually say construction documents (CDs) or construction drawings. Architects prepare, issue and revise working drawings, and each sheet carries a revision letter or number.
Examples
We're issuing the working drawings to the contractor next Monday.
The working drawings show every door with its number and size.
Common phrases
prepare working drawings · issue working drawings · working drawing set · construction documents
To add measurements to a drawing, showing the lengths, widths and heights of walls, openings and spaces with dimension lines and numbers.
Where you use it
A daily task in offices. Drawings are dimensioned in millimetres in most countries and in feet and inches in the United States. As a noun, 'dimension' means a measurement, and 'overall dimensions' are the outside sizes of something.
Examples
Please dimension all the door openings on the ground floor plan.
The drawing isn't fully dimensioned yet, so don't send it to the contractor.
Common phrases
dimension a drawing · fully dimensioned · dimension line · overall dimensions
To add comments, corrections or changes by hand or digitally on a drawing or document so that someone else can update it.
Where you use it
Common between senior architects, junior staff and consultants. Corrections are traditionally made in red, so marked-up drawings are often called redlines. The noun is markup or mark-up, and PDF tools are widely used for digital markups.
Examples
I've marked up the plans with the client's comments; can you update the CAD by tomorrow?
The engineer sent back a marked-up section showing the new beam sizes.
Common phrases
mark up a drawing · marked-up drawings · redline markups · PDF markup
The overall three-dimensional shape and arrangement of a building's main volumes, without details such as windows or materials.
Where you use it
Discussed early in design and in planning negotiations. Architects test, study and refine the massing with quick models or 3D software; a massing study compares several options. Planners comment on the massing in relation to neighbouring buildings.
Examples
We broke up the massing into three smaller blocks to match the scale of the street.
Can you prepare a quick massing model for Friday's meeting?
Common phrases
massing study · massing model · break up the massing · test the massing
The way people move through and between the spaces of a building, including corridors, stairs, lifts, ramps and entrances.
Where you use it
One of the first things juries and clients check in a plan. Architects talk about circulation routes, vertical circulation (stairs and lifts) and circulation space; good circulation is clear, short and efficient.
Examples
The circulation is confusing; visitors can't find the main stair from the entrance.
Keep the vertical circulation in one core to save floor area.
The way rooms, furniture or areas are arranged within a plan, including their sizes, positions and relationships to each other.
Where you use it
Used for houses, offices, kitchens and whole sites. Architects test, change and improve layouts, and clients often comment on them first. The phrasal verb 'lay out' means to arrange: 'We laid out the flats around a central corridor'.
Examples
The new layout gives every bedroom its own bathroom.
Let's try an open-plan layout for the office floor.
The relationship in size between the parts of a building, and between each part and the whole, such as the height and width of a window or a room.
Where you use it
A classic topic in design and history, from the classical orders to Le Corbusier's Modulor and the golden ratio. Juries say a room or facade has good, awkward or elegant proportions; the word is often used in the plural.
Examples
The windows have tall, narrow proportions that echo the older houses on the street.
The room feels out of proportion because the ceiling is too low for its size.
Common phrases
good proportions · out of proportion · in proportion to · golden ratio
A layout with few or no internal walls, so that functions such as cooking, eating and living, or many desks in an office, share one large space.
Where you use it
Very common in housing and office design. Before a noun it takes a hyphen: an open-plan kitchen, open-plan offices. American English often says 'open floor plan'. Architects weigh its benefits (light, flexibility) against its problems (noise, privacy).
Examples
The ground floor is open plan, with the kitchen, dining and living areas in one space.
Many staff say the open-plan office is too noisy for focused work.
Common phrases
open-plan kitchen · open-plan office · open-plan living area · open floor plan
A large open space inside a building that rises through several floors, usually under a glass roof, and is often used as an entrance hall or meeting area.
Where you use it
Common in offices, shopping centres, hotels and schools. Atriums bring daylight into deep plans and help natural ventilation, but need careful fire design. The plural is atriums or, more formally, atria. In ancient Roman houses the atrium was the central hall.
Examples
All the classrooms open onto a four-storey atrium with a glass roof.
Smoke control in the atrium was the fire engineer's main concern.
Common phrases
glass-roofed atrium · central atrium · full-height atrium · atrium space
An open-air space surrounded fully or partly by walls or buildings, used to bring light, air and privacy into the heart of a building.
Where you use it
A long tradition in hot climates, from Anatolian and Mediterranean houses to madrasas and caravanserais, and still popular in modern housing. Buildings are 'organised around' or 'arranged around' a courtyard.
Examples
The rooms are arranged around a shaded courtyard with a fountain.
The new school uses three courtyards to bring daylight into the classrooms.
Common phrases
central courtyard · courtyard house · arranged around a courtyard · internal courtyard
A room or area whose ceiling is two floors high, so that it rises through the floor above, often with a gallery or mezzanine looking down into it.
Where you use it
Used in houses, lobbies and libraries to create drama and bring in light. Architects say a space is double-height; the opening in the upper floor is often called a void. Turkish architects usually call it 'galeri boşluğu'.
Examples
The living room is a double-height space with a large window facing the garden.
A double-height space at the entrance makes the lobby feel generous.
Usage note
Turkish 'galeri' in this sense is not English 'gallery', which usually means an art gallery or a balcony-like upper level.
The quality of buildings and spaces whose size and details relate comfortably to the human body, so that people feel at ease rather than small or lost.
Where you use it
Used in critiques of large developments and in urban design. Architects try to keep or bring back human scale with smaller openings, setbacks, clear entrances and street furniture. Juries often say a street or square 'lacks human scale'.
Examples
The tower meets the street with a two-storey base to keep a human scale.
The new square lacks human scale; it's too big and has nowhere to sit.
Common phrases
keep a human scale · lack human scale · at a human scale · human-scale streets
An outer face of a building, especially the front or the side facing a street, considered as a whole with its windows, materials and details.
Where you use it
Used for the real built surface, while elevation is used for the drawing of it. Architects design, clad, restore and refurbish facades; facade engineers deal with glass and cladding systems. Also written façade.
Examples
The street facade is clad in local stone, while the garden side is mostly glass.
The facade needs cleaning and repair before the hotel reopens.
Usage note
Pronounced 'fuh-SAHD', not 'fa-kade': the c sounds like s.
Common phrases
street facade · main facade · facade system · glass facade · restore the facade
A wall that carries weight from the floors and roof above and transfers it down to the foundations, so it cannot be removed without adding another support.
Where you use it
Important in renovation and in masonry buildings. Before removing a wall or making an opening in it, architects and engineers check whether it is load-bearing. The opposite is a non-load-bearing or partition wall. 'Load-bearing' is also used alone as an adjective.
Examples
We can't remove that wall; it's load-bearing and supports the floor above.
The old house has thick load-bearing walls of stone.
Usage note
Turkish 'perde duvar' is a reinforced concrete shear wall; in English call it a shear wall. Not every load-bearing wall is a shear wall.
A vertical structural member, usually of concrete, steel or timber, that carries loads from beams and slabs down to the foundations.
Where you use it
Used daily by architects and engineers. Columns sit on a structural grid and are identified by grid references, such as column B3. Architects also talk about column spacing and column-free spaces. In classical buildings, column is translated as sütun.
Examples
Can we shift column C4 so it doesn't sit in the middle of the meeting room?
The ground floor is a column-free space of 20 by 30 metres.
A flat horizontal structural element, usually of reinforced concrete, that forms a floor or roof and spreads loads to beams, walls or columns.
Where you use it
Common on drawings and on site. Concrete slabs are poured or cast, and their thickness is given in millimetres. Architects talk about floor slabs, roof slabs, slab edges and flat slabs, which are slabs without beams.
Examples
With a 250 mm slab and a clear height of 3 m, the floor-to-floor height is 3.25 m.
The first-floor slab will be poured next week.
Common phrases
floor slab · roof slab · pour a slab · flat slab · slab edge
A set of stairs together with its supporting structure, handrails and landings, which connects the different floors of a building.
Where you use it
Designed carefully for comfort and fire safety. Key words: flight, landing, tread, riser and handrail. A staircase can be straight, L-shaped, U-shaped or spiral; 'stairs' is the more everyday word.
Examples
The main staircase rises through the atrium and becomes a meeting place.
The escape staircase must be enclosed and lead directly outside.
The lowest part of a building, usually below ground, which spreads the building's weight safely into the soil or rock.
Where you use it
Often used in the plural: 'the foundations'. Engineers design them after a soil investigation; common types are strip, pad and raft foundations and piles. Architects coordinate foundation levels with basements and site levels.
Examples
Because of the poor soil, the engineer recommended a raft foundation.
The foundations were laid in March and the frame went up over the summer.
Common phrases
lay the foundations · raft foundation · strip foundation · pile foundation · foundation level
A horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening or between supports and transfers them to columns or walls.
Where you use it
Architects care about beam depth because it affects ceiling heights and windows. Beams span between columns; a deep beam can be hidden in a ceiling void or left exposed. Steel beams are named by shape, such as I-beams; closely spaced timber beams are called joists.
Examples
The beam is 600 mm deep, so we'll lose some ceiling height in the corridor.
We left the steel beams exposed to give the loft an industrial feel.
Usage note
English describes a beam as 'deep', not 'high': Turkish kiriş yüksekliği is 'beam depth'.
The top covering of a building that protects it from rain, sun and cold; it can be flat, pitched (sloping) or curved.
Where you use it
Architects decide the roof form, material and drainage early. Common phrases: flat roof, pitched roof, roof terrace, roof garden and roof plan. A rooflight or skylight lets daylight in from above. Roofs are covered, insulated and waterproofed.
Examples
The flat roof will be used as a terrace for the residents.
The planners asked for a pitched roof to match the neighbouring houses.
The set of connected elements, such as foundations, columns, beams, walls and slabs, that carries a building's loads safely down to the ground.
Where you use it
Architects choose a structural system with the structural engineer early in design: frame, load-bearing walls, shell, truss and so on. In conversation they often just say 'the structure'. Juries frequently ask students to explain their structural system.
Examples
We chose a steel structural system because the hall needs long spans.
Your structural system isn't clear; where do the loads go on the ground floor?
Usage note
Turkish architects call the structural engineer 'statikçi'; in English say 'structural engineer', not 'static engineer'.
Common phrases
choose a structural system · structural engineer · structural frame · long spans
A beam, slab or part of a building that projects outwards and is supported at only one end, with nothing holding it up at the other end.
Where you use it
Used for balconies, canopies and dramatic upper floors. Parts of a building cantilever out over a street or slope, so the word is both a noun and a verb. Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater is a famous example of cantilevered terraces.
Examples
The upper floor cantilevers six metres over the entrance, creating a covered porch.
A cantilever that long will need a very stiff steel structure.
Common phrases
cantilevered balcony · cantilever out · long cantilever · cantilevered canopy
An internal wall that divides one space from another but does not carry the building's structural loads, so it can usually be moved or removed.
Where you use it
Common in office fit-outs and housing plans. Partitions can be stud walls lined with plasterboard, glass partitions or blockwork; architects specify their acoustic and fire ratings. Often shortened to 'partition'.
Examples
We'll replace the partition wall between the two offices with a glass screen.
Partition walls between bedrooms need good sound insulation.
Usage note
Turkish 'alçıpan' is 'plasterboard' in British English and 'drywall' or 'gypsum board' in American English.
A second ceiling hung below the structural slab, leaving a gap where ducts, cables, pipes and light fittings can run out of sight.
Where you use it
Common in offices, schools and hospitals, usually made of tiles in a metal grid or of plasterboard. British English also says false ceiling; American English often says drop or dropped ceiling. The space above it is the ceiling void.
Examples
There's only 400 mm above the suspended ceiling for the air-conditioning ducts.
In the lobby we removed the suspended ceiling to expose the concrete slab.
The arrangement, size and proportion of the windows and other openings in a building's facade.
Where you use it
A formal word found in architectural writing, planning reports and conservation documents rather than in casual talk. Critics describe regular, rhythmic or irregular fenestration, and planners may ask for changes to the fenestration.
Examples
The regular fenestration of the old warehouse gives the street a calm rhythm.
The planners asked us to reduce the fenestration on the side facing the neighbours.
Common phrases
regular fenestration · fenestration pattern · window-to-wall ratio
A horizontal beam of concrete, steel, stone or timber placed over a door or window opening to carry the wall above it.
Where you use it
Used in masonry construction and on working drawings. Each end of a lintel must rest on the wall for a minimum length, often 150 mm. In post-and-lintel construction, as in Greek temples, horizontal beams sit on columns instead of arches.
Examples
A steel lintel will be needed if we widen this window opening.
The stone lintel over the door is carved with the date the house was built.
Common phrases
steel lintel · stone lintel · concrete lintel · post and lintel
A regular pattern of lines on a plan that sets out where columns and main walls sit, with lines labelled by letters in one direction and numbers in the other.
Where you use it
Used daily by architects, engineers and contractors to locate things: 'on grid line C', 'between grids 3 and 4'. Architects choose the grid spacing to suit the uses below and above, for example parking spaces in the basement and offices on the upper floors.
Examples
The structural grid is 8 by 8 metres, which works well for both offices and parking.
Check the structural grid: column D4 sits right in the middle of the corridor.
Usage note
A Turkish 'aks' on a plan is a 'grid line' in English, not an 'axis'; 'axis' is used for a design idea such as a main visual axis.
Common phrases
grid line · grid spacing · column grid · regular grid · set out the grid
Concrete with steel bars or mesh cast inside it; the concrete resists compression and the steel resists tension, which makes strong beams, slabs and columns possible.
Where you use it
The most common structural material in Turkey and much of the world, often shortened to RC. Engineers design the reinforcement; architects decide where concrete stays visible. Fair-faced or exposed concrete is concrete left uncovered as a finish.
Examples
The frame is reinforced concrete, with brick infill walls.
Most apartment blocks in the city have a reinforced concrete structure.
A structure of steel columns and beams joined together, which carries the floors and roof and makes large open spaces and tall buildings possible.
Where you use it
Common for offices, industrial buildings and towers. Steel frames are fabricated off site and erected quickly, but they need fire protection. The steel frame helped make the first skyscrapers possible in late 19th-century Chicago.
Examples
A steel frame lets us span 18 metres without any internal columns.
The steel frame went up in six weeks.
Common phrases
steel frame building · erect a steel frame · steel frame structure · fire protection
A small rectangular block of fired clay used to build walls; bricks are laid in mortar in regular patterns called bonds.
Where you use it
Bricks are laid, and the worker is a bricklayer. Architects specify brick colour, size, bond (such as stretcher bond or Flemish bond) and mortar joints. 'Exposed brick' is brick left visible as a finish, inside or outside.
Examples
The new library uses the same red brick as the old factory next door.
We kept the exposed brick walls in the café to show the building's history.
Usage note
Turkish 'tuğla' often refers to the large hollow clay blocks used for infill walls; in English these are usually called 'hollow clay blocks'.
Wood prepared for building, used for structures, floors, cladding, windows and furniture; engineered products like cross-laminated timber are used in multi-storey buildings.
Where you use it
British English says timber; American English says lumber for sawn wood and wood or mass timber in general. Architects talk about timber frames, timber cladding and CLT. Timber is a key topic in low-carbon design.
Examples
The school has a timber frame and a timber facade that will turn grey over time.
Using cross-laminated timber cut the building's embodied carbon significantly.
The glass parts of a building, such as windows, glass doors and glass walls, or the work of fitting glass into frames.
Where you use it
Common in specifications and facade discussions. Double and triple glazing improve insulation, and solar control or low-e glazing reduces heat gain or loss. Architects talk about the amount or percentage of glazing on each facade.
Examples
There's too much glazing on the west facade; the rooms will overheat in summer.
All windows will have triple glazing to meet the energy target.
Usage note
Use 'glass' for the material and 'glazing' for the glass parts of a facade or window.
Common phrases
double glazing · triple glazing · floor-to-ceiling glazing · solar control glazing
A thin outer wall, usually of glass and aluminium, that hangs from the building's structure and keeps out the weather but carries no floor or roof loads.
Where you use it
Typical of office towers and modern public buildings. Curtain walls are designed with facade engineers, made as factory-built panels (unitised systems) or assembled on site (stick systems) and installed floor by floor.
Examples
The office tower has a fully glazed curtain wall with external fins for shading.
Installation of the curtain wall starts once the frame reaches the tenth floor.
Common phrases
glass curtain wall · unitised curtain wall · curtain wall system · install the curtain wall
The outer layer of material fixed to a building's walls to protect it from the weather and give it its appearance, such as stone, metal panels, timber or ceramic.
Where you use it
Architects choose, specify and detail cladding; it is fixed to a subframe and is often ventilated behind. The verb is 'clad': 'The building is clad in copper'. The fire safety of cladding materials is a major issue in building codes.
Examples
We're proposing terracotta cladding to relate to the brick houses nearby.
The cladding panels arrived damaged, so the contractor sent them back.
Common phrases
facade cladding · timber cladding · metal cladding · cladding panels · clad in stone
Construction made of separate units such as stone, brick or concrete blocks laid in mortar; also the units themselves as a building material.
Where you use it
Used for walls, arches, vaults and historic buildings. Load-bearing masonry carries the building's weight, while masonry infill does not. A worker who builds in stone is a mason or stonemason.
Examples
The old warehouse has thick masonry walls that keep it cool in summer.
Unreinforced masonry buildings need careful assessment in earthquake zones.
Usage note
Turkish 'yığma yapı' is a load-bearing masonry building in English.
The early to mid-20th-century movement that rejected historical decoration and favoured function, simple forms, open plans and new materials like steel, glass and concrete.
Where you use it
Central in history and theory courses. Key names include Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus; slogans such as 'form follows function' and 'less is more' are linked to it. The adjective is modernist.
Examples
The housing estate is a classic example of post-war Modernism.
Early Modernism rejected ornament in favour of clean lines and flat roofs.
Usage note
Modernism is a historical movement; for buildings designed today, English usually says 'contemporary', not 'modern'.
Common phrases
Modernist architecture · post-war Modernism · International Style · Modern Movement
Traditional buildings made by local people with local materials and knowledge, shaped by climate, culture and everyday needs rather than by professional architects.
Where you use it
Studied as a source of climate-sensitive and sustainable ideas. Examples in Turkey include the timber-framed houses of Safranbolu, the stone houses of Mardin and the rock-cut dwellings of Cappadocia. Architects 'reinterpret' or 'draw on' the vernacular.
Examples
The design draws on the vernacular architecture of the region: thick stone walls and small windows.
Our studio studied vernacular architecture in hot, dry climates.
Common phrases
local vernacular · vernacular building traditions · reinterpret the vernacular · vernacular materials
A rounded roof shaped like half a sphere, built over a circular, square or polygonal space; a masonry dome spreads its weight outwards and downwards.
Where you use it
Key in Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and Renaissance architecture: the Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, the Süleymaniye and Selimiye mosques and St Peter's in Rome. Domes rest on a drum or on pendentives; the small structure on top is a lantern.
Examples
In the Selimiye Mosque, Sinan placed a single great dome over the main prayer hall.
The dome rests on four arches and pendentives.
Common phrases
central dome · dome on pendentives · glass dome · dome structure
A curved structure spanning an opening, built of wedge-shaped stones or bricks that press against each other and carry the load above down to the sides.
Where you use it
Basic to masonry building and architectural history. Types include the round arch (Roman), the pointed arch (Gothic and Islamic) and the horseshoe arch. The central top stone is the keystone, and a row of arches on columns is an arcade.
Examples
Pointed arches allowed Gothic builders to make taller openings.
A style from the 1950s to the 1970s known for heavy, bold forms and raw, exposed concrete, often used for housing, universities and public buildings.
Where you use it
Widely discussed today, often in debates about demolition versus conservation. Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation in Marseille was an early influence. The adjective is brutalist: a brutalist tower, a brutalist housing estate.
Examples
The campus is a fine example of 1960s Brutalism, with board-marked concrete everywhere.
Many people who once disliked Brutalism now campaign to protect these buildings.
Usage note
The name comes from French 'béton brut' (raw concrete), not from 'brutal'; Turkish 'brüt beton' has the same root.
Describing the European style of roughly the 12th to the 16th century, with pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses and large stained-glass windows.
Where you use it
Used in history courses and for cathedrals such as Notre-Dame in Paris and Chartres. Gothic structure allowed thinner walls and larger windows. Gothic Revival (or Neo-Gothic) is the 19th-century return to the style, as in London's Houses of Parliament.
Examples
Gothic cathedrals use flying buttresses to carry the thrust of the vaults outside the walls.
The university's main hall was built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1880s.
The systems of column design and proportion from ancient Greece and Rome: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, plus the Roman Tuscan and Composite orders.
Where you use it
Basic vocabulary in architectural history. Each order has its own column, capital and entablature, and you can recognise them by the capital: plain (Doric), with scrolls or volutes (Ionic), or with acanthus leaves (Corinthian). Renaissance and Neoclassical architects reused them.
Examples
The facade combines two classical orders: Doric below and Ionic above.
Can you tell which of the classical orders this capital belongs to?
Common phrases
Doric order · Ionic order · Corinthian order · orders of architecture
Work that repairs a historic building and returns it to an earlier condition, based on careful research into its original form, materials and techniques.
Where you use it
Part of the wider field of conservation. Restoration projects start with a measured survey and a condition report; architects restore, repair and consolidate. International principles such as the Venice Charter (1964) guide how much original fabric should be kept.
Examples
The restoration of the old inn took four years and used traditional lime mortar.
Before the restoration, we prepared measured drawings of every facade.
Usage note
Turkish 'rölöve' is a 'measured survey' or 'measured drawings' in English.
Giving an old building a new use, such as turning a factory into a museum or offices, while keeping much of its original structure and character.
Where you use it
Important in both conservation and sustainability, because reusing a structure saves embodied carbon. London's Tate Modern, a former power station, is a famous example. Architects also say 'repurpose' or 'convert' a building; the result is a conversion.
Examples
The adaptive reuse of the tobacco warehouse created a library and artists' studios.
Adaptive reuse is often greener than demolishing and building new.
Common phrases
adaptive reuse project · industrial heritage · convert a building · repurpose a building
The area of ground that a building covers, measured by the outline of its outer walls at ground level.
Where you use it
Used in planning, site layouts and feasibility studies. Architects reduce, enlarge or keep the footprint compact, and planning rules often limit it as a percentage of the plot. The word is also used for environmental impact, as in 'carbon footprint'.
Examples
We kept the footprint small and went up five storeys to save the old trees.
The building footprint covers about 40 percent of the plot.
Usage note
The ratio of footprint to plot area, Turkish TAKS, is called site coverage or lot coverage in English.
Common phrases
building footprint · compact footprint · reduce the footprint · carbon footprint
The system of dividing a city into areas where only certain uses, such as housing, offices or industry, and certain building sizes are allowed.
Where you use it
Mostly American. Zoning laws, maps and codes set height, density and setbacks; a site is 'zoned for' a use, and owners may apply for rezoning. In Britain the similar system is usually called planning or land-use planning.
Examples
Under the current zoning the site is for housing only, so we can't put offices on the ground floor without approval.
Local zoning rules limit the building to 18 metres in height.
Common phrases
zoning regulations · zoned for residential use · zoning map · rezoning
A long-term plan for developing a large area, such as a campus, neighbourhood or city district, showing land uses, buildings, streets, open spaces and phases.
Where you use it
Architects and urban designers prepare, draw up and update master plans; individual buildings are then designed within them. Also written masterplan, and offices use it as a verb: 'to masterplan a site'.
Examples
The university's master plan shows three new faculty buildings around a central green.
Our competition entry included a master plan for the whole waterfront.
Usage note
Turkish 'nazım imar planı' is a specific statutory plan; a campus or project master plan is not always the same thing.
Common phrases
prepare a master plan · campus master plan · master plan phases · urban master plan
Space that is open and accessible to everyone, such as streets, squares, parks, waterfronts and the public areas of civic buildings.
Where you use it
A central idea in urban design and in many competition briefs. Architects create, activate and improve public space, and discuss its quality, safety and accessibility. 'Public realm' is a common British term for the whole network of public spaces.
Examples
The ground floor is set back to create a new public space in front of the library.
A good public space needs shade, seating and reasons for people to stay.
Common phrases
create public space · quality of public space · public realm · open public space
Describing a building or area that combines different uses, such as housing, shops, offices and public facilities, instead of keeping them separate.
Where you use it
Common in urban planning and development briefs. A mixed-use building often has shops or cafés on the ground floor with flats above. Planners promote mixed-use neighbourhoods to keep streets lively and reduce car journeys.
Examples
The mixed-use scheme has a supermarket on the ground floor and 60 flats above.
The master plan turns the old port into a mixed-use district.
Common phrases
mixed-use development · mixed-use building · mixed-use district · mixed-use scheme
How much building, or how many homes or people, there is on a given area of land, often measured in dwellings or people per hectare.
Where you use it
A key topic in housing and planning debates. Architects and planners talk about high, medium and low density, and about increasing or controlling density. High density does not have to mean high-rise: courtyard blocks can achieve it at low height.
Examples
The scheme achieves a density of 120 homes per hectare with buildings of only five storeys.
Residents worried that the new towers would increase density too much.
Common phrases
high density · low density · housing density · increase density · dwellings per hectare
The minimum distance a building must keep from a plot boundary or street, set by planning rules; also an upper part of a building stepped back from the floor below.
Where you use it
Appears on every site plan and zoning check: front, side and rear setbacks. Architects say a building is 'set back' from the street. Setbacks on upper floors reduce the impact of tall buildings, as in early 20th-century New York towers.
Examples
The zoning rules require a five-metre setback from the street.
A setback on the top two floors creates a terrace and reduces the bulk of the building.
Common phrases
front setback · side setback · minimum setback · set back from the street
The total floor area of all storeys of a building divided by the area of its plot; a ratio of 2 means you can build twice the plot area in total.
Where you use it
Central in feasibility studies and planning negotiations. Usually shortened to FAR in American English; British English often says plot ratio. Planning rules set a maximum, and which areas count towards it varies from place to place.
Examples
With a floor area ratio of 1.5, we can build 3,000 square metres on this 2,000-square-metre plot.
The developer asked whether the basement counts towards the floor area ratio.
Usage note
Turkish 'emsal' here means FAR, not 'precedent'. TAKS (taban alanı katsayısı) is site coverage in English.
Common phrases
maximum floor area ratio · FAR · plot ratio · count towards the floor area ratio
The uncontrolled spread of low-density development, such as housing estates, shopping malls and roads, into the countryside around a city.
Where you use it
A negative term used by planners and critics. Sprawl increases car dependence, infrastructure costs and the loss of farmland. Responses include compact cities, green belts and mixed-use development. 'Sprawl' is also used alone.
Examples
The new metro line aims to reduce urban sprawl by encouraging housing near stations.
Decades of urban sprawl have swallowed farmland on the edge of the city.
Common phrases
limit urban sprawl · suburban sprawl · green belt · compact city
The process in which wealthier people move into a poorer neighbourhood, property prices rise, and many original residents and businesses are pushed out.
Where you use it
Common in urban studies, journalism and design critiques. The sociologist Ruth Glass first used the term in 1964, writing about London. Neighbourhoods 'gentrify' or 'are gentrified'; architects discuss how regeneration can happen without displacing residents.
Examples
Gentrification has turned the old workshops into cafés and expensive lofts.
Our studio project asks how to renew the district without gentrification.
Common phrases
process of gentrification · gentrified neighbourhood · displacement · urban regeneration
How easy, safe and pleasant it is to walk around an area, depending on things like pavement width, shade, crossings, street life and distance to daily needs.
Where you use it
A key idea in urban design and planning reports. Designers improve, measure or increase walkability; in a walkable neighbourhood, residents can reach shops, schools and public transport on foot, often within 10 to 15 minutes.
Examples
Wider pavements and street trees improved the walkability of the high street.
Walkability was one of the main criteria in the master plan competition.
Natural light from the sky and sun that enters a building; architects shape windows, rooflights and room depths to bring in enough of it without glare or overheating.
Where you use it
Central to both design quality and sustainability. Architects talk about bringing in, maximising or controlling daylight. 'Daylighting' is the design strategy, and a daylight study tests how much light each room receives.
Examples
The rooflights bring daylight deep into the centre of the library.
The studios face north to get even daylight without direct sun.
Common phrases
natural daylight · bring in daylight · daylight study · daylight factor · maximise daylight
Material such as mineral wool, polystyrene or wood fibre placed in walls, roofs and floors to slow down heat passing into or out of a building.
Where you use it
Essential in energy-efficient design and in specifications. Insulation is installed, fitted or added, and its effect is shown by the U-value of the wall or roof. Insulating on the outside of the wall keeps the structure warm and avoids thermal bridges.
Examples
We added 150 mm of thermal insulation to the roof to reduce heating costs.
The old walls have no thermal insulation, so the flats lose heat quickly.
Usage note
Turkish 'mantolama' is external wall insulation (EWI), also called ETICS; 'mantle' is not used in this sense.
The direction a building, room or facade faces in relation to the sun, wind, views and the street.
Where you use it
One of the first decisions in site analysis and passive design. Architects talk about good or poor orientation and about south-facing or north-facing facades. In the northern hemisphere, living spaces often face south to get winter sun.
Examples
The orientation of the site gives the living rooms sea views and afternoon sun.
We rotated the block slightly to improve its orientation.
Common phrases
south-facing orientation · building orientation · solar orientation · good orientation
Designing buildings to use less energy, water and materials, to reduce carbon emissions and waste, and to provide healthy places for people over their whole life.
Where you use it
A core subject in schools, competitions and client briefs. Architects talk about sustainable design strategies, principles and goals, and measure them with rating systems such as LEED or BREEAM. Related words: green building, low-carbon, energy-efficient.
Examples
Sustainable design was a key criterion in the competition brief.
Explain your sustainable design strategies on one board: daylight, ventilation and materials.
Common phrases
sustainable design strategies · principles of sustainable design · green building · low-carbon design
Design that keeps a building comfortable using the sun, wind, shade and the building's own form and materials, so it needs little mechanical heating, cooling or lighting.
Where you use it
Strategies include good orientation, shading, cross ventilation, thermal mass and insulation, and architects often explain them with section diagrams. Passivhaus (Passive House) is a separate, strict energy standard that started in Germany.
Examples
Our passive design strategy uses deep overhangs to block the summer sun.
Thanks to passive design, the building needs no air conditioning for most of the year.
Common phrases
passive design strategies · passive solar design · passive cooling · thermal mass
Natural ventilation in which fresh air enters through openings on one side of a space and leaves through openings on the opposite side.
Where you use it
A key passive cooling strategy, especially for housing in hot climates. Dual-aspect flats, with windows on two opposite sides, allow cross ventilation; deep single-aspect plans do not. Also written cross-ventilation.
Examples
Every flat is dual-aspect, so all of them get cross ventilation.
The section shows how cross ventilation cools the classrooms at night.
A roof covered with soil and plants over a waterproof layer, which slows rainwater run-off, adds insulation, supports wildlife and cools the surroundings.
Where you use it
Common in sustainable and urban projects. An extensive green roof has a thin layer of soil and low plants such as sedum; an intensive green roof is deeper and can hold shrubs and trees like a garden. The structure must be designed for the extra weight.
Examples
The green roof will slow down rainwater run-off from the site.
We specified an extensive green roof because the structure can't take much extra load.
Common phrases
extensive green roof · intensive green roof · green roof system · install a green roof
The carbon emissions from producing, transporting and installing a building's materials, and later from maintaining and demolishing it, as opposed to emissions from its energy use.
Where you use it
A fast-growing topic in sustainable design. Architects calculate, reduce and compare embodied carbon, often with a life-cycle assessment (LCA). Concrete and steel usually have high embodied carbon; timber and reused structures can lower it. The opposite is operational carbon.
Examples
Keeping the existing frame avoided a large share of the embodied carbon of a new building.
The client wants an embodied carbon report for each design option.
Short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design: a green building rating system from the U.S. Green Building Council that awards points for sustainable features.
Where you use it
Pronounced like the verb 'lead'. Buildings earn or achieve LEED certification at four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. It is widely used in Turkey and abroad; the main British alternative is BREEAM.
Examples
The new headquarters is targeting LEED Gold certification.
Bike parking and rainwater harvesting earned the project extra LEED points.
A small three-dimensional version of a building or site, made of card, wood, foam or 3D-printed parts, used to study a design or to present it.
Where you use it
Students and architects build or make models at many scales: massing models, working models, site models and final presentation models. In offices, 'model' can also mean a digital 3D or BIM model, so say 'physical model' when it matters.
Examples
We built a 1:200 site model to show how the building steps down the hill.
Bring your working model to the crit tomorrow.
Usage note
Turkish 'maket' is 'model' in English. 'Maquette' exists but is used mostly for sculpture studies.
Common phrases
build a model · physical model · massing model · site model · working model
To produce a realistic or atmospheric image of a design from a 3D model, using software that calculates light, materials and shadows.
Where you use it
Used constantly in studios and offices before presentations. You render a view, an interior or an aerial; the result is a render (UK) or rendering (US), also called a visualisation or CGI.
Examples
I'm rendering the night view now; it should finish in about an hour.
The client loved the rendered interiors but asked for warmer lighting.
Usage note
'Render' also means a cement or lime plaster on outside walls, so 'rendered walls' can simply mean plastered walls.
A panel of tutors and invited architects who review students' projects and give feedback and grades, or a panel that judges a design competition.
Where you use it
In schools the end-of-term presentation is often called 'the jury' or 'final jury'; American schools also say 'review' and British schools 'crit'. Students present to the jury, which asks questions, comments and decides. Competition juries select winners and write a jury report.
Examples
The jury asked why the entrance was hidden at the back of the building.
I have my final jury on Monday, so I'm finishing the model this weekend.
Common phrases
final jury · present to the jury · jury members · jury report · jury feedback
A session in which a tutor or a group of reviewers discusses a student's work and gives critical feedback; short for critique.
Where you use it
An informal word used mainly in British and international schools. A desk crit is a one-to-one talk at the student's desk; a group crit or final crit is more formal. Students have, get or go to a crit; tutors give one.
Examples
In today's desk crit, my tutor said the plan was too symmetrical for the site.
Pin up your drawings before the group crit starts at two.
Usage note
Turkish uses 'kritik' as a noun, but English 'critical' is only an adjective: say 'I had a crit', not 'I had a critical'.
Common phrases
desk crit · group crit · final crit · have a crit · give a crit
A large sheet, often A1 or A0, on which drawings, images, diagrams and short texts are arranged to present a project to a jury, client or competition.
Where you use it
Students lay out, print, pin up and present boards, and competitions limit how many boards you can submit. Often just called 'boards'. Good boards have a clear hierarchy, from the main image down to the details.
Examples
The competition allows three A1 presentation boards in landscape format.
Put the main perspective at the top of your first presentation board.
Usage note
For a technical drawing, Turkish 'pafta' is 'sheet' or 'drawing sheet'; 'board' is used for presentation sheets.
Common phrases
A1 presentation board · board layout · print the boards · pin up the boards
A contest in which architects submit design proposals for a project and a jury, often judging them anonymously, chooses the best one for a prize or the commission.
Where you use it
Very important in Turkey and Europe, for students and practices alike. Competitions can be open, invited or two-stage. Architects enter and submit an entry; juries award first, second and third prizes and honourable mentions.
Examples
We won second prize in an architectural competition for a new city library.
The architectural competition attracted over 200 entries from 30 countries.
Usage note
Turkish 'mansiyon' is 'honourable mention' (US: honorable mention), not 'mansion', which means a large house.
Common phrases
enter a competition · competition entry · open competition · win first prize · honourable mention
A selected collection of an architect's or student's best work, such as projects, drawings, models and images, used to apply for jobs, schools or competitions.
Where you use it
Essential for internships, master's applications and job interviews. Architects put together, update and present a portfolio, usually as a PDF of 10 to 30 pages. Many offices first ask for a short sample portfolio.
Examples
Send us your CV and a short portfolio of no more than ten pages.
I'm updating my portfolio with this year's housing project.
Common phrases
put together a portfolio · sample portfolio · portfolio review · update your portfolio · digital portfolio
To fix drawings and boards to a wall with pins so that a tutor, jury or team can look at them and discuss them together.
Where you use it
Everyday studio language. Students pin up their work before a crit, and the noun 'pin-up' is an informal review where work is shown on the wall. Offices also pin up drawings to review a design as a team.
Examples
Pin up your plans and sections by ten so we can start on time.
We have an informal pin-up on Wednesday before the final jury.
Common phrases
pin up your drawings · pin-up review · informal pin-up · pin up the boards
A set of legal rules for how buildings must be designed and built, covering structure, fire safety, accessibility, energy use and health.
Where you use it
Architects must comply with or meet the building code, and drawings are checked against it before a permit is issued. 'Building code' is American usage; in the UK the rules are called the Building Regulations, often shortened to 'Building Regs'.
Examples
The building code requires two escape routes from a floor of this size.
Check the building code before you decide on the stair width.
Common phrases
comply with the building code · local building code · building code requirements · meet the code
The person or organisation that commissions a building project and pays the architect, such as a homeowner, developer, company or public authority.
Where you use it
Architects meet, present to and work for clients, and every project decision is shaped by the client's brief and budget. Private clients, public clients and developers have different priorities. Client meetings are a regular part of office life.
Examples
The client wants the house finished before the summer holidays.
We're presenting three options to the client on Thursday.
Common phrases
client meeting · client brief · present to the client · private client · client approval
An early study that tests whether a project is possible and worthwhile on a given site, looking at planning rules, floor area, cost, brief and risks.
Where you use it
Clients and developers commission feasibility studies before buying land or starting design. Architects prepare them, usually with quick massing options and an area schedule showing how much floor space can be built.
Examples
The feasibility study showed we could fit 40 flats on the site within the height limit.
The developer asked us for a feasibility study before making an offer on the land.
Common phrases
carry out a feasibility study · feasibility stage · area schedule · feasibility report
Official permission from the local authority to build, alter or demolish a building, given after the drawings have been checked against planning rules and codes.
Where you use it
Architects apply for and obtain a building permit, and work cannot start without it. In the UK the system is split: planning permission approves what is built, and building regulations approval covers how it is built. Permission to use a finished building is a certificate of occupancy.
Examples
We submitted the drawings last month and expect the building permit in early spring.
Work stopped because the contractor started before the building permit was issued.
Common phrases
apply for a building permit · obtain a building permit · permit application · planning permission · certificate of occupancy
The company or person hired to build a project according to the drawings, specifications and contract, managing workers, materials and subcontractors on site.
Where you use it
The main or general contractor holds the contract with the client and employs subcontractors for specialist work. Architects issue drawings to the contractor, answer their questions (RFIs) and inspect the work. Contractors bid or tender for projects.
Examples
The contractor says the steel will arrive two weeks late.
Three contractors were invited to tender for the school project.
Usage note
In everyday Turkish 'müteahhit' can also mean someone who builds and sells flats; in English that role is a 'developer'.
Common phrases
main contractor · general contractor · appoint a contractor · subcontractor
A written document that describes the materials, products, quality standards and workmanship required for a project, used together with the drawings.
Where you use it
Often shortened to 'spec'. Architects write the specification and 'specify' products; a 'high-spec' building uses expensive materials. Specifications can name exact products (prescriptive) or describe the required results (performance specification).
Examples
The specification calls for oak flooring with a matt finish.
Check the specification before you accept the contractor's alternative product.
Common phrases
write the specification · technical specification · performance specification · specify a product
The process in which contractors submit prices to build a project, or the offer itself; the client usually chooses one based on cost and quality.
Where you use it
British English uses tender as a noun and a verb: put a project out to tender, tender documents, win a tender. American English usually says bid and bidding. Architects prepare tender drawings and help the client compare tenders.
Examples
The project goes out to tender next month.
The lowest tender was 15 percent over budget, so we had to make savings.
Common phrases
go out to tender · tender documents · win a tender · tender drawings · tender price
The regular checking of construction work on site by the architect or engineer to make sure it follows the drawings, specifications and quality standards.
Where you use it
Part of the architect's services in many contracts. American offices call it construction administration (CA); British offices may say contract administration or site inspection. It includes site visits, meetings, answering queries and approving samples.
Examples
Our fee includes site supervision until the building is handed over.
Poor site supervision led to mistakes in the facade installation.
Usage note
Turkey's 'yapı denetim' firms are a separate legal inspection system; do not assume they match the architect's site supervision role abroad.
Common phrases
site supervision services · construction administration · site inspection · carry out site supervision
The quality of a building or place being usable by everyone, including wheelchair users, older people and people with visual or hearing impairments.
Where you use it
Required by building codes in most countries and checked on every project. Architects provide step-free access, ramps, lifts, accessible toilets and tactile paving, and many codes limit ramp slopes to about 1:12. Related ideas: inclusive design, universal design.
Examples
The main entrance has steps, so we added a ramp to meet accessibility requirements.
An accessibility consultant reviewed the plans before submission.
Usage note
Use 'accessible' (accessible toilet, accessible entrance) rather than older words like 'handicapped'.
Ten questions from this glossary. Pick the right meaning for each term and see your score.
How to learn architecture vocabulary
Learn each English term next to the Turkish studio word you already use: floor plan and kat planı, elevation and görünüş, site plan and vaziyet planı, model and maket, presentation board and pafta.
Read real architectural texts every week, such as project descriptions on architecture websites, competition briefs, jury reports and the notes on drawing sets, and notice how architects describe space: 'the double-height atrium opens onto the courtyard'.
Practise presenting one of your projects out loud in English in three minutes: the site, the concept, the plan and section, and the materials. Juries remember a clear story more than difficult words.
Practise saying scales and dimensions: 1:100 is 'one to a hundred', 1:20 is 'one to twenty', and 3.60 m is 'three point six metres'. Remember that English writes scales with a colon, not a slash.
Learn the verbs that go with each noun, because studio and office English is built on them: draw up a plan, cut a section, build a model, render a view, pin up your boards, apply for a building permit.
Frequently asked questions
How do I present my architecture project to a jury in English?
Prepare a short, clear story: start with the site and the brief, explain your concept in one sentence, then walk the jury through the plans, sections and key details, pointing at the drawings as you speak. Learn a few linking phrases such as 'As you can see in the section', 'The main idea was' and 'This allowed us to'. Practise out loud with a timer, and if you don't understand a question, politely ask the juror to repeat or rephrase it.
Which architecture terms should I learn first?
Start with the words you will hear in the first weeks of studio or office work: the main drawings (floor plan, section, elevation, site plan, scale), basic building elements (column, beam, slab, facade, staircase), design-process words (brief, concept, sketch, massing, circulation) and presentation words (model, render, jury, crit). The first tier of this list covers exactly these.
How do you say pafta, vaziyet planı, maket and emsal in English?
A pafta is a sheet or drawing sheet; for presentation sheets architects say board. Vaziyet planı is a site plan, and maket is a model (or physical model). Emsal in the planning sense is floor area ratio (FAR), or plot ratio in British English. It is not 'precedent', which means a reference project.
What is the difference between elevation and facade?
An elevation is a drawing: a flat, straight-on view of one side of a building, such as the north elevation. A facade is the real outer face of the building itself. You draw an elevation, but you clean, clad or restore a facade. In Turkish, elevation is usually görünüş and facade is cephe.
Should I use British or American English in architecture?
Both are understood everywhere, but stay consistent within one document and follow your school, office or client. Common pairs are brief and program, working drawings and construction documents, tender and bid, storey and story, and metres and meters. Also remember that the British first floor is the floor above the ground floor, while the American first floor is the ground floor.
