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Architecture vocabulary · Building Elements and Structure

Beam

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/biːm/nounCore term

In architecture, beam means: A horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening or between supports and transfers them to columns or walls.

In Turkish: kiriş

How it is used

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.

Example sentences

  1. The beam is 600 mm deep, so we'll lose some ceiling height in the corridor.

  2. We left the steel beams exposed to give the loft an industrial feel.

Common collocations

  • steel beam
  • concrete beam
  • beam depth
  • exposed beams
  • transfer beam
  • columnA vertical structural member, usually of concrete, steel or timber, that carries loads from beams and slabs down to the foundations.
  • slabA flat horizontal structural element, usually of reinforced concrete, that forms a floor or roof and spreads loads to beams, walls or columns.
  • cantileverA 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.
  • lintelA horizontal beam of concrete, steel, stone or timber placed over a door or window opening to carry the wall above it.
  • structural systemThe set of connected elements, such as foundations, columns, beams, walls and slabs, that carries a building's loads safely down to the ground.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Building Elements and Structure

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