Okuzeka
Architecture vocabulary · Building Elements and Structure

Column

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/ˈkɑːləm/nounCore term

In architecture, column means: A vertical structural member, usually of concrete, steel or timber, that carries loads from beams and slabs down to the foundations.

In Turkish: kolon, sütun

How it is used

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.

Example sentences

  1. Can we shift column C4 so it doesn't sit in the middle of the meeting room?

  2. The ground floor is a column-free space of 20 by 30 metres.

Common collocations

  • column grid
  • column spacing
  • column-free space
  • steel column
  • concrete column
  • beamA horizontal structural member that carries loads across an opening or between supports and transfers them to columns or walls.
  • slabA flat horizontal structural element, usually of reinforced concrete, that forms a floor or roof and spreads loads to beams, walls or columns.
  • structural gridA 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.
  • 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.
  • classical ordersThe systems of column design and proportion from ancient Greece and Rome: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian, plus the Roman Tuscan and Composite orders.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Building Elements and Structure

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: