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Architecture vocabulary · Drawings and Representation

Elevation

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/ˌelɪˈveɪʃn/nounCore term

In architecture, elevation means: 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.

In Turkish: görünüş, cephe görünüşü

How it is used

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.

Example sentences

  1. The south elevation shows vertical fins that shade the windows.

  2. We moved the entrance, so the elevations need updating too.

Common collocations

  • north elevation
  • front elevation
  • street elevation
  • draw an elevation
  • facadeAn outer face of a building, especially the front or the side facing a street, considered as a whole with its windows, materials and details.
  • sectionA 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.
  • floor planA 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.
  • fenestrationThe arrangement, size and proportion of the windows and other openings in a building's facade.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Drawings and Representation

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