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Architecture vocabulary · Building Elements and Structure

Fenestration

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/ˌfenɪˈstreɪʃn/nounAdvanced term

In architecture, fenestration means: The arrangement, size and proportion of the windows and other openings in a building's facade.

In Turkish: pencere düzeni, açıklık düzeni

How it is used

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.

Example sentences

  1. The regular fenestration of the old warehouse gives the street a calm rhythm.

  2. The planners asked us to reduce the fenestration on the side facing the neighbours.

Common collocations

  • regular fenestration
  • fenestration pattern
  • window-to-wall ratio
  • 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.
  • elevationA 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.
  • glazingThe glass parts of a building, such as windows, glass doors and glass walls, or the work of fitting glass into frames.
  • proportionThe 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.
  • lintelA horizontal beam of concrete, steel, stone or timber placed over a door or window opening to carry the wall above it.

More terms: Building Elements and Structure

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