Types

backstages

Theater spaces behind the proscenium arch or behind the back wall of the stage setting, including, for example, workshops, dressing rooms, and storage areas; in arena theaters, often includes spaces behind or under seating areas.

backwaters

Areas of virtually stagnant water that are joined to a stream but relatively unaffected by its current.

baggage rooms

Rooms for receiving, checking, and handling luggage.

bakehouses

An outbuilding containing an oven used for baking bread. May be combined with a brewery or other functional structures. May be found associated with farmhouses, hospitals, monasteries, or other major structures.

bakeries

Buildings or parts of buildings where bread and other baked goods are prepared; it may include a space for the retail sale of baked goods.

balconets

Very small balconies, usually not large enough to stand on and consisting of little more than a protective railing.

balconies

Railed platforms projecting from the exterior walls of buildings. Use also for similar interior features, when small. For larger platforms which extend the length of one side of a room or are recessed behind an arcade, use "galleries (upper level spaces)."

baldachins (canopies)

Canopies over such features as thrones, altars, tombs, or doorways; may be suspended, projecting, or free-standing. For roofed structures with columns built over altars, use "ciboria (structures)."

ballrooms

Large rooms designed for formal dancing or any room in which balls are routinely held.

balusters (railing components)

Short vertical members used to support a stair handrail or coping, often circular in section with a vase-shaped outline. Used also in furniture, as on the backs of chairs.

balustrades

Parapets or low screens composed of balusters and carrying a rail or other horizontal member that is usually heavy in proportion to the balusters themselves.

band shells

Concave, acoustically resonant structures at the back of outdoor bandstands.

bandstands

Structures with raised platforms on which a band or orchestra plays; often roofed when sited outdoors.

bank barns

Two-story barns, usually dug into a hillside thus providing ground-level entrances to both stories.

banking rooms

Rooms in banks open to the public for doing business and generally containing the tellers' stations, writing desks, and sometimes also officers' platforms.

banks (buildings)

Buildings that house establishments for the custody of money received from, or on behalf of, customers, with the essential duty of payment of the orders given on it by the customers. Banks' profits arise mainly from the investment of the money left unused by the customers. Bank buildings typically have indoor counters and windows where customers may make transactions, often with bars or other security devices securing the window, offices where bank officials may meet with customers, vaults for the secure storage of money and other valuables, and other security devices and measures. Exterior bank architecture traditionally imitates a Greek temple, although many other styles are employed as well.

banquet halls

Large rooms, halls, or apartments designed or used for festive or state functions.

baptisteries

Refers to separate buildings or parts of buildings containing a font for the baptismal rite.

barbershops

Buildings in which the primary activity is shaving and the cutting and grooming mens' beards; also includes the cutting, dressing, or styling the hair of customers, usually men.

bargeboards

Boards which hang from the projecting end of a roof, covering the gables; often elaborately carved and ornamented.

barns

Agricultural buildings with large, usually sliding doors, prominent roofs, and predominantly open spaces on the interior, primarily used as storage buildings for hay, grains, and farm equipment and shelters for livestock; does not include those structures, often termed barns, used for the processing of food and other agricultural produce, such as hop barns and tobacco barns.

barnyards

Yards connected to and associated with a barn; usually fenced livestock yards separated from general work and activity areas.

barracks

Buildings or sets of buildings erected as common living quarters for groups of soldiers or workers.

barrel vaults

Vaults of plain, semicircular cross section supported by parallel walls or arcades.

barriers

Objects or sets of objects that separate, keep apart, demarcate, or serve as deterrents.

bars (commercial buildings)

Establishments with counters where beverages, usually liquors, and light meals are served to customers.

bas-relief (sculpture technique)

Sculptural relief technique in which the projection of the forms is relatively shallow.

bas-reliefs (sculpture)

Refers to works executed in relatively shallow relief.

bascule bridges

Bridges in which sections of the span are pivoted upward by use of counterweights. For bridges whose sections are pivoted upward by chains, cables, or other ropelike devices, use "drawbridges."

baseball fields

Athletic fields designed or used for playing baseball.

basements

Use to designate stories wholly or partly underground. For similar spaces used solely for storage, particularly food, prefer "cellars."

basilican plan

Plan of buildings, typically churches or ancient Roman structures, that has an oblong footprint, a nave, side aisles, an apse, and clerestory.

basilicas

Refers to religious or secular buildings characterized by an oblong plan divided into a nave with two or more side aisles, the former higher and wider than the latter and generally lit by clerestory windows; usually terminated by an apse.

bastioned forts

Fortifications that incorporate enclosed earthworks with bastions (projecting portions) at the angles where the curtain walls meet. They are designed to provide coverage by defensive weapons, which are able to fire from the projecting portions along the fronts of the curtain walls.

bathhouses (water recreation structures)

Use only for structures containing dressing rooms or lockers for bathers, as at the seashore. For buildings housing public swimming and bathing facilities, use "public baths."

bathing beaches

Beaches set aside for or used by people immersing themselves in the water and exposing themselves to the sun and air for recreational purposes.

bathrooms

Rooms containing a bathtub or shower, and usually a toilet and lavatory; for rooms containing only a toilet and lavatory, use "lavatories (rooms);" for public facilities containing toilets and lavatories, use "rest rooms."

batteries (platforms)

Fixed platforms on which artillery is mounted.

battlefield parks

Historic sites where significant battles are memorialized; used specifically in reference to Civil War battlefield sites in the United States, some of which are also National Parks.

battlefields

Locations where a hostile meetings of opposing military forces in the course of a war have taken place.

battlements

Fortified parapets with alternate solid parts and openings.

bay windows

Windows, either single or in a series, forming a bay or recess in a room and projecting outward from the wall in a rectangular, curved, or polygonal form.

bayous

Denotes marshy creeks or other sluggish swampy watercourses, generally found along the lower Mississippi River and other alluvial lowlands.

bays (building divisions)

Refers to repeated, similar divisions or compartments of a building or part of a building, as defined by recurring architectural features, such as arches, vaults, openings, or pilasters.

beach houses

Houses located on or adjacent to a beach, whether the structure is the primary or seasonal residence of the occupants.

beaches

Shores comprised of an accumulation of sediment, such as sand or pebbles, along the edge of a sea or lake, and formed by coastal processes such as waves and tides.

beading (edging pattern)

Enrichment consisting of a line of tiny beads; common on silver and furniture.

bearing walls

Walls that support a vertical load in addition to their own weight. Walls that support a vertical load in addition to their own weight.

beauty shops

Buildings or parts of buildings designed or used for hairdressing, manicures, facials, and make-up application, typically having stalls or areas for individual hairdressers to do their work, large mirrors, and facilities for hairdryers and other equipment.

bed-and-breakfasts

Inns, hotels, or private homes offering a room for the night and breakfast the next morning for one inclusive price.

bedrooms

Rooms designed for or used to contain a bed or beds for sleeping.

beds (furniture)

Generally, the sleeping places of humans and animals. Specifically, permanent pieces of furniture comprised of a bedstead, which is the wooden or metal support, and the bedding, including the mattress and cover.

beds (site elements)

Areas of gardens or lawns demarcated from their surroundings and devoted to the cultivation of a particular group of plants.

beehive houses

Designates a class of simple dwellings, circular in plan and with beehive domes.

beehive ovens (kilns)

Kilns used to convert coal into coke, characterized by a dome-shaped roof.

beehives (apiaries)

Receptacles for the habitation of swarms of bees. Natural beehives are made in caves, rock cavities, and hollow trees; some subgenera of bees have exposed aerial combs. The beehive's internal structure is a densely-packed matrix of hexagonal cells made of beeswax, a honeycomb. The bees use the cells to store honey and pollen, and to house eggs, larvae, and pupae. Artificial structures for beehives have been made since ancient times. Early artificial structures were made in a conical or dome-like form using straw or the like, but now artificial beehive structures are often square boxes constructed with movable compartments for the removal of the honey.

beer cellars

Cellars in which beer is stored.

beer gardens

Distinguished from other drinking establishments (e.g., bars, saloons) by being family-oriented, by having chairs and tables rather than a bar, by emphasizing food as much as beer, by having music, and by being more impersonal than saloons.

beer halls

Establishments chiefly serving beer and usually offering entertainment.

belfries (equipment spaces)

Rooms or spaces in which bells are hung in a tower; for the entire tower structure, use "bell towers."

belfrys (sheds)

Use only for vernacular British sheds for cattle, wagons, or farm equipment from the 16th to the 18th century.

bell towers

Towers fitted and prepared for containing bells, can be either freestanding or attached to buildings or other structures. Their footprint can be either round or rectangular (typically square). For the spaces in which bells are hung, use "belfries."

beltways

Highways built around the perimeters of urban areas.

belvederes

Rooftop pavilions intended as lookouts or for the enjoyment of a view. For unroofed platforms, use "widows' walks"; for rooftop structures that are primarily ornamental, use "cupolas," for small pavilions, in a garden setting, intended for enjoyment of a view, use "gazebos."

benches (furniture)

Long seats for two or more people, with or without a back, usually of wood, but also of stone, metal, or another material. A bench is distinguished from a stool by its greater length.

bents (structural frames)

Frameworks usually designed to carry both lateral and vertical loads and that are transverse to the length of a framed structure.

berms (landscaped-site elements)

Banks of earth piled against exterior walls.

berths (waterfront spaces)

Unoccupied, open water spaces allotted to vessels when alongside a landing place; when such spaces are set between adjacent piers or perpendicular to landing places, use "slips (waterfront spaces)." Use "docks" for open water spaces when occupied by vessels made fast to landing places.

bicycle paths

Paths, paved or unpaved, specifically designed or designated for use by bicyclists.

billboards (site elements)

Flat surfaces or boards, sometimes substantial structures, constructed for or used for posting announcements or advertisements.

billiard rooms

Rooms intended primarily for playing billiards.

bingo halls

Buildings, generally having large open interior spaces, that accommodate a series of tables on which bingo, and derivative games, can be played.

birdbaths

Basins or other receptacles filled with water and usually placed in gardens or on lawns for birds to drink from or bathe in.

birdhouses

Enclosures, often resembling houses, built as resting, nesting, or feeding places for birds; distinguished from "aviaries" by the lack of emphasis on confinement and by their relatively small size.

bituminous coal

A relatively soft coal containing the tarlike substance asphaltic bitumen. Its carbon content is 60-80%, the rest composed of water, air, hydrogen, and sulfur. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than anthracite. It was usually formed as a result of high pressure on lignite. It dark brown to black in color, commonly banded or layered. The major problem with burning of bituminous coal is air pollution. A relatively soft coal containing the tarlike substance asphaltic bitumen. Its carbon content is 60-80%, the rest composed of water, air, hydrogen, and sulfur. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than anthracite. It was usually formed as a result of high pressure on lignite. It dark brown to black in color, commonly banded or layered. The major problem with burning of bituminous coal is air pollution.

blast furnaces

Large, vertical structures for smelting iron from ore, using a solid fuel, designed so as to direct a continuous blast of air through the fuel to assure a high rate of combustion.

bleachers

Benchlike tiered seating for spectators at, for example, outdoor sporting events, usually without weather or sun protection, affording less advantageous views than grandstands; may also be used for similarly constructed, often telescoping, indoor seating.

blind arches

Arches in which the opening is permanently closed by the wall construction.

blinds (shelters)

Camouflaged or otherwise purposely concealed places in which hunters, especially wildfowl hunters, hide from game, or for similar lightly built structures for observing wildlife at close range.

blockhouses

Fortified log structures with loopholes or ports in their sides which permit gunfire in all directions.

boarding schools (buildings)

Buildings that house boarding schools, which are educational institutions at the elementary-secondary level in which students are in residence while enrolled in an instructional program.

boarding schools (institutions)

Educational institutions at the elementary-secondary level in which students are in residence while enrolled in an instructional program.

boardinghouses

Houses in which people receive lodging and meals for a fixed fee, typically for an extended period of time rather than simply overnight. Boarding houses are often family homes in which the family's spare bedrooms are used for boarders and the paying guests sit at the family table to take meals.

boardrooms

Rooms that are designated for meetings of a board and usually contain a large conference table.

boards of trade

Organizations that regulate, promote, supervise, or protect commercial or business enterprises.

boardwalks

Walkways constructed from boards or planks, usually located along shores, especially beaches. In extended use it may refer to any pedestrian walkway along beach frontage meant for recreational strolling; may be accompanied by small businesses.

boat clubs

Water recreation complexes including clubhouse, marina, and associated boating facilities.

boat launching ramps

Ramps extending from the shore or bank to the water, for the purpose of allowing boats to be put in a body of water.

boatbuilding

No description is available for this term.

boathouses

Buildings usually built partly in the water for housing or storing boats.

boats

No description is available for this term.

bocce courts

No description is available for this term.

bogs

Designates waterlogged spongy ground with a characteristic plantlife, such as sphagnum mosses, and in which vegetation is decaying, ultimately producing highly acidic peat. Distinct from "fens," in which the water remains alkaline.

boiler houses

Buildings containing boiler units, which supply hot water or steam usually to associated industrial buildings.

boiler rooms

Spaces provided for the boilers used for heating, ventilation, or power generation.

bolection moldings

Moldings or groups of moldings used to cover the joint between two surfaces on different levels and projecting beyond the surface of both.

bollards

Refers to wooden or metal posts on a ship, whale-boat, quay, or pier, used for securing ropes. Bollards made of concrete may be used to prevent passage by automobiles into pedestrian spaces. For indicators sited in roadways that may indicate wayfinding or obstructions, use "traffic bollards."

bomb shelters

Structures or chambers, often underground, that are reinforced against bombing and typically stocked with food and living essentials, intended to be used by civilians or military personnel in case of enemy bomb attack.

bonded warehouses

Use both for warehouses in which goods are stored until customs duties or taxes have been paid or for warehouses in which goods stored are insured against loss or damage.

bookstores

Places of business where books are the primary items sold.