Types

factories (structures)

Refers to a building or group of buildings with the function of housing the action or process of making goods or producing anything, whether before or after the Industrial Revolution of the mid-19th century.

factory building

No description is available for this term.

factory villages

Designates industrial settlements purposely built by factory owners to attract workers to isolated or otherwise undesirable locations with a minimum of services.

faculty clubs

Facilities for meetings, study, or recreation, reserved for the faculty of an educational institution.

faculty housing

Housing for staff, provided by an educational institution.

fair buildings

Temporary or permanant structures built or used for a fair.

fairgrounds

Spaces where fairs, horse races, and other events are held, typically set aside by a city, county, or state for an annual fair. Fairgrounds often include exhibition buildings.

false fronts

Refers to façades extending beyond, especially above, the dimensions of a building with the specific purpose of giving a more imposing appearance; for façades which exceed the height or width of buildings but not with that intention, use "screen façades."

family rooms

Informal living rooms, often adjacent to the kitchen, where a family may gather.

fanlights

Semicircular windows over doors or other openings with radiating bars giving the appearance of an open fan.

farmhouses

Chief dwellings attached to farms, particularly a dwelling for the family of a family-owned and -operated farm. Modern farmhouses characteristically comprise two stories with spacious, if modest, rooms and furnishings. Earlier farmhouses were characteristically one-story.

farmland

Land under cultivation or capable of being cultivated.

farms

Complexes where plants or animals are raised for livelihood or commerce.

farmyards

Yards or enclosures attached to a farmhouse or surrounded by farm buildings, used for airing livestock and other purposes. Yards or enclosures attached to a farmhouse or surrounded by farm buildings, used for airing livestock and other purposes.

fast food restaurants

Restaurants optimized for the fast filling of orders, typically focusing on take-away food and offering minimal or no table service. There is usually a limited menu; food is often cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; and the restaurant usually belongs to a franchise operation that dictates both the menu and design of the restaurant.

federal prisons (buildings)

Buildings housing prisons administered by a federal government, in the U.S., those managed by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Federal Reserve banks

Buildings that house banks that belong to the Federal Reserve System, which is the central banking system of the United States.

fences (site elements)

Roofless enclosures, barriers, defenses, or bulwarks, such as a railings, walls, hedges, or palisades constructed along the boundary of a field, park, yard, or another place for the purpose of defending from intruders, marking boudnaries, or keeping livestock or people within.

fencing (barriers)

Series of fences or other barriers, usually metal or wood and substantial in size.

fens

Designates waterlogged areas with pondweeds, reeds, and rushes and in which peat is accumulating but the water remains alkaline. Distinct from "bogs," in which the peat has reached a higher acidity.

Ferris wheels

Amusement devices consisting of a large power-driven wheel made in two parallel sections having seats suspended between them, the seats maintaining a horizontal position while the wheel rotates in a vertical plane. The first wheel was created by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bridge builder George W. Ferris for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

festival

No description is available for this term.

festival marketplaces

Complexes of shops, restaurants, kiosks, and pushcarts featuring music and other entertainment, generally built downtown to revitalize an urban center; coined in the 1970s.

field houses

Use both for buildings providing enclosed and unobstructed space adaptable for various physical education and recreation activities, such as track events and basketball, and for buildings housing equipment and dressing facilities for athletes; often located at or near athletic fields.

fields (land)

Open land as opposed to woodland or land occupied by buildings; for land appropriated for pasture or tillage, use "agricultural land."

filtration plants

Facilities that specialize in filtration of water, which is a method of purification that typically passes water through various filtering agents. Water filtration was developed for large scale implementation in 19th-century Germany. In slow-filtration methods, the water is allowed to pass through a deep layer of fine sand. In rapid-filtration plants, the water is treated with a coagulant, such as aluminum sulfate, ferric chloride, or ferric sulfate, which flocculates particles; suspended matter to the bottom in sedimentation tanks and the water is passed at a relatively rapid rate through small beds of coarse sand. Heavily polluted waters may be chlorinated both before and after filtration. Aeration, involving the mixing of air with the water, is carried out if undesirable amounts of iron and manganese are present, since they are held in solution in water only in the absence of oxygen.

financial centers

Communities of any size that have finance as a major industry.

financial institutions (buildings)

Buildings that house institutions that provide financial services for clients or members, usually able to both accept deposits and make loans. Examples include banks, credit unions, savings associations, trust companies, and industrial loan and thrift companies. The interior space is typically optimized for a reception area and general office space, varying greatly depending upon the functions of the specific institution.

financial institutions (institutions)

Institutions that provide financial services for clients or members, usually able to both accept deposits and make loans. Examples include banks, credit unions, savings associations, trust companies, and industrial loan and thrift companies.

fire stations

Buildings housing firefighting apparatus and, usually, firefighters.

fire towers (watchtowers)

Towers, as on a mountain, from which a watch for fires is kept.

fish hatcheries

Facilities where fish eggs are hatched and the fry raised, especially to stock lakes, streams, and ponds. Facilities where fish eggs are hatched and the fry raised, especially to stock lakes, streams, and ponds.

fisheries

Facilities or location where the harvesting of fish, shellfish, and sea mammals is carried out as a commercial enterprise.

fishing areas (hydrographic features)

Hydrographic features, including grounds, banks, or other watery areas, where fishermen go to catch fish. For places on land where fishermen gather, use "fishing spots."

fishing lodges

Main buildings, typically located in a resort or park, and primarily serving tourists or sportsmen specializing in fishing.

fishing villages

Communities of relativelly small size that are located near a body of water and have economies centered on fishing.

fishponds

Ponds containing small fish, often ones in which edible fish are raised for commercial purposes, or for stocking lakes and streams.

fitness trails

Outdoor trails equipped with a series of stations where joggers or walkers stop and perform exercises on the apparatus provided.

fixed windows

Windows or portions of window units that are designed not to open.

flagpoles

No description is available for this term.

flats (apartments)

One-floor apartments, usually modest, each having an outside entrance; may also be used for buildings having a small number of such units and usually dating from the late 19th or early 20th century. Generally American usage.

flèches (spires)

Slender spires rising from the ridge of a roof, most commonly from the roof intersection over the crossing of a church; use "crossing towers" for more substantial structures such as a lantern between spire and roof.

floating buildings

Buildings designed with foundations floating in water or on platforms floating in water, rather than on foundations dug into the earth. Examples include houses with foundations on a river bottom constructed so that -- if the water level rises to flood stage -- the house and the foundation will float up with the water level; and various types of buildings constructed on floating platforms or islands in a body of water, such as a lake or sea. The term is also used in some disciplines to refer to very large ships containing the features and construction elements of a building.

flood dams

Dams constructed to store floodwaters temporarily or to supply a surge of water, as for clearing a channel of logs.

flood plains

Regions of land, usually bordering rivers, streams, or lakes, which are subject to excessive rainfall and short-term flooding of flat portions. Regions of land, usually bordering rivers, streams, or lakes, which are subject to excessive rainfall and short-term flooding of flat portions.

flood protection works

Dams, canals, and other structures designed to protect an area from flooding.

florist shops

Shops or stores where flowers and other plants are sold and arranged.

flour mills

Buildings equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour.

flower gardens

Gardens devoted to the cultivation of flowers.

flumes

Artificial channels or troughs for conducting water, as for transporting logs or providing water power.

fly lofts

The spaces above the stage behind the proscenium, out of view of the audience, used during a performance for the storage of hanging scenery.

flying buttresses

Exterior arched supports transmitting the thrust of a vault or roof from the upper part of a wall outward to a pier or buttress.

follies (architectural)

Structures characterized by a certain excess in terms of eccentricity, cost, or conspicuous inutility; often found in gardens or parks.

food processing plants

Facilities housing operations by which raw foodstuffs are made suitable for consumption, cooking, or storage.

food stands

Designates roadside eateries serving a limited menu at low prices, generally over a counter or through a window; may range from slight architectural structures to freestanding buildings.

food storage structures

Agricultural structures built for storing food.

football fields

Areas used for the game of football (American or gridiron football), in professional play having standard official dimensions of 360 x 160 feet (109.7 x 48.8 m), with a goal line near each end of the field, 100 yards (91.4 m) apart. Areas used for the game of football (American or gridiron football), in professional play having standard official dimensions of 360 x 160 feet (109.7 x 48.8 m), with a goal line near each end of the field, 100 yards (91.4 m) apart.

footbridges

Generally narrow bridges for people and animals to cross on foot.

foothills

Hills or hilly regions at the base of a mountain or mountain range.

footpaths

Narrow paths for pedestrians.

footstones (tombstones)

Refers to the upright stones placed at the foot of graves, that is, over the feet of the interred body, generally shorter in height than the headstone.

forecourts

Courts forming an entrance plaza for a single building or several buildings in a group.

forest reserves

Areas of forest set aside and preserved by the government as a national park or preserve.

forests (cultural landscapes)

Historically, refers to wilderness areas outside the scope of common law but within the legislation of kings and reserved for royal activities; more recently, used to designate extensive wooded areas, whether maintained for the production of timber or unmanaged and preserving a wilderness of dense growth and wild animal habitats. For forests in the context of a plant community rather than as a cultural landscape, use "forests (plant communities)."

forests (plant communities)

Plant communities that are dominated by trees and other woody vegetation. A typical forest is composed of the overstory and the understory; the understory may be subdivided into the lower tree layer, shrub layer, herb layer, moss layer, and soil microbes. Today forests occupy approximately one-third of the earth's land area. For forests in the sense of cultural landscape rather than as a plant community, use "forests (cultural landscapes)."

formal gardens

Gardens whose plantings, walks, pools, fountains, and other features follow a definite, recognizable plan, frequently symmetrical, emphasizing geometrical forms.

fortifications

General term for any works made to oppose a small number of troops against a greater.

fortlets

Small or rudimentary forts, especially in the Roman period.

fortresses

Large, permanent, heavily fortified, defensive military positions, sometimes including a town. Larger and stronger than "forts."

forts

Permanent fortifications for troops, often surrounded by such elements as ditches, parapets, and ramparts and often used as advance posts in or near hostile territory. Smaller and less heavily fortified than "fortresses."

forums (open spaces)

In ancient Roman settlements, open spaces used as marketplaces or general public meeting places and places for judicial and public business. For similar spaces in ancient Greek settlements, use "agoras."

fosses

Refers to wet or dry defensive ditches, often associated with fortifications.

foundries

Buildings or other facilities where in which the founding of metal or glass is carried on, meaning these materials are cast or poured into molds.

fountains

Structures with apertures designed to allow water to spout or flow periodically or continuously, as for amenity or public access.

foursquare houses

Houses generally characterized by a simple, two-story cubical block with a hipped roof, four roughly equal-sized rooms on each floor, and a symmetrical facade; often also having a one-story front porch and one or more dormers; popular in the United States from the 1890s to the early 1930s.

fraternal lodges

Meeting places of branches of fraternal organizations.

fraternities (associations)

Bodies of men associated or formally organized into social, professional, or honorary societies for some common purpose or interest. Often used to refer specifically to social fraternities, which are local or national organizations of male college students and which typically have names composed of two or three Greek letters.

fraternity houses

Dwellings in the United States owned and operated by societies for men for the benefit of their constituents and not open to the general public. They generally serve as a dormitory for fraternity members in a college or university setting.

free schools (buildings)

Buildings that house privately run schools with programs organized as an alternative to traditional public or private schools, usually with a highly flexible or voluntaristic framework.

freeways

Tax-supported, high-speed, multilane highways; can be expressways or throughways.

freight houses

Facilities owned and operated by a railroad for receiving, delivering, or dispatching freight.

freight terminals

A building or group of structures, generally a railroad facility, where freight is handled either using a physical track connection to a trunk line railroad or in an isolated location removed from the trunk line. There may be carfloat service, in which flat-topped barges are used, and freight storage facilities.

French gardens

Formal gardens that emphasize large, open spaces with wall-like hedges, and enclosed garden rooms. French gardens also emphasize elements found in Italian gardens, such as elaborate fountain design.

frescoes (paintings)

Paintings made by the technique of fresco painting, which is a mural painting technique in which permanent pigments, dispersed in water, are painted on freshly laid lime plaster.

Fresnel lenses

Plano-convex lenses thinned by reducing the convex side to a series of concentric rings of approximately the same focal length; when light passes through, it produces a smooth, soft-edged beam of light.

friaries

Buildings and other facilities for friars, a community of men who focus on the sacred ministry of preaching, moving from place to place (in contrast to monks).

friezes (ornamental areas)

Extended horizontal bands decorating architecture, furniture, or other objects and containing figures, scenes, inscriptions, or ornamental motifs. For the specific parts of classical entablatures, see "friezes (entablature components)."

frigates

Use both for naval ships of the late 18th and early 19th centuries generally fully rigged on three masts and armed with guns on one or two decks and designed for various battle functions, and for a contemporary class of small, medium-speed warships designed primarily for escort duty and having antiair, antiship, and antisubmarine capabilities.

frontier settlements

Inhabited places established as an outpost or for another reason on the frontier of a nation, empire, or other ruling entity.

frontispieces (façade components)

Refers to the central portions or features of entrance facades, given emphasis by a more elaborate architectural treatment.

fulling mills

Refers to textile mills where newly prepared woolen yarn or cloth is processed for tailoring and use; the wool is laundered, teased, beaten, and/or pressed and thickened using a wooden frame.

funeral chapels

Rooms or separate structures devoted to funeral services in funeral homes. For chapels intended to permanently contain individual or family tombs, use "sepulchral chapels."

funeral homes

Buildings housing facilities for the preparation of human remains for burial or cremation and for formal viewing of and services for the deceased. Although meaning overlaps in common usage, they are often distinguished from "mortuaries," which do not typically have rooms or areas for formal viewings and services.

funerary art

Art produced for rituals commemorating the dead and for art produced as an individual expression of grief.

funerary buildings

Buildings associated with pre-burial ceremonies or buildings for the dead erected at burial sites.

furniture showrooms

Spaces in which furniture is arranged to be inspected and sold. These may be designed to resemble domestic or office environments in which the furniture would be used.