Arch: A curved structure that spans an opening
Column: A tall round support, like a pillar
Dome: A rounded roof like half a ball
Vault: An arched ceiling or roof
Buttress: A support built against a wall to strengthen it
Flying buttress: A stone arch outside a Gothic church that braces the wall
Facade: The front face of a building
Foundation: The base that supports a building
Beam: A horizontal support
Lintel: A horizontal beam over a door or window
Cornice: A decorative strip along the top of a wall
Pediment: A triangle-shaped part above a doorway or columns
Spire: A tall pointed top of a tower
Steeple: A tall tower on a church with a spire
Minaret: A tall slender tower of a mosque
Pagoda: A tiered tower of East Asia
Gargoyle: A carved stone creature that drains rain from a roof
Atrium: A large open space inside a building, often with a glass roof
Skyscraper: A very tall building
Blueprint: A drawing plan of a building
Doric column: The simplest Greek column style, plain at the top
Ionic column: Greek column with scroll shapes at the top
Corinthian column: Greek column with leaves at the top
Parthenon: Greek temple on the Acropolis in Athens, finished in 432 BCE
Colosseum: Roman amphitheater in Rome opened in 80 CE
Pantheon: Roman temple in Rome with a huge concrete dome
Aqueduct: A bridge-like structure that carries water
Pyramids of Giza: Egyptian royal tombs built about 4,500 years ago
Great Wall of China: A long defensive wall built across northern China over many centuries
Taj Mahal: White marble tomb in Agra, India, completed in 1653
Hagia Sophia: Great domed building in Istanbul built in 537
Notre-Dame de Paris: Gothic cathedral in Paris started in 1163
St. Peter's Basilica: Church in Vatican City with a dome designed with help from Michelangelo
Eiffel Tower: Iron tower in Paris built for the 1889 World's Fair by Gustave Eiffel's company
Big Ben: Nickname of the great bell in the clock tower at Westminster, London
Sagrada Familia: Unfinished church in Barcelona designed by Antoni Gaudi
Sydney Opera House: Sail-roofed arts center in Australia, opened in 1973
Burj Khalifa: Skyscraper in Dubai, completed in 2010
Empire State Building: New York skyscraper completed in 1931
Chrysler Building: New York Art Deco skyscraper from 1930
Golden Gate Bridge: Suspension bridge in San Francisco opened in 1937
Brooklyn Bridge: Suspension bridge in New York opened in 1883
Frank Lloyd Wright: American architect who designed Fallingwater
Fallingwater: House built over a waterfall in Pennsylvania by Frank Lloyd Wright
Zaha Hadid: Iraqi-British architect who designed curving modern buildings
I. M. Pei: Architect of the glass pyramid at the Louvre
Antoni Gaudi: Spanish architect of curvy, colorful designs
Frank Gehry: Architect of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Christopher Wren: English architect who rebuilt St. Paul's Cathedral after the 1666 fire
Gothic architecture: Style with pointed arches, tall windows and flying buttresses
Romanesque architecture: Style with round arches and thick walls
Baroque architecture: Style with grand curves, drama and decoration
Neoclassical architecture: Style that copies ancient Greek and Roman buildings, like the US Capitol
Art Deco architecture: Geometric, glamorous style of the 1920s and 1930s
Modernism: Style with simple shapes and little decoration, 'less is more'
Brutalism: Style using raw concrete in blocky forms
Sustainable architecture: Design that saves energy and protects the environment
Green roof: A roof covered with plants
Mud brick (adobe): A building material of sun-dried clay and straw
Igloo: A dome-shaped snow house built by Inuit people
Yurt: A round tent house used by nomads in Central Asia
Stilt house: House raised on poles above water or ground
Castle: A fortified building of medieval Europe
Moat: A ditch filled with water around a castle
Drawbridge: A bridge that can be raised to block a castle entrance

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/art-architecture-terms