Architectural Word of the Day; 191 - 200

NEWEL 

The post at the head, foot or landing of a stair to which the handrail is attached and supported. When there exists immaculate taste and a love of craftsmanship they can get quite elaborate.









 


QUADRIVIUM

In a classical liberal arts program these are the "four paths" of the higher mathematical studies and search for truth. 

In our modern, hyper-rational educational system a disproportionate emphasis is placed on the purely conceptual approach to number, the least instinctive and humanistic of the four and why most students dread math in my opinion (Polynomial long division anyone?)


ARITHMETIC - the all to familiar number in concept

GEOMETRY - number in space

HARMONY - number in time or sequence

COSMOLOGY - the dynamic study of number in time and space



VESICA PISCIS, MANDORLA

The upright almond shape formed by the two radial arcs, each passing through each other's centre. The shape has held sacred meaning at least since Egyptian times and geometrically is the key to unlocking several regular polygons, the golden section and other fundamental spatial forms.

 




CHEVRON

A V-shaped stripe of ornamentation forming a zig-zag pattern, the best examples of which were employed during the Norman period, the name for Romanesque architecture of 11th and 12th century England.

 

FANLIGHT, SUNBURST

The semi-circular, sometimes semi-elliptical window above a doorway characterized by radiating muntins.

If you look carefully, this recognizable example quite literally, if subtlety stylizes the rays of the sun.

PANACHE

The French word for 'plume', panache came to be used for flamboyance and reckless courage, manifested in architecture as the highly decorated triangular surface of a pendentive.

Simona Albanese captured this amazingly detailed photo at the basilica Sant'Andrea della Valle when it was under renovation.

MOON GATE

A circular portal, typically leading to a garden courtyard in traditional Chinese architecture.

Contributed by Patrick Webb