A as in Aalto

Aalto ⟨'ɑ:lto⟩
person One of the few architects generally thought to be good.

Accessibility ⟨'æksɛsəbɪlɪti⟩
consideration How easy something is to do, understand or enjoy for any- and everyone without additional prepwork; the minimization of disparity between different audiences.

Accordion door ⟨ə'kɔɹdijɪn dɔɹ⟩
element A paneled partition that can fold onto itself to create an opening.

Activate ⟨'æktɪveɪt⟩
action To bring a space to life through occupation.

ADA ⟨eɪ di: eɪ⟩
document The Americans with Disabilities Act; United States legislation that sets enforceable standards of accessibility.

Adaptive reuse ⟨æ'dæptɪv ɹi:'ju:s⟩
category A building structure whose programmed functions have been converted transformatively so that its constructed architecture may fittingly suit the local neighborhood's evolutionary changes.

e.g. "The adaptive reuse of that postindustrial former factory promised and delivered a trendy, chic, mixed-use apartment and office complex that will activate and enliven the nearby area."

Adjacent ⟨ə'dʒeɪsɪnt⟩
measure Next to; closely related to while still discrete.

Adobe ⟨ə'doʊbi⟩
material + method An ancient, earthen building technique that today inexplicably costs $50 a month.

Aesthetic ⟨ɛs'θɛtɪk⟩
concept Informally, a set of looks/vibes, often a proxy for the style; when pluralized, the study of beauty.

category Beautiful, pleasing, congruous; relating to the study of beauty.

Affect ⟨'æfɛkt⟩
concept A subjective response to an object; the feeling imparted.

Age in place ⟨eɪdʒ ɪn pleɪs⟩
consideration Of a home, accommodating to those who wish to grow old without relocating.

Agency ⟨'eɪdʒɛnsi⟩
concept The ability of an architect to enact change or direct agendas through their work

Alignment ⟨ə'laɪnmɛnt⟩
consideration A collinear or coplanar condition; a shared agenda.

Allée ⟨'aleɪ⟩
place A narrow, tree-lined walkway.

Alterity ⟨ɔl'tɛɹɪti⟩
concept The distance of Otherness between two beings; the state of being Other without being all self-centered about it.

Ambient occlusion ⟨'æmbijɛnt ə'klu:ʒən⟩
rep tech A method of soft, universal lighting used in renderings to create even illumination and legibility.

Analemma ⟨ænə'lɛmə⟩
measure Due to the wobbling of the planet, plotting the location of a celestial body from the same point at the same time every day for a year will produce a figure eight; a diagram of the sun's path.

Ancient ⟨'eɪntʃɛnt⟩
category Like really old.

Anta ⟨'æntə⟩
embellishment The end of a wall when treated as a pilaster.

Anthropocene ⟨'ænθɹoʊpəsi:n⟩
category Humanity's carbon footprint written in stone.

Anthropocentric ⟨ænθɹoʊpoʊ'sɛntɹɪk⟩
consideration Focused on humans, often to the detriment of other animals, vegetables or minerals.

Anticipate ⟨æn'tɪsɪpeɪt⟩
consideration To foresee and avoid design problems; when used in relation to the needs of the client, to voluntarily and preemptively accede autonomy.

Arbor ⟨'ɑɹbəɹ⟩
element A small pergola with trellised walls that looks like a freestanding door frame in a garden.

Arborescent ⟨'ɑɹbəɹɛsɛnt⟩
concept Having a tree-like structure with vertical, branching hierarchies; not rhizomatic.

Arc ⟨ɑɹk⟩
measure A segment of a circle.

concept The changes undergone over the course of a life.

Arch ⟨ɑɹtʃ⟩
enforcement What a brick wants to be.

Architect ⟨'ɑɹkɪtɛkt⟩
person Anyone* who assembles, designs or documents any material that may inform building.

* Depending on licensure requirements in your jurisdiction.

action Draw building.

Architecture ⟨'ɑɹkɪtɛktʃəɹ⟩
document The discipline of building; when capitalised, the discipline of building as functional art.

Architrave ⟨'ɑɹkɪtɹeɪv⟩
embellishment The lowest part of an entablature beneath the frieze and cornice.

Archivolt ⟨'ɑɹkɪvoʊlt⟩
embellishment An architrave, but on an arch.

Arcuated ⟨'ɑɹkju:etɪd⟩
category Constructed with arches, as opposed to trabeated.

Art ⟨ɑɹt⟩
document Anything thought of as such.

Artifact ⟨'ɑɹtɪfækt⟩
concept Something left over from an earlier iteration.

document A physical version of a digital entity.

Artificial Intelligence ⟨'ɑɹtɪfɪʃəl ɪn'tɛlɪdʒɪns⟩
person Insufficient data to generate definition.

Astragal ⟨'æstɹəgʌl⟩
embellishment The thing you walk into after opening both sides of a double door.

Author ⟨'ɔθəɹ⟩
person The person who manifested (or at least took credit for) most all creative works from ur-civilization* up to their untimely death at the hands of postmodern critics.**

* Enheduanna.

** Barthes, Foucault, Eco, et al.

Authorship ⟨ɔθəɹ'ʃɪp⟩
concept Evidence within a work of its creator; the sense of authority a creator has over their work.

Autodesk ⟨ɑtoʊ'dɛsk⟩
material + method A proprietary software company that alternates between bleeding you dry for using their programs legally and snuffing you out of existence for using them otherwise.

Autonomy ⟨ɑ'tɑnəmi⟩
concept The thing about writing definitions (and I've only taken a first pass through A as of this definition's writing) is it doesn't really feel like writing. It's pithy. It's quick. Get a grasp of the gist, and get out.

… But quips, bromides and the occasional apothegm do not make up for the lush narratives that unroll in the process of writing, that create deeper definitions. Perhaps a better glossary would be longer, would take the time to define each word at length.

… Long-form definitions capture nuances, but they invite more noise too. Without the threat of a word count, definitions can beat around the bush, maybe getting two birds while at it. A thousand plateaus may better define ideas than a couple sentences, but who has time for that?

… The imposed order limits: 280 characters (minus the word itself and the darling phonics). This breeds mostly succinct definitions. It also defines the volume as a whole until some word decides how to define itself — there's the rub!

… Deviation does not necessarily entail better definitions. In this instance an ulterior discussion arguably taints its conceptual purity. Spurning the overarching rules does not mean the definition is doing so by or for itself; it can be a vassal for (or vassalize) a third entity.

… Architectural design similarly responds to outside criteria, and must often do so per a client, review board or other entity wholly outside itself. Even when self-determined, architecture of the city is read against the city — a context that relates it to a greater order.

e.g. "In the course of history, certain architects have articulated the autonomy of form through a radical and systematic confrontation with the city in which they have operated." - Aureli

… Whether the reasoning is for or against another, it is still of another and thus not wholly of the self. But who are those others anyway to tell the thing itself not to consider another in its decision-making? It only matters that the impetus comes from within.

… While at it, why not use this somewhat self-determined (but not self-exclusive or self-dependent) definition to address the ongoing project, its context? I've yet to actually write a blurb as to what I'm trying to do with this glossary, in part because I'm still figuring it out.

… I am defining, as best I can, words that architects and the architecturally-adjacent use, overuse or otherwise appropriate. The list is never complete, and suggestions are welcome.

Award-winning ⟨ə'wɔɹd 'wɪnɪŋ⟩
category Selected as the best among those who were (and in all likelihood paid to be) considered.

Awning ⟨'ɔnɪŋ⟩
equipment A sometimes retractable ceiling over an exterior space; of a window, opening so as to create a sheltered underside.

Axiological ⟨'æksiɑlədʒi⟩
category What value does this definition have?

Axon / Axonometric ⟨'æksɑn / æksɑnə'mɛtɹɪk⟩
rep tech Representing a three-dimensional object by projecting it perpendicularly onto a two-dimensional surface.

Azimuth ⟨æzi'məθ⟩
measure The radial distance of a celestial object (typically the sun in the case of building studies) from a cardinal direction (typically north).