A four-centred arch, also known as a depressed arch or Tudor arch, is a low, wide type of arch with…
A discharging arch or relieving arch is an arch built over a lintel or architrave to take off the superincumbent…
A windtower (wind catcher) (Persian: بادگیر bâdgir: bâd "wind" + gir "catcher") is a traditional Persian architectural element to create…
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each…
In Islamic buildings, vaulting follows two distinct architectural styles: Whilst Umayyad architecture continues Syrian traditions of the 6th and 7th…
Tadelakt is a waterproof plaster surface used in Moroccan architecture to make baths, sinks, water vessels, interior and exterior walls,…
A squinch in architecture is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form…
A shabestan or shabistan (Persian: شبستان; Old Persian xšapā.stāna) is an underground space that can be usually found in traditional…
A semi-dome, also called a "half-dome", is the term in architecture for half a dome ("cut" vertically), used to cover…
A sahn, (Arabic: صحن, ṣaḥn), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture. Most traditional mosques have a large central sahn, which…