Architects and their peculiar vernacular
It may be true that every profession has its jargon, but it may be especially true of architecture.
Rory Stott, managing editor at (self-described as 鈥渢he most visited architecture website in the world鈥�) recently asked his readers: What are the weirdest words that only architects use?
And then he got out of the way as a flood of suggestions poured in. Weird words came out of the woodwork, but somehow they were winnowed down to just 150, which he then posted.
鈥淔or most students of architecture,鈥� he wrote, 鈥渢he first few years of learning involve a demanding crash course in architectural jargon. From learning terms as obscure as 鈥榞estalt鈥� to redefining your understanding of ideas as simple as 鈥榮pace,鈥� learning the architectural lexicon is one of the most mind-bending processes involved in becoming a designer.鈥�
One term included in this peculiar vernacular is, well, vernacular. from a Latin word meaning 鈥渄omestic, native, indigenous,鈥� it鈥檚 widely used to mean 鈥渢he local language of the people,鈥� as distinct from formal or scholarly written language. But it鈥檚 more than that.
鈥檚 definition includes this: 鈥渙f, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group; especially: of, relating to, or being the common building style of a period or place <vernacular 补谤肠丑颈迟别肠迟耻谤别&驳迟;.鈥�
Architect has written: 鈥淐lassical architecture in all cultures and continents is to vernacular building what poetry is to prose.鈥�
Jargon may be a particular problem in architecture because the profession鈥檚 public aspect prompts a kind of public discussion and approval process absent from other creative endeavors. A novelist seeking a publisher, for instance, may face many obstacles, but review of the manuscript by the zoning board is not one of them.
Sometimes architects wear as badges of honor terms that sound like insults. When I first heard a building described as , I thought my interlocutor was kidding, or being snarky, or both; but no, he explained, that was the name of the style. Actually, it鈥檚 a little subtler than that: The term derives from the French beton brut, which means simply 鈥渞ough concrete,鈥� without overtones of violence. But I can never walk by a structure like Harvard鈥檚 , for instance, without reflecting that it seems to have been built defensively, in anticipation of a need someday to pour molten lead or some such down onto the heads of rioting students below.
Then there鈥檚 , a term used to refer to the kind of vaguely 鈥渙rganic鈥� structures made possible with computer-aided design software, such as the new London City Hall, or , a contemporary art museum in Austria. It looks like a giant intergalactic sea slug that has fallen from the sky and landed amid the red tile roofs of the old town.
One can imagine such structures prompting a precocious child to ask, 鈥淢ommy, I know they can make giant pickles out of glass and steel. But why does anyone want to?鈥�
