In architecture, a wide slab at the top of a load-bearing column, forming the uppermost section of the capital and helping transfer the weight of the supported beam or arch to the column’s shaft. In freestanding columns the abacus may be mounted with decorative or emblematic sculptures. From the Ancient Greek ábax, meaning ‘slab’.
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Longitudinal beam along the top of a pitched or vaulted roof. The ridge beam is a load-bearing structural member of…
A decorative motif similar to a barrel-vaulted roof, with a circular dormer-shaped or horseshoe-shaped arch. It is commonly found in…
Triangular gable-like structure surmounting the end of a portico or doorway at the entrance of buildings, especially religious or other…
A superstructure, tower or spire characteristic of North Indian temple architecture, it usually rises above the innermost sanctuary or the…
A type of roof in Dravida temple architecture shaped like a hut, with a square base.
Horizontal band running along the exterior surface of a building or a boundary wall, serving aesthetic and sometimes functional purposes.…
An ornamental feature in Hindu temple architecture which lies over the entrance to the garbhagriha (the inner shrine). It literally…
Derived from the Sanskrit word broadly meaning "house" or "shelter", shala may refer to a covered pavilion, often oblong; a…