Architecture Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Architecture, housing, buildings, architects, blueprints, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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box with docks n. For years, industry slang for a convention center was “a box with docks.” It was blunt but apt shorthand. In recent years, though, convention center managers have been learning the lesson that hotel companies have already discovered: it is not enough to offer just a place to stay or meet. [English Architecture Construction & Buildings Slang] [full cite] (Aug. 28, 2007)

bubble room n. In order to alleviate concerns that the White House has plans for martial law, Representative Peter DeFazio, (D-OR), asked to see the plan for government continuity. As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, DeFazio has the required security clearance to view such a plan. In the past, he has entered what is known as a “bubble room” to view classified documents, and his requests have never been denied. [English Architecture] [full cite] (Nov. 1, 2007)

bulb out n. The four corners at these intersections will now be extended, Feldman said, explaining that the technical term is bulb out. Basically, the corners will be expanded so they jut out past the area where vehicles can park along the curb. [English Architecture] [full cite] (Apr. 23, 2005)

caming n. Some of the windows are made of hundreds of pieces of glass held together using brass strips, a technique called caming. [English Architecture Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jun. 21, 2006)

caravillot n. The government has built 351 prefabricated homes in Nitzan. The “caravillot,” an invented Hebrew word combining caravan and villa, range in size from 60 square meters (646 square feet) to 150 square meters (1,615 square feet) for the largest families. [Hebrew Israel Architecture] [full cite] (Sep. 10, 2005)

charrette n. Flint will help head a day-long steering committee workshop, or charrette, as it’s known in current planning jargon. [English Architecture] [full cite] (Sep. 15, 2005)

CHU n. Flanagan slept in mobile home-like boxes called Closed Housing Units or, in the Army’s acronym-heavy lingo, CHUs (pronounced “chews”). [English Architecture Military Acronym] [full cite] (Mar. 25, 2005)

coffin corner n. While Americans are now accustomed to institutionalized death, people in previous periods commonly died at home. Some Victorian-era town houses in New York even have their original “coffin corners,” the stairwell niches that enabled a coffin to be easily maneuvered down the stairs. [English Architecture] [full cite] (May. 1, 2006)

cold shell n. Two of the buildings with about 350,000 square feet are unfinished, or in what the industry calls “cold-shell” condition and would require additional investment of about $100 a square foot before they could be occupied. [English Architecture] [full cite] (Apr. 10, 2006)

colonia n. Colonias—the Spanish word for neighborhoods—are unplanned immigrant communities that sprouted in the 1980s. Many areas lack plumbing, electricity, drainage and paved roads. Authorities have tried to improve conditions and prevent new colonias, but they’ve continued to grow. Officials estimate 500,000 people live in colonias. [Spanish Mexico United States Architecture] [full cite] (Feb. 14, 2005)

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