A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
by Ed Buch, CSI, CCS, AIA

A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, by Francis D. K. Ching, (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995, 319 pages), uses beautiful, hand drafted illustrations to excellent advantage in defining several thousand architectural and construction terms and ideas. This is a comprehensive dictionary that combines succinct narrative definitions with well thought out drawings on carefully composed oversize pages. It’s a book that’s both nice to look at and a pleasure to read.

Any book that attempts to organize a collection of information on a subject as broad as architecture has to find a logical approach to present the material. The Sixteen Division MasterFormat used in Ramsey & Sleeper’s Architectural Graphic Standards is one approach. Ching has chosen to arrange the definitions here in 69 categories. These begin with some fairly broad topics such as Architecture and continue with subjects including Color Theory, Construction, Design, Engineering, History, and so on. More pertinent to specifiers are the concise presentations on the materials of construction. These start with Brick and include Ceramic, Fastening, Hardware, Joinery, and end with an excellent section on Wood, to name only a few.

Each category includes definitions for the terms related to the topic of the section. This organizational approach works well when you’re reading the book, as a “book”, and not so well when using it as a dictionary. In the dictionary mode it’s better to find the word or idea you want defined in the 32 page Index containing over 6,000 terms.

The definitions are written by an architect and written so they’re useful to architects. As you would expect in a dictionary, a wealth of information is presented, and a lot of it is in depth. For example, the section on concrete has detailed illustrations of concrete formwork. The section on Fasteners includes the prosaic screws and bolts, but also illustrates the different types of structural welds. Structural rivets are covered. Geology and different soil types are explained. The broad range of architectural and structural metals are included along with a presentation on metal finishes.

There are also categories such as, Electricity, Fire Safety, Acoustics and a section on the fundamental chemical nature of materials. Yes, Specifications are also defined on page 50, in the section on Construction Documents.

To illustrate the benefit of this Dictionary, it’s useful to compare it to Architectural Graphic Standards, or to Ching’s earlier book, Building Construction Illustrated. Both of these excellent books, provide more detailed drawings and more in depth information, but the range of topics covered is limited to those typically encountered in preparation of construction documents.

Ching begins the book with his definition of architecture. He also includes thoughtful comments on architecture by many notables in the field such as Vitruvius, John Ruskin, Forrest Wilson, Bruno Zevi, and other, more contemporary practitioners. Taken all together, these round out the Dictionary making it a comprehensive and very useful tool for students and architects of all levels of experience.

Ed Buch is an architect in the Los Angeles office of Leo A Daly. A Nebraska native, he has worked in Los Angeles since 1988. Prior to that, he worked in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and 5 years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He has been member since 1981, and is currently an Institute director from the West Region, CSI.