ESL Podcast 482 - Talking About Architecture

structure - a building or something else that has been built by humans

The Space Needle is probably the best-known structure in Seattle, Washington.

architecture - the art and science of designing and creating buildings

Donald studied architecture as a young man, and he designed many office buildings in Tustin.

bay window - a large window that pushes out though the wall of a building, creating an area at the bottom of the window where one can sit, often to enjoy the view or read a book

Their dog always jumps onto the bay window to look outside.

column - a tall piece of a building that reaches from the floor to the ceiling and supports the weight of the roof or any upper floors

Traditional Greek architecture uses a lot of columns.

beam - a long piece of a building that reaches across the room from one wall to another along the ceiling

There was a big earthquake here, but fortunately, none of the beams fell down.

dome - a round roof on a building

The state capitol building has a beautiful dome with a statue on top.

cornice - decorative plaster or wood that is placed inside a building at the top of a wall, near the ceiling

Many older homes in this area have beautiful cornices, but most of the new construction has only plain, flat walls.

skylight - a window in the ceiling that is designed to let light in

If we had a skylight in this room, we wouldn't have to turn on the lights during the day.

facade - the front of a building; the way that a building appears from the street

Some movies show streets with many buildings, but they're only facades that were created by the movie producers.

balance - equilibrium; a combination of two or more things in equal amounts, or in amounts that make sense, so that one thing does not overpower another

Her new book is a good balance of serious reporting and light humor.

symmetry - something being the same on both sides; balanced

The scientists did a study and learned that faces with high symmetry are considered to be more beautiful than faces with less symmetry.

style - type; kind; one particular way of being or doing something

They can't agree on which style of couch they want to buy.

monument - a building or statue that is built to make people remember an important person or event from history

How many monuments have been built for the people who died in World War II?

ingenuity - creativity; an ability to think of new things and design or create them

Becca showed a lot of ingenuity by coming up with a good solution to a problem.

story - one floor in a building; one level in a building

Our office is on the 17th story, so we have great views of the city.

balcony - a flat area outside of a window or door on an upper floor, so that people can stand on it and be outside, but not actually leave the building

On sunny days, they like to read the newspaper and drink coffee on the balcony outside their bedroom window.

to remodel - to change a building so that it is better, more modern, or larger

They're going to remodel their home, adding one bathroom and making the kitchen bigger.

to bring (something) up to date - to make something more modern; to make something that is old become more appropriate for current times

It's time to bring your haircut up to date. That hairstyle hasn't been popular since the 1960s!