By Ward Bucher
Easy Access to
Complex Terms Used in Building Preservation and Construction
Most
historic buildings are owned by private citizens who have little or
no background in building preservation or its allied fields. These
owners—as dedicated as they are to preserving or refurbishing their
property—often feel at a disadvantage when communicating with
professionals well-versed in the complex jargon of this
multidisciplinary field. The Dictionary of Building Preservation
provides easy access to this terminology and helps the
non-specialist to understand and communicate with building and
design professionals, preservation groups, government agencies,
attorneys, and others concerned with building preservation.
Containing more than 10,000 entries that cover the entire breadth
of building preservation in North America, this is the best source
available for definitions of terms used for buildings, parts of
buildings, the development of historic structures, technical
standards, relevant legal terminology, and preservation practice. It
provides detailed information on various historical styles and
fashions, structural, mechanical, and electrical systems, and
current restoration techniques. In the Dictionary of Building
Preservation, readers will find
- Straightforward definitions that include preservation
context, word origin, and national and regional vernaculars
- Many terms that do not appear in any other dictionary
- Cross referencing that allows readers to move from the
general to the specific or vice versa
- Nearly 400 illustrations—many rare-edition prints and line
drawings from the Historic American Buildings Survey as well as
first edition Architectural Graphic Standards technical drawings
- Both modern and obsolete spellings along with an indication
of the period in which the term was most commonly used
Compiled by a practicing restoration architect, this is the ideal
reference resource for owners of historic homes, preservationists
and restoration consultants, architecture buffs, urban planners,
land-use attorneys, architects and architectural historians, and
anyone involved in building renovation, community preservation, or
landmark designation.
building types, building parts, construction methods, raw and
manufactured building materials, products and finishes, structural
systems, architectural styles, room names, Canadian and U.S.
national preservation law and administration, government agencies
and preservation organizations, National Register designations,
building codes, real estate development, conservation and
restoration treatments, specialty items, archeological terms,
abbreviations and preservationist jargon, building types
About the Author:
WARD BUCHER, AIA, is a practicing restoration architect in
the Washington, D.C. area. He has written several articles for Old
House Journal on house heating systems and the structural analysis
of historic buildings. An active member of the American Institute of
Architects and the Association for Preservation Technology, he has
done preservation work in Charleston, South Carolina; Albuquerque,
New Mexico; and Nova Scotia.
Soft-cover,
576 pages
Published 1996
ISBN 978-0-471-14413-7
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