Islamic architecture
Banna’i
In Iranian architecture, banna'i (Persian: بنائی, "builder's technique" in Persian) is an architectural decorative art in which glazed tiles are…
Alfiz
The alfiz (meaning 'a container) is an architectonic adornment, consisting of a moulding, usually a rectangular panel, which encloses the…
Dikka
Dikka (from Arabic: دكة dikka) is a term in Muslim architecture for a tribune raised upon columns from which the…
Gonbad
In traditional Persian architecture, a dome is referred to as a gonbad (Persian: گنبد). The history of designing gonbads dates…
Onion dome
An onion dome (Russian: луковичная глава, lúkovichnaya glavá; compare Russian: лук, luk, "onion") is a dome whose shape resembles an…
History of dome
A dome is an architectural element that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. The precise definition has been…
Multifoil arch
A Multifoil arch is a style of arch that was an architectural element in the Moorish architecture of al-Andalus. The…
Horseshoe arch
The horseshoe arch, also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is the emblematic arch of Moorish architecture. Horseshoe…
Four-centred arch
A four-centred arch, also known as a depressed arch or Tudor arch, is a low, wide type of arch with…
Windcatcher
A windtower (wind catcher) (Persian: بادگیر bâdgir: bâd "wind" + gir "catcher") is a traditional Persian architectural element to create…
Voussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each…
Tadelakt
Tadelakt is a waterproof plaster surface used in Moroccan architecture to make baths, sinks, water vessels, interior and exterior walls,…
Squinch
A squinch in architecture is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form…
Shabestan
A shabestan or shabistan (Persian: شبستان; Old Persian xšapā.stāna) is an underground space that can be usually found in traditional…
Sahn
A sahn, (Arabic: صحن, ṣaḥn), is a courtyard in Islamic architecture. Most traditional mosques have a large central sahn, which…