Glossary of Architecture - R

R

Rake

The diagonal outside facing edge of a gable, sometimes called a raking cornice or a sloping cornice.

Rear vault

Vault of the internal hood of a doorway or window to which a splay has been given on the reveal, sometimes the vaulting surface is terminated by a small rib known as the scoinson rib, and a further development is given by angle shafts carrying this rib, known as scoinson shafts.

Return

Receding edge of a flat face. On a flat signboard, for example, the return is the edge which makes up the board's depth.

Revolving Door

An entrance door for excluding drafts from an interior of a building. A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a round enclosure.

Rib vault

The intersection of two or three barrel vaults

Roof comb

The structure that tops a pyramid in monumental Mesoamerican architecture

Rotunda

A large and high circular hall or room in a building, usually surmounted by a dome.