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Mashrabiya
A ''mashrabiya'' or ''mashrabiyya'' () is an architectural element which is characteristic of traditional Islamic architecture, architecture in the Islamic world and beyond. It is a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the upper floors of a building, sometimes enhanced with stained glass. It was traditionally used to windcatcher, catch wind and for passive cooling. Jars and basins of water could be placed in it to cause evaporative cooling. It is most commonly used on the street side of the building; however, it may also be used internally on the ''sahn'' (courtyard) side. The term ''mashrabiya'' is sometimes used of similar lattices elsewhere, for instance in a ''takhtabush''. It is similar to Indian ''jali''. It has been used since the Middle Ages, reached a peak during the Ottoman period, but fell into decline in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. However, interest in sustainable architecture has contribute ...
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Takhtabush
In Roman architecture, a (or , from , board, picture) was a room in a ''domus'' (house) generally situated on one side of the cavaedium, atrium and opposite to the entrance; it opened in the rear onto the peristyle, with either a large window or only an anteroom or curtain. The walls may be richly decorated with fresco pictures, and often busts of the family were arranged on pedestals on the two sides of the room. Description The ''tablinum'' was the office in a Roman house, the owner's centre for business, where he would receive his clients. According to one hypothesis, it was originally the master bedroom. ''Takhtabush'' is the Arabic language, Arabic term for a tablinum. Like the ancient Roman tablinum, it opens onto a heavily shaded courtyard and, on the other side, a rear garden. Unlike the Roman tablinum, the garden side is closed with a lattice (Roman tablinums may have had open-weave curtains). If there is a wind, it tends to blow down into the windward court an ...
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Vernacular Architecture
Vernacular architecture (also folk architecture) is building done outside any academic tradition, and without professional guidance. It is not a particular architectural movement or style but rather a broad category, encompassing a wide range and variety of building types; with differing methods of construction from around the world, including historical and extant and classical and modern. Vernacular architecture constitutes 95% of the world's built environment, as estimated in 1995 by Amos Rapoport, as measured against the small percentage of new buildings every year designed by architects and built by engineers. Vernacular architecture usually serves immediate, local needs, is constrained by the materials available in its particular region, and reflects local traditions and cultural practices. The study of vernacular architecture does not examine formally schooled architects, but instead that of the design skills and tradition of local builders, who were rarely given any att ...
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Islamic Architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic area historically ranging from western Africa and Europe to eastern Asia. Certain commonalities are shared by Islamic architectural styles across all these regions, but over time different regions developed their own styles according to local materials and techniques, local dynasties and patrons, different regional centers of artistic production, and sometimes Islamic schools and branches, different religious affiliations. Early Islamic architecture was influenced by Roman architecture, Roman, Byzantine architecture, Byzantine, Iranian architecture, Iranian, and Architecture of Mesopotamia, Mesopotamian architecture and all other lands which the early Muslim conquests conquered in the seventh and eighth centuries.: "As ...
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Oriel Window
An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an upper floor, but is also sometimes used on the ground floor. Etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the term ''oriel'' is derived from Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman ' and Late Latin ', both meaning "gallery" or "porch", perhaps from Classical Latin ' ("curtain"). History Oriel windows became popular in the 15th century. They allowed more sunlight into a room compared to conventional flat windows, and were therefore popular in northern countries such as England. They also could increase the usable space in a house without changing the footprint of the building. Oriel windows are seen in Islamic architecture, Arab architecture in the form of mashrabiya and in Turkish are known as ''şahnişin'' or ''cumba''. ...
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Windcatcher
A windcatcher, wind tower, or wind scoop () is a traditional architectural element used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs, depending on whether local prevailing winds are unidirectional, bidirectional, or multidirectional, on how they change with altitude, on the daily temperature cycle, on humidity, and on how much dust needs to be removed. Despite the name, windcatchers can also function without wind. Neglected by modern architects in the latter half of the 20th century, the early 21st century saw them used again to increase ventilation and cut power demand for air-conditioning. Generally, the cost of construction for a windcatcher-ventilated building is less than that of a similar building with conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The maintenance costs are also lower. Unlike powered air-conditioning and fans, windcatchers are silent and continue to function when the electr ...
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Evaporative Cooling
An evaporative cooler (also known as evaporative air conditioner, swamp cooler, swamp box, desert cooler and wet air cooler) is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water. Evaporative cooling differs from other air conditioning systems, which use vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycles. Evaporative cooling exploits the fact that water will absorb a relatively large amount of heat in order to evaporate (that is, it has a large enthalpy of vaporization). The temperature of dry air can be dropped significantly through the phase transition of liquid water to water vapor (evaporation). This can cool air using much less energy than refrigeration. In extremely dry climates, evaporative cooling of air has the added benefit of conditioning the air with more moisture for the comfort of building occupants. The cooling potential for evaporative cooling is dependent on the wet-bulb depression, the difference between dry-bulb temperature and wet-bulb temperatur ...
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Jali
A ''jali'' or ''jaali'' (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. This form of architectural decoration is common in Indo-Islamic architecture and more generally in Indian architecture. It is closely related to ''mashrabiya'' in Islamic architecture. According to Yatin Pandya, the ''jali'' allows light and air in while minimizing the sun and the rain, as well as providing cooling through passive ventilation. The holes are nearly the same width or smaller than the thickness of the stone, thus providing structural strength. It has been observed that humid areas like Kerala and Konkan have larger holes with overall lower opacity than compared with the dry climate regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. With the widespread use of glass in the late 19th century, and compactness of the residential areas in modern India, ''jalis'' becam ...
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Muxrabija
The Muxrabija (from the Arabic ''mashrabiya''; plural ''muxrabijet'') is a typical element of vernacular Maltese architecture. It consists of an ornate timber screen, perforated with an intricate network of holes, tightly fitted into a window or loggia projecting from the facade of the building, usually over the main door or to its side. Stone-carved muxrabijiet are also reported. The muxrabija is also known as ‘in-nemmiesa’, ‘ix-xerriefa’ and in Gozo as ‘il-kixxiefa’ or ‘lkixxijìja’ and ‘il-glusija’ (probably from the French ''jalousie''). Muxrabijet and roundels (round motifs sculpted on building facades) are the only two features of vernacular Maltese architecture directly deriving from Arabic culture. The muxrabija is a typical Mediterranean feature, whose oldest record dates back to the 7th century in the Middle East. The oldest-surviving muxrabijet in Malta date back to the years 1300–1400. Muxrabijet had the task to keep the interior of the buildin ...
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Greek Language
Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, Caucasus, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the list of languages by first written accounts, longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet, which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with the epics of Homer, ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon. Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts ...
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Sachnisi
The ''sachnisi'' (Greek language, Greek: σαχνισί, from the Turkish language, Turkish word ''şahniş'') is a traditional type of bay window found in Northern Greece, the Balkans and the Middle East. References

*''Papyrus Larousse Britannica'', 2006 Windows {{architecturalelement-stub ...
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Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two official languages are Maltese language, Maltese and English language, English. The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the EU by both area and population. It was also the first World Heritage Site, World Heritage City in Europe to become a European Capital of Culture in 2018. With a population of about 542,000 over an area of , Malta is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, tenth-smallest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population density, ninth-most densely populated. Various sources consider the country to consist of a single urban region, for which it is often described as a city-state. Malta has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, during the Mesolith ...
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Cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the sound and the meaning of a word, cognates may not be obvious, and it often takes rigorous study of historical sources and the application of the comparative method to establish whether lexemes are cognate. Cognates are distinguished from loanwords, where a word has been borrowed from another language. Name The English term ''cognate'' derives from Latin , meaning "blood relative". Examples An example of cognates from the same Indo-European root are: ''night'' ( English), ''Nacht'' ( German), ''nacht'' ( Dutch, Frisian), ''nag'' (Afrikaans), ''Naach'' ( Colognian), ''natt'' ( Swedish, Norwegian), ''nat'' ( Danish), ''nátt'' ( Faroese), ''nótt'' ( Icelandic), ''noc'' ( Czech, Slovak, Polish), ночь, ''noch'' ( Russian), но� ...
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