Dictionary Definition
building
Noun
1 a structure that has a roof and walls and
stands more or less permanently in one place; "there was a
three-story building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice"
[syn: edifice]
2 the act of constructing or building something;
"during the construction we had to take a detour"; "his hobby was
the building of boats" [syn: construction]
3 the commercial activity involved in
constructing buildings; "their main business is home construction";
"workers in the building trades" [syn: construction]
4 the occupants of a building; "the entire
building complained about the noise"
User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
act or process of building
- Catalan: construcció,
- Czech: stavba , budování , výstavba
- Danish: byggeri, opførelse (af en bygning)
- Dutch: bouwen, bouw
- Esperanto: konstruado
- Finnish: rakentaminen, rakennus, rakennustaito
- French: construction
- German: Bau , Bauen
- Greek: Κτίσιμο ή χτίσιμο
- Hebrew: בניה (bni'a)
- Italian: costruzione , edificazione
- Japanese: 建築(けんちく,kenchiku), 建造(けんぞう,kenzō)
- Kurdish:
- Norwegian: bygge, konstruere
- Old English: (ġe)bytlung, (ġe)timbrung, timber
- Polish: budować
- Portuguese: construção, edificação
- Romanian: clădire
- Russian: строительство, постройка
- Slovene: gradnja
- Spanish: edificación , construcción
- Swedish: byggande , bygge , byggnation , byggnadsverksamhet
- Telugu: కట్టుబడి
- Urdu: (ta'mīr)
closed structure with walls and a roof
- Catalan: edifici,
- Croatian: zgrada, zdanje
- Czech: budova
- Danish: bygning
- Dutch: gebouw
- Esperanto: konstruaĵo
- Finnish: rakennus
- French: bâtiment
- German: Gebäude
- Greek: Κτίριο ή Χτίριο
- Hebrew: בניין
- Italian: edificio, palazzo
- Japanese: 建物 (たてもの, tatémono), ビル (biru)
- Korean: 건물 (geonmul)
- Kurdish: بینا
- Latin: aedificium
- Mandarin: 建築物 / 建筑物 jiàn zhù wù
- Norwegian: bygning
- Old English: (ġe)bytlung, (ġe)timbrung, bū, reċed, timber, ærn
- Polish: budynek
- Portuguese: edifício
- Romanian: clădire
- Russian: здание (zdánije) , строение (strojénije) , постройка (postrójka)
- Slovene: zgradba
- Spanish: edificio
- Swedish: bygge, byggnad, hus
- Telugu: భవంతి, కట్టడము
- Urdu: عمارت
- Vietnamese: toà nhà
- ttbc Breton: savadur (1, 3)
- ttbc Bulgarian: строителство, строеж (1, 3)
- ttbc Indonesian: bangunan, gedung
- ttbc Interlingua: edification (1, 2, 3); construction (1, 2, 3); edificio (3)
- ttbc Lithuanian: statymas (1), statyba f (1, 2, field of bussiness), statinys m (3), pastatas (3)
- ttbc Persian: (sākhtan) (1), (sākhtemān) (2)
Extensive Definition
In architecture, construction, engineering and real
estate development the word building may refer to one of the
following:
- Any man-made structure used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy, or
- An act of construction.
To differentiate buildings and other structures
that are not intended for continuous human occupancy, the latter are
called non-building
structures. Structural height in technical usage is the height
to the highest architectural detail on building from street-level.
Depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may
not be included in this height. Spires and masts used as antennas
are not generally included.
Concept
Buildings serve several needs of society. Along
with access to food and drinking water, the need for places that
are protected from the outdoors and where one can
comfortably live, work, eat, sleep, procreate or engage in
leisurely activities has
always been a top priority for humans. A building as a shelter
represents a physical division of the human
habitat into the inside (a place of comfort and safety) and the
outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Humans
have a remarkable drive to reflect on their lives and express
themselves through art. Ever
since the first cave
paintings, buildings have become objects of artistic
expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and
building practices has increased in the U.S.
History
The first shelter on Earth constructed by a relatively close ancestor to humans is believed to be built 500,000 years ago by an ancient ancestor of humans, Homo erectus.Over centuries, homes were technologically
advancing. Some were simply inhabited caves, while others were made
of dried mud or stone. In these times, there were little
furnishings in these homes, besides perhaps a family altar or a
table for eating.
Before the invention of the lift, few buildings were higher
than five stories. In the New World, the Anasazi built
three- and four-story towers in the 12th and 13th centuries
AD.
When Elisha Otis
invented the passenger elevator, buildings could be built much
higher. Today, the Sears Tower
has 108 stories.
Types
Residential
Residential buildings are called houses/homes. Single family and multi-family dwellings are typically built as shelter and living space. These building types may range from one-room wood-framed, masonry, or adobe dwellings to multi-million dollar high-rise buildings able to house thousands of people. The definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise residential building is being debated, but generally three stories or less is considered low-rise.Multi-story
A multi-story building (American English, Multi-storey Building British English) is a building that has multiple floors (stories (storeys in British)) above ground in the building.Multi-story buildings aim to increase the area of
the building without increasing the area of the land the building
is built on, hence saving land and, in most cases, money (depending
on material used and land prices in the area, of course).
Creation
The practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is normally a collective effort of different groups of professionals and trades. Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a particular building project, the project team may include:- A real estate developer who secures funding for the project;
- One or more financial institutions or other investors that provide the funding
- Local planning and code authorities
- A Surveyor who performs an ALTA/ACSM and construction surveys throughout the project;
- Construction managers who coordinate the effort of different groups of project participants;
- Licensed architects and engineers who provide building design and prepare construction documents;
- Landscape architects;
- Interior designers;
- Other consultants;
- Contractors who provide construction services and install building systems such as climate control, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, security and telecommunications;
- Marketing or leasing agents;
- Facility managers who are responsible for operating the building.
Regardless of their size or intended use, all
buildings in the US must comply with zoning
ordinances, building
codes and other regulations such as fire codes,
life
safety codes and related standards.
Vehicles—such as trailers,
caravans,
ships and passenger
aircraft—are treated as
"buildings" for life safety purposes.
Building ownership and funding
Planning and design
Building services
Conveying systems
Systems for transport of people within buildings:- Elevator
- Escalator
- Moving sidewalk (horizontal and inclined)
Systems for transport of people between
interconnected buildings:
See also
portal Architecture- Architecture
- Architectural engineering
- Architectural structure
- Autonomous building
- Builders' rites
- 'Building' magazine
- Building material
- Construction
- Cost overrun
- Famous buildings
- Fire protection
- Green building
- Hurricane proof building
- List of building types
- List of largest buildings in the world
- Megaproject
- Natural building
- Natural disaster and earthquake
- Nonbuilding structure
- Occupancy
- Skyscrapers
References
building in Arabic: مبنى
building in Bulgarian: Сграда
building in Czech: Budova
building in Danish: Bygning
building in German: Gebäude
building in Estonian: Hoone
building in Modern Greek (1453-): Κτίριο
building in Spanish: Edificio
building in Esperanto: Konstruaĵo
building in Basque: Eraikin
building in French: Bâtiment
(construction)
building in Western Frisian: Bouwurk
building in Korean: 건축물
building in Indonesian: Bangunan
building in Interlingua (International Auxiliary
Language Association): Edificio
building in Italian: Edificio
building in Hebrew: מבנה
building in Lithuanian: Statinys
building in Hungarian: Épület
building in Dutch: Opstal (bouwwerk)
building in Japanese: 建築物
building in Norwegian: Bygning
building in Polish: Budynek
building in Portuguese: Edifício
building in Quechua: Wasichay
building in Russian: Здание
building in Simple English: Building
building in Slovak: Stavba
building in Slovenian: Zgradba
building in Serbian: Грађевина
building in Finnish: Rakennus
building in Swedish: Byggnad
building in Tamil: கட்டிடம்
building in Thai: อาคาร
building in Ukrainian: Будівлі
building in Chinese: 建築物
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Dymaxion house, White House, adobe house,
anatomy, architectonics, architecture, arrangement, assemblage, assembly, build, buildup, casa, casting, cliff dwelling,
combination,
composition,
compound, conformation, constitution, construct, construction, consulate, conversion, country house,
country seat, crafting,
craftsmanship,
creation, cultivation, dacha, deanery, devising, dwelling house,
edifice, elaboration, embassy, embodiment, erection, establishment, extraction, fabric, fabrication, farm, farmhouse, fashion, fashioning, forging, form, format, formation, forming, formulation, frame, framing, getup, growing, hall, handicraft, handiwork, harvesting, house, houseboat, hut, incorporation, junction, lake dwelling, living
machine, lodge, machining, make, makeup, making, manor house, manse, manufacture, manufacturing, milling, mining, mixture, mold, molding, organic structure,
organism, organization, packaged
house, parsonage,
pattern, patterning, penthouse, physique, piecing together,
pile, plan, prefab, prefabricated house,
prefabrication,
preparation,
presidential palace, processing, producing, production, putting together,
pyramid, raising, ranch house, rectory, refining, roof, setup, shape, shaping, skyscraper, smelting, sod house,
split-level, structure, structuring, superstructure, syneresis, synthesis, tectonics, texture, tissue, tower, town house, vicarage, warp and woof,
weave, web, workmanship