Or, more to the point, words that you should never utter in the presence of an architect. Avoiding these terms will lower the blood pressure of your poor over-educated architect and may even conceal the fact that you do not know anything about architecture.
Façade
Say elevation unless referring to a decorative veneer applied to the front of a building. Many architects believe that the front elevation should be an integral part of the building and not merely applied ornament.
Post
Most free standing vertical members in a building are columns. Large columns may be called piers. Larger, rectangular, asymmetrical members are often called piloti. The vertical members in a fence are posts.
Cross Section
Section alone is de rigeur unless used vis-à-vis longitudinal section.
Lay Out
Lay out is a term used in gymnastics and diving referring to a
fully extended body. Architects use the term plan to refer to the drawing showing
the relationships of the spaces as seen from above.
Cinder Block
CMU (Concrete Masonry Unit) will suffice.
Drywall
Usually referred to generically as Gypsum Board or by the proprietary
name Sheet Rock. The joint compound used to cover the seams between the sheets of Gyp. Bd.
is known as mud.
Faux
Isn’t there some saying about a sow’s ear to cover this one?
Decorator
Decorators are to pick out vases that go nicely with the
fleur-de-lis
wallpaper. Your architect may begin to convulse at the mere mention. (Click here to flame)
Pane
The pieces of glass in your windows are referred to as lights.
Lights, (the bulbous incandescent things that illuminate a light fixture) on the other
hand, are known as lamps to avoid confusion.
Cement
Portland cement is the bonding agent in concrete, which also
includes fine aggregates (sand), coarse aggregates (gravel), and optional chemical
additives. You will sound particularly cool if you say reinforced concrete unless
the concrete is not in fact reinforced with steel rebar.
Liability
The less said the better.
Bush
This is for our landscape architect comrades. Saying "how about a shrub
or small tree here?" will endear you forever.
Grass
Grass is what your landscape architects will smoke to calm their nerves
after meetings in which you refuse to use the generic turf in lieu of the specific
seed or sod for your lawn.
Frank Lloyd Wright
The mention of Frank Lloyd Wright will suggest to your architect that
you can name more professional bowlers than architects (living or dead). If this is the
case it is probably best to just keep your mouth shut.
CAD/CAM
Engineers use this. I do not know what it stands for. Architects may
use CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting) but must say they hate it. Throw in
the term visualization for extra credit.