Types

wainscoting

Refers to panels of oak or other wood that is used to line the walls of a room. It often refers specifically to the decorative or protective facings applied to the lower portion of an interior partition or wall, whether of wood or another material. The term originally referred to a superior quality of oak from Russia, Germany, and Holland, that was used primarily for fine panel-work.

waiting rooms

Rooms furnished for the use of persons waiting, as in railroad stations or medical offices.

walkways

Outdoor pedestrian pathways, and similar bicycle or horseback riding paths, paved or unpaved, developed as a regular means of access from one point to another within a landscape. For indoor means of access see descriptors collocated under "circulation spaces."

wall towers

Towers incorporated into a protective wall, such as the wall around a city or castle.

walled gardens

Gardens, contained within walls, typically attached to a private residence.

walls

Vertical architectural members used to define and divide spaces. Vertical architectural members used to define and divide spaces.

war cemeteries

Refers to burial sites specifically for victims of a battle.

war memorials

Buildings or monuments commemorating those killed in war, often specifically for those from the local area and from one particular war, and frequently inscribed with the names of the fallen.

warehouses

Structures designed or used for the storage of commodities or merchandise.

Warren trusses

Trusses with parallel chords between which the braces and ties are set at the same angle so as to form a series of isoceles triangles, the diagonals of which are alternately placed either in tension or compression.

washhouses (outbuildings)

Outbuilding where washing is done.

wasteweirs (weirs)

Walls or dams to divert the flow of runoff or other superfluous water.

watchtowers

Any built structure used as a lookout station that affords observation of a surrounding area.

water activities

Describes activities that occur in relation to a body of water.

water distribution structures

Irrigation canals, pipes, pumps, and other structures and equipment for distributing water.

water features (landscaping)

Designates passive reflective or dynamic elements in the cultural landscape that incorporate water as the primary design feature; for naturally occurring areas of water use the descriptors under "bodies of water."

water gardens

Gardens incorporating fountains and pools in which aquatic and other water-loving plants are grown.

water mills

Refers to a device utilizing a water wheel or otherwise operated by water with the purpose of running a mill to grind grain or to produce or process a product. It may also typically refers to the building or structure housing or supporting the device.

water slides

Descending troughs partially filled with constantly moving water through which people may ride or slide, usually terminating in a pool of water.

water stairs (landscaped-site elements)

Landscape features that have water cascading or spilling down a stepped incline, usually in controlled channels; found in Islamic and 16th-century and later Italian formal gardens.

water storage tanks

Holding containers utilized to store water in private water supply systems.

water tables

Courses of stone projecting beyond the face of a wall to guide water away from the face of the wall. Courses of stone projecting beyond the face of a wall to guide water away from the face of the wall.

water tanks

Storage containers for water, ranging from large concrete tanks for storing drinking water to small porcelain tanks for storing water to flush a toilet.

water towers

Elevated reservoirs, usually in the shape of towers, into which water is pumped to maintain desired pressure throughout a distribution system.

water treatment plants

Facilities of the public water system designed to purify by altering the physical, chemical, biological, or radiological quality of the water or to remove any contaminants.

water wells

Wells sunk to extract water from a zone of saturation.

watercraft

Vessels that can float and are constructed for travel or transport on the water, such as a boat, ship, or raft.

waterfalls (natural bodies of water)

Perpendicular or very steep descents of the water of a stream. May be used for artificial waterfalls only if highly naturalistic in form and context; otherwise prefer "cascades" or "fountains."

waterfront spaces

Open water spaces located along a waterfront.

waterfronts

Spaces, land, or part of a city or town on the edge of body of water.

watersheds (drainage divides)

Areas defined by a line or narrow tract of land that separates the waters flowing into different rivers, river basins, or seas. For the areas drained by a river system, use "drainage basins."

waterways

Bodies of water serving as ways or routes for travel or transportation.

waterworks

The system of buildings, hydraulic structures, machinery, and other equipment by which a water supply is obtained, conveyed, and distributed to consumers in cities, towns, or neighborhoods.

wave pools

No description is available for this term.

wax museums (buildings)

Buildings housing museums that specialize in works made from wax, often realistic duplications of actual objects or sculptural portraits of people, especially historical characters. Human figures in wax museums are often dressed in real clothing and posed as if carrying out representative activities.

weapons production centers

Communities of any size that have the production of weapons as a major industry.

weaving sheds

Buildings housing the looms for weaving.

weigh stations

Building or other facilities serving as a checkpoint along a roadway for the inspection of vehicular weights, usually limited to checking trucks.

weirs

Barriers or dams across waterways to regulate water level or divert or measure water flow, for example, to drive a mill wheel or as constructed on a canal or navigable river to retain the water and prevent overflow.

welfare buildings

Buildings containing facilities for record keeping or distribution of care, advice, or publications having to do with the general health and welfare of humans or animals.

well houses

Structures attached to the opening of a well.

wells (structures)

Holes, pits, or other generally vertical excavations cored, bored, drilled, or otherwise constructed in the earth for purposes of drawing out various liquids, such as water, brine, or petroleum, or natural gas.

wetlands

Large category including areas of land characterized by poor drainage, standing or slowly moving water, and as a result, an almost constant state of water-saturated soil. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs.

wharves

Structures built generally parallel to the shoreline so that vessels may moor alongside to receive or discharge cargo or passengers. For similar loading and unloading places built to extend from the shoreline out over water, use "piers (marine landings)"; if such places are artificial solid banks or shoreline extensions built parallel to the shoreline, use "quays."

wheelhouses (roundhouses)

Sheds for railway engines built around a central turntable, and often circular or semicircular in plan.

widows' walks

Railed, unroofed platforms surmounting the roofs of American houses offering a view, especially of the sea; for rooftop outlooks that are enclosed, use "belvederes"; for rooftop structures that are usually ornamental, use "cupolas."

wigwams

Houses of the Native Americans of the region of the Great Lakes and eastward having typically an arched top and consisting of a framework of poles overlaid with bark, rush mats, or hides.

wild animal parks

No description is available for this term.

wilderness

Designates wild and uncultivated regions that have been left untouched in a natural state by humans, with no human control or interference; distinct from "nature reserves" in which plant and animal communities are protected and controlled; distinct from "wilderness areas" which are lands where natural growth is protected by legislation, and recreation and industrial use are restricted.

wilderness areas

Areas of land whose natural growth is protected by legislation and where recreation and industrial use are restricted; for wild and uncultivated regions left untouched in a natural state with no human control or interference, use "wilderness."

wildlife refuges

Areas set aside for feeding, roosting, nesting, breeding, and habitat protection for species of animals and plants native to the region; also offering protection from hunting, and sometimes protection from predation and competition.

wind catchers

Any of various passive constructions built high above rooftops to collect prevailing breezes and channel them down into living spaces; common in hot, arid climates from North Africa to Pakistan.

wind power plants

Facilities designed for the creation and distribution of power derived from wind, where turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be used for power.

windbreaks

Fences, walls, or dense plantings of trees provided, usually in open areas, as protection against wind.

windmills

Buildings or devices with sails or vanes that turn in the wind and generate power. The devices operate by means of a rotating shaft on which sails are mounted or placed at an angle so that the force of wind against them causes rotation, which in turn produced energy. Windmills were historically used chiefly in flat districts for operating a mill to grind grain or pump water; the older and most characteristic European form consists of a conical mill-house with a dome or cap supporting four sails. Modern devices tap the wind to produce electricity by using a disk of sails mounted on a framework.

window heads

The upper horizontal cross members or decorative elements of window frames.

windowless buildings

Buildings having no windows.

wine cellars

Rooms in which wine is stored, whether below ground level or not.

wineries

Establishments for making wine, which is the fermented juice of the grape used as a beverage.

wings (building divisions)

Subsidiary parts of buildings extending out from the main portion.

wings (theater spaces)

The areas offstage and to the side of the acting area.

winter gardens

Use primarily for large greenhouses with plants and facilities for public entertainment, popular in the 19th century; may also be used for areas planted for winter display.

winter resorts

Facilities usually located on a mountain or large hill and designed for winter sports, typically skiing, snow boarding, and other such activities.

woodlands (plant communities)

Distinct vegetation landscapes dominated by trees, often used for grazing or hunting but not for timber or cultivation; for tracts of land with trees often acting as barriers or boundaries but otherwise minimally utilized, use "woods;" for timber-producing land or unmanaged wilderness of dense growth, use "forests (cultural landscapes)."

woodsheds

Sheds, usually detached outbuildings, in which wood, especially firewood, is stored.

woolen mills

Facilities that spin and weave wool into fabric.

workhouses (buildings)

Buildings that housed places of confinement and labor for paupers, vagrants, and the disabled or elderly poor from the 17th through 19th century in Europe and America. For buildings housing similar institutions intended to provide punishment and reformation of the criminal, use "houses of correction (buildings)." For welfare buildings providing charitable care for the poor, use "almshouses (buildings)."

workshops (work spaces)

Refers to public or private spaces set aside for manual or light industrial work. It may be used to refer to spaces in which fine art was created, particularly regarding art dating prior to the 16th century. It may also refer to spaces in which woodworkers, furniture makers, pottery makers, glass makers, and other craftspeople work. In the most general sense, it refers to spaces where goods of any type are made, prepared for sale, or sold. In modern usage, the term "studios" is generally used to refer to spaces for creating fine art dating from the 16th century to the present.

World Heritage Sites

Entities, including a site, building, city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as exceptional examples of cultural values or natural phenomena.

world trade centers

Mixed-use buildings or groups of buildings providing facilities for public and private organizations involved in international trade.

world's fairs

International expositions that feature exhibits on arts, agriculture, science, and industry, with participants from around the world.