neuromorphic [nʊər oʊ môrf ik] architecture: in the words of Dr. Michael Arbib at the 2014 Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture conference: “what happens if architecture incorporates in itself some of the lessons of the brain. If, in a sense, you give a brain to a building.”Arbib... View full entry

ethnoburbs (noun): "suburban ethnic clusters of residential areas and business districts in large American metropolitan areas. They are multi-ethnic communities, in which one ethnic minority group has a significant concentration, but does not necessarily comprise a majority."Dr. Wei Li... View full entry

magpie [maɡˌpī], adjective: architecture that is, in the words of Copenhagenize's Mikael Colville-Andersen, “attempting to attract people to big shiny things that dazzle but that have little functional value in the development of a city”.Colville-Andersen uses the term to... View full entry

Hermit Crab [hərmət krab], noun: a museum typology where the art is exhibited in a structure not originally or usually meant for exhibiting and/or selling art.The term was coined by Nicholas Korody in his piece, White Space: The Architecture of the Art Fair:"the Hermit Crab typology refers to... View full entry

dark tourism, noun: "tourism involving travel to sites historically associated with death and tragedy" (Wikipedia).The term was coined in a 1996 report published in the International Journal of Heritage Studies, entitled “JFK and Dark Tourism: a fascination with assassination”. As authors... View full entry

one-story peanut butter, noun: in reference to urban sprawl, how it spreads and oozes.The term comes courtesy of Archinector and Archinect Sessions co-host, Donna Sink, who recalls W. Kirby Lockard (1930-2007), Professor of Architecture at University of Arizona, using it to describe sprawl... View full entry

serendipity machine, noun: a space (often workplace) that has been designed to maximize chance encounters towards beneficial, ideally innovative, results. This definition is Archinect's own wording, culled from a variety of "serendipity" citations in design briefs – but most notably... View full entry

Here at Archinect, we receive countless submissions of people's work, hoping to be published. Within recent memory (exactly when it began is uncertain), a particular type of work started popping up frequently."Saltworks" from Washington University in St. Louis.The pieces were recognizable as... View full entry

duplitecture [d(y)o͞oplətek(t)SHər], noun: an intentional, functioning copy of a pre-existing, and often familiar, piece of architecture. For example, "Hangzhou's replication of Venice takes duplitecture to the city-level." This definition is Archinect's own wording.A few examples in China... View full entry

casting couch [kas-ting kouch], noun: the process by which an architect or firm is propositioned to do something unpleasant by an elite client with either the hopes of future commissions or to avoid risk of being discarded.This term and definition were initially submitted anonymously to the... View full entry

Welcome to Archinect's Lexicon. Architecture notoriously appropriates and invents new language – sometimes to make appeals, sometimes to fill conceptual gaps, sometimes nonsensically. But once a word is used, it's alive, and part of the conversation. We're here to take notes.bike-wash [baɪk... View full entry

Welcome to Archinect's Lexicon. Architecture notoriously appropriates and invents new language – sometimes to make appeals, sometimes to fill conceptual gaps, sometimes nonsensically. But once a word is used, it's alive, and part of the conversation. We're here to take... View full entry