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Appendix 4 - Glossary of Design Terms
An explanation of the terms used in policy DC1: Design Principles| Activity | Created by movement around, through and between a space or building. Can be applied to a space or building frontage / elevation |
| Building line | The line formed by the frontages of buildings along a street |
| Bulk | The combined effect of the arrangement, volume and shape of a building or group of buildings |
| Fenestration | The arrangement of windows on a façade. |
| Floorscape | The surface treatment of any area of hard landscaping. |
| Landmark | A building or structure that stands out from its background by virtue of its height, size or other aspect of design. |
| Legibility | The degree to which the layout of a place or building can be easily understood; the ease by which a person can find their bearings around a place. |
| Massing | The combined effect of the height and bulk of a building or group of buildings. |
| Materials | Those used in the construction of buildings. |
| Microclimate | Localised variations in, or changes to, prevailing weather conditions caused by buildings or groups of buildings. |
| Permeability | The extent to which an environment or development allows people a choice of routes through it. |
| Plot sizes | The size of an individual piece of land. |
| Rhythm | The pattern of the height and proportions of a building or group of buildings e.g. vertically or horizontally. |
| Roofline | The line formed by a building or group of building’s roofs. |
| Scale | The impression of a building when seen in relation to its surroundings, or the size of parts of a building or its details, particularly as experienced in relation to the size of a person. Sometimes it is the total dimensions of a building which give it its sense of scale; at other times it is the size of the elements and the way they are combined. |
| Security | A sense of feeling safe, as well as actually being safe, within an area |
| Urban Grain | The pattern of the arrangement and size of buildings and their plots in a settlement; and the degree to which an area’s pattern of street-blocks and street junctions is respectively small and frequent, or large and infrequent. |
| Views | The extent to which other places or buildings can be seen from the development. |
References
Bentley et al: Responsive Environments
DETR: By Design
DETR: Urban Design Compendium
K Lynch: Image of the City
