Glossary for gem taxonomy

The building has adjoining or attached building(s) on one side; this includes corner buildings (end buildings within a block) and semi-detached buildings (with two housing units).

The building shown in black in this plan view has an adjoining building on one side.

An example of a building within a block with adjoining buildings on one side, Vancouver, Canada (left photo: S. Brzev, right: Map data ©2013 Google, Province of British Columbia, DigitalGlobe)

Semi-detached townhouse, adjoining building on one side, New Zealand (L. Allen).

Semi-detached house, adjoining building on one side, Constitution, Chile (S. Brzev).

A building on a corner, with an adjoining building on one side, Seattle, USA (S. Brzev).

A building, usually located on a street corner, with adjoining or attached buildings on two sides. This includes mid-terrace buildings, buildings which are a part of the row of at least three buildings, or corner buildings with adjoining buildings on two perpendicular sides.

Example 1: the building shown in black in this plan is located within a block and it has adjoining buildings on two sides.

Example 2: the building shown in black in this plan view is located on a corner and has adjoining buildings on two perpendicular sides.

An example of a building within a block with adjoining buildings on two sides, Vancouver, Canada (left photo: S. Brzev, right: Map data ©2013 Google, Province of British Columbia, DigitalGlobe)

A corner building with adjoining buildings on two perpendicular sides, New Zealand (L. Allen).

A corner building with adjoining buildings on two perpendicular sides, Talca, Chile (S. Brzev).

Terrace housing with adjoining houses on two sides, New Zealand (L. Allen)

A midrise building in Santiago, Chile with adjoining low-rise buildings on two sides (S. Brzev)

The building has adjoining or attached buildings on three sides (typically one building on each side, and one behind). An example is a building within a block, that is also adjacent to a building in the back.

The building shown in black in this plan view has adjoining buildings on three sides.

Sun-dried (or air-dried), unfired mud (clay) masonry, where the clay is cast into blocks (and sometimes into bricks) and then laid, as opposed to walls constructed in-place out of earth, as in earth construction (cob or rammed earth). Adobe blocks can be used both in unreinforced and reinforced masonry construction. Several types of reinforcement are available, including wood, bamboo/cane, or fibre reinforcing mesh.

Adobe blocks are commonly used for single-family housing in Peru (N. Tarque)

Tw-storey adobe building in Cuzco, Peru (S. Brzev)

Adobe house, Iran (A. Bakshi, M.A.Ghannad, and M. Yekrangnia)

Adobe construction, Tajikistan (J. Niyazov)

Manufacturing of adobe blocks in Peru (left - M. Blondet) and different sizes of adobe blocks (right- S. Brzev)

Adobe blocks of different shapes and sizes, Peru (S. Brzev)

A recently constructed adobe wall, Chile (S.Brzev)

 Existing adobe buildings built in early 1900s in Chile (left) and a building damaged in the 2010 Maule earthquake (right) (S. Brzev)

Mission Dolores (built in 1788) is the oldest building in San Francisco, California, USA; the building was constructed using adobe blocks (see photo on the right) (S. Brzev)

Exposed adobe walls in a 19th century adobe building in Sonoma, California (S. Brzev)