Selected Bibliography Architecture - Form Space and Order | Page 430

G L OS S A RY

mandala A diagram of the cosmos, often used to guide the design of Indian
temple plans.
mandapa A large, porchlike hall leading to the sanctuary of a Hindu or Jain
temple and used for religious dancing and music.
mass The physical volume or bulk of a solid body.
massing A unified composition of two-dimensional shapes or three-dimensional
volumes, esp. one that has or gives the impression of weight, density, and
bulk.
mastaba An ancient Egyptian tomb made of mud brick, rectangular in plan with
a flat roof and sloping sides, from which a shaft leads to underground burial
and offering chambers.
mausoleum A large and stately tomb, esp. that in the form of a building for
housing the tombs of many individuals, often of a single family.
megalith A very large stone used as found or roughly dressed, esp. in ancient
construction work.
megaron A building or semi-independent unit of a building, typically having a
rectangular principal chamber with a center hearth and a porch, often of
columns in antis: traditional in Greece since Mycenaean times and believed
to be the ancestor of the D