Porch

Porch

A porch is a structure attached to a building, forming a covered entrance to a vestibule or doorway. [cite book
first=Francis D.K.
last= Ching
year= 1995
title= A Visual Dictionary of Architecture
edition=
publisher=John Wiley and Sons
location=New York
pages= p. 25
id= ISBN 0-471-82451-3
] It is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.

There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location. All porches will allow for sufficient space for a person to comfortably pause before entering or after exiting the building. However, they may be larger. Verandahs, for example, are usually quite large and may encompass the entire facade as well as the sides of a structure. At the other extreme, the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan has the longest porch in the world at some 660 feet in length.Fact|date=January 2008

North America and Britain

In Britain and New England the porch is typically a small vestibule where wet/muddy clothing can be removed before entering the main house. This is often called a mudroom in New England. In the western United States US, ranch style homes often use a covered porch to provide shade for the entrance and southern wall of the residence. In the southern United States and Southern Ontario, Canada, a porch is often as broad as it is deep, and may provide sufficient space for residents to entertain guests or gather on special occasions. Older American homes, particularly those built during the era of Victorian Architecture, or the Queen Anne style, often included a porch in both the front and the back of the home. However, many American homes built since the 1940s with a porch only have a token one, too small for comfortable social use and adding only to the visual impression of the building. The New Urbanism movement in architecture urges a reversal in this trend, recommending a large porch facing the street, to help build community ties.Fact|date=January 2008

When covered, a porch not only provides protection from sun or rain but may also form, in effect, an extra exterior room that may accommodate chairs, tables and other furniture, to be used as living space. Screens are often used in some areas to exclude flying insects.

Porches typically are architecturally unified with the rest of the house, using similar design elements as the rest of the structure, and may be integrated into the roofline or upper stories.

India

In India a porch is an important part of Hindu temple architecture. Porches and verandahs are popular elements of homes as well.

See also

*Deck
*Verandah
*Balcony
*Sunrooms
*Patio

Footnotes


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  • Porch n — porch n …   English expressions

  • Porch — Porch, n. [F. porche, L. porticus, fr. porta a gate, entrance, or passage. See {Port} a gate, and cf. {Portico}.] 1. (Arch.) A covered and inclosed entrance to a building, whether taken from the interior, and forming a sort of vestibule within… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Porch — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda «Porch» Canción de Pearl Jam Álbum Ten Publicación 1991 Grabación …   Wikipedia Español

  • porch — [pôrch] n. [ME porche < OFr < L porticus < porta, gate, entrance, passage: see PORT5] 1. a covered entrance to a building, usually projecting from the wall and having a separate roof 2. an open or enclosed gallery or room on the outside… …   English World dictionary

  • porch — [po:tʃ US po:rtʃ] n [Date: 1200 1300; : Old French; Origin: porche, from Latin porticus, from porta gate ] 1.) BrE an entrance covered by a roof outside the front door of a house or church 2.) AmE a structure built onto the front or back entrance …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • porch — noun count * 1. ) AMERICAN an open area with a floor and a roof, attached to the lower level of a house 2. ) BRITISH a small area covered by a roof at the entrance to a house or other building …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • porch — → porche …   Diccionario panhispánico de dudas

  • porch — late 13c., from O.Fr. porche, from L. porticus covered gallery, arcade, from porta gate. The L. word was borrowed directly into O.E. as portic …   Etymology dictionary

  • porch — [n] patio balcony, deck, portico, steps, stoop, veranda; concepts 509,513 …   New thesaurus

  • porch — ► NOUN 1) a covered shelter projecting over the entrance of a building. 2) N. Amer. a veranda. ORIGIN Old French porche, from Latin porticus colonnade …   English terms dictionary

  • porch — porchless, adj. porchlike, adj. /pawrch, pohrch/, n. 1. an exterior appendage to a building, forming a covered approach or vestibule to a doorway. 2. a veranda. 3. the Porch, the portico or stoa in the agora of ancient Athens, where the Stoic… …   Universalium

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