Quadrangle

In architecture, a quadrangle, or more colloquially, quad, is a space or courtyard, usually square or rectangular in plan, the sides of which are entirely or mainly occupied by parts of a large building. The word is probably most closely associated with college or university campus architecture, but quadrangles may be found in other buildings such as palaces. Most quadrangles are open air, while a few have been glazed over often to provide additional space for social meeting areas or coffee shops for students.

The word "quadrangle" was originally synonymous with "quadrilateral", but this usage is now relatively uncommon.^[1]

Some modern quadrangles bear a passing resemblance to the cloister gardens of medieval monasteries, which were usually square or rectangular gardens or lawns enclosed by open arcades or cloisters. However it is clear from the oldest examples (such as Mob Quad) which are plain and unadorned with arcades, that the medieval colleges in Oxford and Cambridge were creating practical accommodation for college members. Grander quadrangles that look like cloisters came later, once the idea of a college was well established and benefactors or founders wished to create more monumental buildings.^[2]

In America, Thomas Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia centered the housing and academic buildings in a Palladian form around three sides the Lawn, a huge grassy expanse. Later, some American college and university planners imitated the Jeffersonian plan, the Oxbridge idea, Beaux-arts forms, and other models. The University of Chicago's Gothic campus is also notable for its innovative use of quandrangles.^{[citation needed]}

Despite the obvious relationship of the word "quadrangle" to the number 4, architects no longer feel bound by a strict numbering of sides.^{[citation needed]}

In geology or geography, the word "quadrangle" usually refers to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute quadrangle map, which are usually named afer a local physiographic feature. The shorthand "quad" is also used, especially with the name of the map; for example, "the Ranger Creek, Texas quad map". These maps appear rectangular, hence the use of the word "quadrangle" to describe them. As a specific surveying term, a quadrangle is an area that can be subdivided into 16 townships, and has limits generally measuring 24 miles on each side, although this distance is not exact due to the effects of surveying and mapping the curved surface of the earth. On a USGS 7.5-minute quadrangle map, the north and south limits of the quadrangle are not straight lines, but are actually curved to match the earth's lines of latitude on the standard projection. The east and west limits are usually not parallel as they match the earth's lines of longitude.

Quadrangle in heraldry

In an obvious allusion, the quadrangle forms the compartment of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada [1].

Notable quadrangles

• Blue Boar Quadrangle
• David R. Francis Quadrangle
• Memorial Quadrangle
• Mob Quad in Merton College, Oxford is one of the oldest quads in existence.
• Peckwater Quadrangle
• Quadrangle (Harvard)
• The Quadrangle
• Radcliffe Quadrangle, University College, Oxford
• Stanford University
• Tom Quad

Gallery

Educational establishments

Palaces

See also

Notes

1. ^ "Quadrangle, n." Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J.A. Simpson and E.S.C. Weiner. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. OED Online Oxford University Press. 29 June 2006. http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50193968
2. ^ See the references at Mob Quad

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