In
architecture, a bay is the space between architectural elements, or a recess or compartment. The term bay comes from
Old Frenchbaie, meaning an opening or hole.[1]
Examples
The spaces between
posts,
columns, or
buttresses in the length of a building, the division in the widths being called
aisles. This meaning also applies to overhead vaults (between
ribs), in a building using a vaulted structural system. For example, the
Gothic architecture period's
Chartres Cathedral has a
nave (main interior space) that is "seven bays long." Similarly in
timber framing a bay is the space between posts in the transverse direction of the building and aisles run longitudinally.[2]
Where there are no columns or other divisions, and regularly-spaced windows, each
window in a wall is counted as a bay. For example
Mulberry Fields in
Maryland US, a
Georgian style building, is described as "5 bay by 2 bay", meaning "5 windows at the front and 2 windows at the sides".
The space between
joists or
rafters, a joist bay or rafter bay.[2]
East Asia
The
Japaneseken and
Koreankan are both bays themselves and measurements based upon their number and standard placement. Under the
Joseon, Koreans were allocated a set number of bays in their residential architecture based upon their class.