Definition:
A parapet is a low wall projecting from the edge of a platform, terrace, or roof. Parapets may rise above the cornice of a building or form the upper portion of a defensive wall on a castle.
Examples:
- In Mission style homes, rounded parapets are often used as decorative features.
- Casa Calvet by architect Antoni Gaudí has elaborate sculptural parapets.
- The parapet along the roof of Alhambra Palace in Granada, Spain is a defensive battlement
- A series of stepped parapets decorates the gable of the medieval Old-New Synagogue in Prague
- Parapets can also be seen on the roof of the Gothic Revival Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York
"Mr. Kaufmann was out Sunday (December 20) and found a new fracture in the south parapet wall over center bolster beam. This is another proof that the southeast corner has gone down." - Correspondence from contractor Walter Hall to architect Frank Lloyd Wright in December, 1936, concerning the problematic construction of Fallingwater.
Also Known As:
parapetto, breastwork, Brustwehr
