# Parapet > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parapet > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Parapet.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapet > Source revision: 1351987860 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Barrier extending upward a wall at the edge of a roof}} [[File:Kyrenia 01-2017 img07 Castle bastion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The [crenellated](/source/Battlement) parapet on a bastion of [Kyrenia Castle](/source/Kyrenia_Castle), Cyprus]] A '''parapet''' is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a [roof](/source/roof),{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Parapet |volume=20 |page=770}} [terrace](/source/Terrace_(building)), [balcony](/source/balcony), [walkway](/source/walkway) or other [structure](/source/architectural_structure). The word derives from the [Italian](/source/Italian_language) ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Where extending above a roof, a parapet may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the edge line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a [fire wall](/source/Firewall_(construction)) or [party wall](/source/party_wall).{{cite book|last1=Ching|first1=Francis D. K.|title=A visual dictionary of architecture|date=1997|publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold|location=New York|isbn=0-442-02462-2|page=266}} Parapets were originally used to defend buildings from military attack, but today they are primarily used as [guard rail](/source/guard_rail)s, to conceal rooftop equipment, reduce wind loads on the roof,{{cite web |last1=Bedair |first1=Rania |title=Comprehensive Study of Wind Loads on Parapets |url=https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/976384/1/NR63348.pdf |access-date=15 June 2021}} and to prevent the spread of fires. ==Parapet types== Parapets may be plain, [embattled](/source/battlement), perforated or panelled, which are not mutually exclusive terms. *Plain parapets are upward extensions of the wall, sometimes with a [coping](/source/Coping_(architecture)) at the top and [corbel](/source/corbel) below. *Embattled parapets may be panelled, but are pierced, if not purely as stylistic device, for the discharge of defensive projectiles. *Perforated parapets are pierced in various designs such as [circle](/source/circle)s, [trefoil](/source/trefoil)s, or [quatrefoil](/source/quatrefoil)s. *Panelled parapets are [ornamented](/source/Ornament_(architecture)) by a series of panels, either [oblong](/source/wiktionary%3Aoblong) or square, and more or less enriched, but not perforated. These are common in the [Decorated](/source/English_Gothic_architecture) and [Perpendicular](/source/English_Gothic_architecture) periods. File:Rooftop pool NYC.jpg|A parapet surrounds a [New York City](/source/New_York_City) rooftop, shielding the HVAC and water tank and supporting the glass guardrails. File:Kings chapel roof.jpg|Elaborate parapets flank the roof of [King's College Chapel, Cambridge](/source/King's_College_Chapel%2C_Cambridge). File:BP Bridge (no railing).jpg|A modern parapet with integrated lighting functions as a [guard rail](/source/guard_rail) along the [BP Pedestrian Bridge](/source/BP_Pedestrian_Bridge) in Chicago ==Historic parapet walls== [[Image:The Mirror Wall & Spiral Stairs leading to the Frescoes.jpg|thumb|[The Mirror Wall](/source/The_Mirror_Wall) at [Sigiriya](/source/Sigiriya), Sri Lanka]] [The Mirror Wall](/source/The_Mirror_Wall) at [Sigiriya](/source/Sigiriya), [Sri Lanka](/source/Sri_Lanka) built between 477 and 495 AD is one of the few surviving protective parapet walls from antiquity. Built onto the side of Sigiriya Rock it ran for a distance of approximately {{convert|250|m|yd|abbr=off|sp=us}} and provided protection from inclement weather. Only about {{convert|100|m|yd|abbr=off|sp=us}} of this wall exists today, but brick debris and grooves on the rock face along the western side of the rock clearly show where the rest of this wall once stood.{{cite book|last=Ponnamperuma|first=Senani|title=Story of Sigiriya.|year=2013|publisher=Panique Pty Ltd|location=Melbourne|isbn=978-0987345110|pages=118–121}} ==Parapet roofs== [[File:Shoreditch barley mow 1.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A decorative parapet rings the flat roof of this English [public house](/source/public_house)]] Parapets surrounding roofs are common in [London](/source/London). This dates from the [Building Act 1707](/source/Building_Act_1707) which banned projecting wooden eaves in the cities of [Westminster](/source/City_of_Westminster) and [London](/source/City_of_London) as a fire risk.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}} Instead an 18-inch brick parapet was required, with the roof set behind. This was continued in many [Georgian](/source/Georgian_architecture) houses, as it gave the appearance of a flat roof which accorded with the desire for classical proportions. In [Shilpa Shastras](/source/Shilpa_Shastras), the ancient Indian science of sculpture, a parapet is known as ''hāra''. It is optionally added while constructing a temple. The ''hāra'' can be decorated with various miniature pavilions, according to the [Kāmikāgama](/source/K%C4%81mik%C4%81gama).{{Cite book |title=Temples of Salem Region Up to 1336 AD |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/91948/14/14_chapter%206.pdf}} In the Bible the Hebrews are obligated to build a parapet on the roof of their houses to prevent people falling (Deuteronomy 22:8). ==Firewall parapets== Many [firewalls](/source/Firewall_(construction)) are required to have a parapet, a portion of the wall extending above the roof. The parapet is required to be as fire resistant as the lower wall, and extend a distance prescribed by building code. ==Bridge parapets== thumb|Stone bridge parapet Parapets on bridges and other [highway](/source/highway) structures (such as [retaining wall](/source/retaining_wall)s) prevent users from falling off where there is a drop.{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/340735047/in/photostream/|title=''Concrete parapets along road drop off.''|work=Flickr|date=January 2007 |access-date=19 September 2014}} They may also be meant to restrict views, to prevent rubbish passing below, and to act as [noise barrier](/source/noise_barrier)s. Bridge parapets may be made from any material, but [structural steel](/source/structural_steel), [aluminium](/source/aluminium), [timber](/source/timber) and [reinforced concrete](/source/reinforced_concrete) are common. They may be of solid or framed construction. In [European standards](/source/European_Committee_for_Standardization), parapets are defined as a sub-category of "vehicle restraint systems" or "pedestrian restraint systems". ==Parapets in fortification== {{parapet_parts.svg}} A parapet [fortification](/source/fortification) (known as a [breastwork](/source/breastwork_(fortification)) when temporary) is a wall of stone, wood or earth on the outer edge of a [defensive wall](/source/defensive_wall) or [trench](/source/Trench_warfare), which shelters the defenders.{{cite book|last1=Friar|first1=Stephen|title=The Sutton companion to castles|date=2003|publisher=Sutton|location=Stroud|isbn=9780750927444|page=32}}George Orwell 1938, ''Homage to Catalonia''; see Chap VII. Orwell frequently speaks of parapets and includes any obstruction planned or temporary including those made of hastily shoveled soil, sandbags of dirt, piles of stones, etc., made during 1936–37 trench warfare when he was a militia soldier in the [Spanish Civil War](/source/Spanish_Civil_War). In medieval [castle](/source/castle)s, they were often [crenellated](/source/crenellation). In later [artillery forts](/source/star_fort), parapets tend to be higher and thicker. They could be provided with [embrasure](/source/embrasure)s for the fort's guns to fire through, and a [banquette](/source/banquette) or fire-step so that defending infantry could shoot over the top. The top of the parapet often slopes towards the enemy to enable the defenders to shoot downwards; this incline is called the ''superior talus''.''A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary'', Charles James, Egerton Military Library 1810. ==See also== *[Attic style](/source/Attic_style) * [Baluster](/source/Baluster) *[Merlon](/source/Merlon) *[Redoubt](/source/Redoubt) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Bibliography== * Senani Ponnamperuma (2013). ''The Story of Sigiriya''. Panique Pty Ltd. pp. 124–127, 179. {{ISBN|978-0987345141}}. ==External links== {{Wiktionary}} {{Commons category|Parapets}} *[http://www.victorianforts.co.uk/gloss.htm Victorian Forts glossary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024157/http://www.victorianforts.co.uk/gloss.htm |date=2016-03-04 }} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070124061217/http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/DCTNRY/p/parapet.html Parapet] *[http://architecture.about.com/library/blgloss-parapet.htm What is a Parapet?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201005917/http://architecture.about.com/library/blgloss-parapet.htm |date=2009-02-01 }} {{Authority control}} Category:Castle architecture Category:Architectural elements Category:Bridge components Category:Protective barriers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Parapet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parapet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.