For the Miller Analogies Test, you should become familiar with famous examples of architecture — like the Roman Colosseum. On the MAT, architecture isn’t as big of a category as art, so covering the bases can be a little easier. The following lists familiarize you with some of history’s most important architecture and architects and give you the building blocks of architectural terminology.
Architectural terms that appear on the MAT test
Brush up on your knowledge of architecture by studying these terms and their definitions.
Amphitheatre: An open-air venue for performances
Aqueduct: Pipeline that carries water
Atrium: Roman entrance chamber
Bas-relief: Type of sculpture in which the shape protrudes slightly from its background
Cameo: Raised carving; opposite of intaglio
Catacombs: underground burial chambers
Corinthian Order: Greek style of architecture that was very ornate featuring leaves and scrolls
Doric Order: Greek style of architecture where the columns were close together and not on a base
Façade: Front of a building
Gargoyle: Human or animal statue placed on the roof of a building
Gothic Architecture: Style of architecture characterized by high arches and flying buttresses
Hieroglyphs: Egyptian language that uses pictorial characters
Intaglio: Indented carving; opposite of cameo
Ionic Order: Greek style of architecture that prominently features volutes
Odeon: Ancient Greek and Roman building for musical purposes
Pagoda: Buddhist shrine or tomb
Rococo: Ornate, playful, asymmetric architectural style
Ziggurat: Mesopotamian pyramid made of bricks
Important architects that appear on the MAT test
The following lists important architects you should become familiar with before taking the MAT.
Gaudi, Antoni: Spanish architect best known for the incomplete Sagrada Familia
Gehry, Frank: Designer of the Spanish Guggenheim museum
Jefferson, Thomas: American president who designed Monticello
Le Corbusier: Swiss-French pioneer of modern architecture
Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig: German-American pioneer of modern architecture; known for his simplicity
Mills, Robert: American architect who designed the Washington Monument
Pei, I. M.: Chinese-American architect who designed many skyscrapers
Sinan, Mimar: Ottoman architect who designed mosques
Sullivan, Louis: American creator of the modern skyscraper
Wren, Christopher: English architect who rebuilt many churches in London after the Great Fire
Wright, Frank Lloyd: American architect who merged buildings with the landscapes in which they were built
Important architectural works that appear on the MAT test
The following lists important architectural works you should become familiar with before taking the MAT.
Capitol: Government building in Washington, D.C., that houses the U.S. legislature
Colosseum: Roman amphitheatre in which gladiatorial contests took place
Great Sphinx: Statue at the pyramids of Giza in the shape of a lion with a man’s head
Hagia Sophia: Church in Istanbul, Turkey
Notre Dame: Cathedral in Paris, France
Pantheon: Roman temple
Parthenon: Greek temple to the goddess Athena built on the acropolis in Athens
St. Peter’s Basilica: Roman Catholic church in the Vatican
Stonehenge: Group of stones forming a monument in England
Taj Mahal: Famous Indian mausoleum
Versailles: French palace built by Louis XIV
