- orientation
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—orientative, adj./awr'ee euhn tay"sheuhn, -en-, ohr'-/, n.1. the act or process of orienting.2. the state of being oriented.3. an introduction, as to guide one in adjusting to new surroundings, employment, activity, or the like: New employees receive two days of orientation.4. Psychol., Psychiatry. the ability to locate oneself in one's environment with reference to time, place, and people.5. one's position in relation to true north, to points on the compass, or to a specific place or object.6. the ascertainment of one's true position, as in a novel situation, with respect to attitudes, judgments, etc.7. Chem.a. the relative positions of certain atoms or groups, especially in aromatic compounds.b. the determination of the position of substituted atoms or groups in a compound.[1830-40; ORIENTATE + -ION]
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In architecture, the position of a building on its site.In Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as in pre-Columbian Central America, a building's important features, such as entrances and passages, faced the rising sun. Mosques are oriented so that the mihrab faces Mecca. Christian churches have usually been oriented with the apse or altar at the eastern end. Orientation is frequently planned to take maximum advantage of daily and seasonal variations of sunlight. A structure's optimal orientation is usually a compromise between its function, location, and the prevailing environmental factors of solar radiation, light, humidity, and wind that make up the site's microclimate.* * *
(from Latin oriens, orientum, “the rising sun”), in architecture, the position of a building in relation to an east-west axis. In Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well as in pre-Columbian Central America, the important features of the buildings, such as entrances and passages, faced east, in the direction of the rising sun. Orientation, however, varies according to religious and practical considerations. Muslims, in their prayers, turn toward Mecca, whatever direction that may be. Accordingly, mosques are oriented so that the mihrab, or prayer niche, faces Mecca. Christian churches have usually been oriented with the apse or high altar placed at the east end, but this orientation was not always favoured. In early Christian churches, architects commonly oriented churches to the west, such as in the basilica of Old St. Peter's in Rome.Orientation is frequently planned to take maximum advantage of the daily and seasonal variations of the sun's radiation. Optimum orientation of a structure is, in the end, a compromise between its function, its location, and the prevailing environmental factors of heat, light, humidity, and wind.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
