Veranda

A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air hallway or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form verandah is correct and very common, some authorities prefer the version without a "h" (the Concise Oxford English Dictionary gives the "h" version as a variant and The Guardian Style Guide says "veranda not verandah"). Australia's Macquarie Dictionary prefers verandah. Veranda, as used in England and France, was brought by the English from India (बरामदा). While the exact origin of the word is unknown, scholars suggest that the word might have originated somewhere in Europe and that Portugal's relations with India might have spread the word in India. The veranda has featured quite prominently in Australian vernacular architecture and first became widespread in colonial buildings during the 1850s. The Victorian Filigree architecture style is used by residential (particularly terraced houses in Australia and New Zealand) and commercial buildings (particularly hotels) across Australia and features decorative screens of wrought iron, cast iron "lace" or wood fretwork. The Queenslander is a style of residential construction in Queensland, Australia, which is adapted to subtropical climates and characterized in part by its large verandas, which sometimes encircle the entire house. The bandeirista style house from Brazil typically has a veranda positioned to face the sunrise. In regions with heavy snowfall, especially Aomori and Niigata prefectures, structures called Gangi-Zukuri (:ja:雁木造) have been developed since the Edo period. For example, the total length of Gangi in old Takada city is over 16 Kilometers. In Poland, the word "weranda" is commonly used for the unheated roofed annex to a house, without walls or with glass walls. The Creole townhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, is also noted for its prominent use of verandas.