#Dormer September 5

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September 2026 several of us are going to take on the 30-Day Architectural Coach4aday Challenge each day, we will define an architectural term and provide examples of where it is located. This challenge will let observation, travel, history, and photography all intersect. For Day 5 it is a DORMER

When this challenge began, I imagined having to venture outside my neighborhood to find interesting architectural terms to showcase. As it turns out, I didn’t have to go far at all. Directly across the street, our neighbors have a beautiful set of three dormers.

30-Day Architectural Challenge Guidelines

If you have ever watched Seinfeld, you know that George Constanza always wanted to pretend to be an architect.

Well, this month’s challenge let’s all of us that are not architects learn a little more about their language. To do that we have a simple challenge.

Every day we’ll learn one architectural term. Your challenge is to find an example—preferably one you’ve actually seen—and share a photograph, location and brief explanation.

Day 5-Dormer

Every architectural feature often is a combination of function and form. That is often the case with a dormer.

Here are some examples

• Adds natural light to an attic or upper-floor room.
• Provides ventilation through an operable window.
• Creates additional headroom and usable floor space beneath the roof.
• Improves the exterior appearance by adding character and breaking up a large expanse of roof.
• Can provide a better view from an upper-level room.