Spandrel

There are four or five accepted and cognate meanings of spandrel in architectural and art history, all relating to the space between a curved figure and a rectangular boundary--such as the space between the curve of an arch and a rectilinear bounding moulding, or the wallspace bounded by adjacent arches in an arcade and the stringcourse or moulding above them, or the space between the central medallion of a carpet and its rectangular corners.

External link:

• A picture of a spandrel (http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/spandrel.htm)

Another usage of the word spandrel was popularized by Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin[?] in the paper "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme". In the context of evolution, a spandrel is a metaphor for characteristics that are or were originally side effects and not true adaptations to the environment. They are analogous to misbugs[?] in hacker jargon.

This metaphorical meaning works no matter which kind of architectural spandrel is referred to: the spandrel is the un-designed gap between other features, which is then often exploited for a use of its own.

Reference: Gould, Stephen Jay and Richard C. Lewontin. "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme." Proc. Roy. Soc. London B 205 (1979) 581-598

External link:

• http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/gould/commentary/thurtle