A wall is a structure Solide which separates two space S. In the buildings the walls form the parts. In addition to defining the interior space of the building, their utility is in general to support the stage S and the roof. In the open air, they delimit a space, offering a space of safety against the intrusions or simply restricting freedom of movement of the animals or the people. Certain walls have a function of protection against the natural effects as water (one speaks in this case about Digue).

It can also be a question of a means of preserving or of improving the biodiversity (fauna and flora) as for the low walls, the walls in dry stones and the vegetalized walls.

Masonry work

A wall is an intended work of Maçonnerie:

• to separate two zones (partition wall, enclosing wall),
• to constitute a building, to support the upper part by load-bearing walls in frontage or across the frontage (the “Cross wall”), except for the “Curtain wall” which constitutes only the separation of part with the street, which is suspended and does not carry anything in some Immeuble S.
• to consolidate a slope (Wall retaining),
• to protect a zone against the elements (Digue, wall anti-avalanche…) or against the noise (anti-noise Wall),
• to allow a sporting practice (wall of Basque Ball or Tennis, Wall of climbing).

It can be built by simple material stacking (walls in dry stones), by assembly of materials (stone walls, in brick, Concrete block) with a binder (Ciment, mortar, Torchis) or of only one holding (wall in Béton or Reinforced concrete).

An external wall without opening is known as blind. A wall which is not entirely aligned but comprises recesses in hollow at certain places provides for its architectural ornament of the niches to statues, of the recesses for Arcature S. a wall low height, supporting or not other elements of separation of spaces is called a low wall.

For a building, one applies mainly the term to a load-bearing wall having a function static in a construction industry and intended to carry a load, in particular the Charpente. For a wall interior without function of supporting and only intended for the separation of parts, one speaks rather about Cloison. In this case, it can be carried out with lighter and less resistant materials like bricks of Plâtre or, for a better sound and thermal insulation, plates of sandwich paperboard-plaster-paperboard assembled on a metal reinforcement (often known under the name of Placoplâtre).

By extension, one qualifies wall any assembly of elements of size and similar form (generally rectangular): wall of squares of glass, wall of televisions. Same manner, any obstacle having a relatively plain and insuperable appearance can be qualified of wall: water wall (for a very high wave), wall of Fog, wall of flames or heat.

Large walls

During the History, many walls with exceptional dimensions were built. Here are some:

• Hadrian's Wall (Scotland)
• Wall of Antonin (Scotland)
• Wailing Wall (Jerusalem - old wall of the temple of Solomon)
• Berlin Wall (Berlin)
• the Great wall of China (China)
• the Line Maginot (France) and its equivalent, the Line Siegfried, in Germany.
• the Barrier of Israeli separation (known as wall of shame or wall of apartheid by its detractors, known as barrier anti-terrorist , or of protection , by its partisans) in construction by Israel near its border with the the West Bank (but up to 23 km of the green line ).
• the Wall of the Farmers general which allowed, before the French revolution, to tax the food products entering Paris, and which one said: “The wall walling Paris returns Paris murmuring”

The Atlantic Wall (France) was in fact a line of strengthened places (blockhouse) distant from/to each other, and not a continuous structure.

(See also List of the walls.)

Expressions

• “To put at the foot of the wall”: to force somebody to face an uncomfortable situation

• “To be the back with the wall”: to more be able to move back, be obliged to face.
• “To stick somebody to the wall”: to shoot
• “to run up against a wall”: to be in hillock with an insurmountable difficulty
• “to run up against a wall of incomprehension”: to be confronted with the incomprehension of the whole of its interlocutors at the point to be reduced about it to more be able to act
• “To go (right) in the wall”: to make decisions or to act in a manner which can only ruin its company
• “Between four walls”: to be locked up
• “To make the wall”: surreptitiously to leave (and generally by climbing the enclosing wall) a place which one is not supposed to leave
• “the walls ears have”: the apparent absence of witnesses is not a guarantee of confidentiality…
• the “wall of silence”: situation where all the witnesses of a fact refuse to deliver their information (generally because of pressures that they undergo).
• the “Wall of the sound”: in Aeronautical and Physical, indicates the speed of sound in a medium, which one believed a long time that it was impossible to exceed.

See too

• Wall | Mur of enclosure
• Frontière
• Fragmentation écopaysagère
• Clôture
• Mur vegetalized
• Muret
• Pierre dries

Nds-nl: Wall Simple: Wall

Random links:

Capbreton | Henri Dupuy | Muravera | Freeze (Lanfeust) | Michel Murat