Load-bearing wall

A wall that carries loads from above as well as its own weight.

In traditional stone and brick buildings, thick walls support roofs and floors. Large openings interrupt the load path and therefore constrain design.

Frame construction later allowed columns to carry loads and walls to act as partitions, but load-bearing and shear walls remain important in housing, cores, and seismic systems.

Romanesque churches and masonry houses belong to this tradition. Comparison with curtain walls and pilotis clarifies which element carries load.