What term do architects use to describe the front of a building?

A facade is the front or face of anything, especially a building. In architecture, the facade of a building is often the most important aspect from a design standpoint, as it sets the tone for the rest of the building.

A large, ornate building, like the US Supreme Court Building, may have more than one major entrance, sometimes called the East or West Entrance or East or West Facade. For single-family homes, however, the facade is considered the curbside or front of the building. Homeowners consider the facade and everything in front of the building to add or increase curb appeal. Modern homes that are less rectangular and more parametric may be 100% facade.

The word comes from the French foreign loan word "façade", which in turn comes from the Italian "facciata", from "faccia" meaning face, ultimately from post-classical Latin facia. The earliest usage recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is 1656.