tectonics

1. The study of the earth's structural features.
2. The art or science of construction, especially of large buildings.

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General term referring to the large-scale change of rock in response to forces causing faulting and folding. The forces acting upon a rock mass are generally termed compressional (squeezing together), tensional (pulling apart), or shear (parallel sliding). Common landforms resulting from tectonic processes are mountain ranges, rift zones, faults, fractured rock, and folded rock masses.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: the science of architecture
  Synonym: architectonics

Meaning #2: the branch of geology studying the folding and faulting of the earth's crust
  Synonyms: plate tectonics, plate tectonic theory