Arches And Vaults In Architecture
Arch and Vault, a fundamental construction system in architecture used to
span the space between walls, piers, or other supports and to create a roof
or a ceiling. Until the 19th century the arch and vault were the only
alternative to the far more limited and simpler post-and-lintel system
supporting a flat or peaked beamed roof.
Arch
An arch, in construction, is a rigid span curving upward between two points
of support. It appears in a variety of structures, such as an arcade,
formed by a row of arches, supported by load-bearing arches or a roof or a
bridge, or as a single, freestanding triumphal or memorial arch. The
traditional stone or brick arch, formed of many segments held in ...
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segments are voussoirs, and the central or
crowning voussoir is the keystone. The inner edge of the arch is the
intrados; the outer edge, the extrados; and the undersurface, the soffit.
The molded band that often is found around the opening of the arch is the
archivolt. The wall spaces on either side of an arch, or between adjacent
arches, are spandrels. If the space between the arch and the lintel is
filled in, the resulting flat surface is the tympanum. Arches have been
built since prehistoric times. Rude prototypes were made by leaning two
slabs of rock together or by constructing a stepped, or corbeled, arch in
which projecting elements from a wall rise in steps from the supports to
meet in the center. The Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks used the arch,
generally for secular structures, such as storerooms and sewers. The
Assyrians built palaces with arched ceilings, and the Etruscans used arches
in bridges, passageways, and gates. The Romans, however, were the first ...
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Arches And Vaults In Architecture. (2008, August 10). Retrieved April 18, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Arches-And-Vaults-In-Architecture/88119
"Arches And Vaults In Architecture." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 10 Aug. 2008. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Arches-And-Vaults-In-Architecture/88119>
"Arches And Vaults In Architecture." Essayworld.com. August 10, 2008. Accessed April 18, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Arches-And-Vaults-In-Architecture/88119.
"Arches And Vaults In Architecture." Essayworld.com. August 10, 2008. Accessed April 18, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Arches-And-Vaults-In-Architecture/88119.
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