VAULTS AND DOMES

VAULTS
Definition:
- A roof in the form of an arch or a series of arches intersecting with each other.

History:
- The evolution of the vault begins with the
discovery of the arch.

- In ancient Egypt vaulting was used for drains.

- Greek made no use of vaults.

- The Romans adopted this technique in 1st century AD

- The semi-circular arch vault was universally adopted in

whole of Europe.

Material:
- It can be of brick, stone, concrete, and timber
TYPES OF VAULTS

- Barrel vault
- Pitched brick barrel vault
- Groin vaults
- Rib vault
- Fan vault

Barrel vault

Fan vault Rib vault Groin vault

Barrel vault
- A barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault and resembles a barrel or tunnel.
Barrel vault
Barrel vault
Barrel vault : Examples

The earliest known examples of barrel vaults were built by the Sumerians, possibly
under the ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, which was built of fired bricks cemented
with clay mortar.

Ziggurat at Nippur
Barrel vault
Pitched brick barrel vault
- Pitched-brick vaults are named for their construction, the bricks are installed vertically
(not radially) and are leaning (pitched) at an angle.

- Its construction does not require centering.

Groin vaults
- When two semi-circular barrel vaults of the same diameter cross one another at right
angles their intersection (a true ellipse) is known as a groin.
Groin vaults
Rib vault
- The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault.
Rib vaults
Fan vaults
DOMES
A dome is an architectural element that
resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere.

- Domes have a long architectural lineage that extends

back into prehistory and they have been constructed
from mud, stone, wood, brick, concrete, metal,
glass, and plastic over the centuries.

- Domes have been found from early Mesopotamia,

Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic architecture in
the Ancient world, as well as among a number of
contemporary indigenous building traditions.

- The domes of the modern world can be found over

religious buildings, legislative chambers, sports
stadiums, and a variety of functional structures.
DOMES
DOMES
Characteristics:

- It is a type of shell structure

- Hemispherical in shape
- Used as roof structure
- Transmits load in more than 2 directions to
support
- Constructed of stone, concrete and bricks.
- Supported on circular/regular polygon
shaped walls.
- Have very small thickness
DOMES
Elements of Dome

- COFFER

- CUPOLA

- LANTERN

- PENDENTIVE

- ROTUNDA

- SQUINCH

- THOLOBATE

- WHISPERING GALLERY
DOMES
Elements of Dome

- COFFER : It is a series of sunken panels

- CUPOLA : It is a small dome like structure

on top of building. It usually crowns a
larger dome.
DOMES
Elements of Dome

- LANTERN : It is a day lighting architectural element

- PENDENTIVE : It is a constructive device

permitting the placing of a
circular dome over a square room or of an
elliptical dome over a rectangular room
DOMES
Elements of Dome
DOMES
Elements of Dome
DOMES
Types of Dome
DOMES
Types of Dome
DOMES
Types of Dome
Geodesic Dome
DOMES
Types of Dome
Hemispherical Dome
DOMES
Types of Dome
Concrete and Plastic Dome

Bamboo Dome