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Nave of Lisbon Cathedral with a barrel vaulted soffit. Note the absence of clerestory windows, all of the light being provided by the Rose window at one end of the vault.
Nave of Lisbon Cathedral with a barrel vaulted soffit. Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa or Sé de Lisboa is the Cathedral of Lisbon and the oldest church in the city Soffit (from French soffite, Italian soffitto, formed as a ceiling directly from suffictus for suffixus, Latin Note the absence of clerestory windows, all of the light being provided by the Rose window at one end of the vault. Clerestory (ˈklɪə(rstɔəri lit clear storey, also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is an architectural term denoting A Rose window (or Catherine window) is often used as a generic term applied to a circular Window, but is especially used for those found in churches
The Cloisters, New York City
The Cloisters, New York City

A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The Cloisters is the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art and architecture of the European Middle Ages. The City of New York The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design. The barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault: effectively a series of arches placed side by side, i. A Vault (French voute Italian volta German Gewölbe Polish sklepienie, Spanish An arch is a structure that spans a space while supporting weight (e e. , one after another.

As with all arch-based constructions, there is an outward thrust generated against the walls underneath a barrel vault. There are several mechanisms for absorbing this thrust. One is, of course, to make the walls exceedingly thick and strong - this is most primitive and sometimes unacceptable method. A more elegant method is to build two or more vaults parallel to each other; the forces of their outward thrusts will thus negate each other. This method was most often used in construction of churches, where several vaulted naves ran parallel down the length of building. In Romanesque and Gothic Christian Abbey, Cathedral Basilica and church Architecture, the nave is the However, the outer walls of the outermost vault would still have to be quite strong or reinforced by buttressing. A buttress is an architectural structure built against (a counterfort) or projecting from a Wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall The third and most elegant mechanism to resist the lateral thrust was to create an intersection of two barrel vaults at right angles, thus forming a groin vault. A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at

Barrel vaults are known from Ancient Egypt, and were used extensively in Roman architecture. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new They were also used to replace the Cloaca Maxima with a system of underground sewers. The Cloaca Maxima was one of the world's earliest Sewage systems Early barrel vault designs occur in northern Europe, Turkey, Morocco and other regions. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa In medieval Europe the barrel vault was an important element of stone construction in monasteries, castles, tower houses and other structures. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. A tower house is a particular type of stone structure built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. This form of design is observed in cellars, crypts, long hallways, cloisters and even great halls. A basement is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the Ground floor. In terms of European architecture a crypt (from the Latin crypta and the Greek κρυπτη, kryptē) is a stone chamber or Several things are commonly known as Halls or halls. For the development of meaning of the word 'hall' see Hall (concept. A cloister (from Latin claustrum) is a part of Cathedral, Monastic and Abbey architecture A great hall was the main room of a royal Palace, a Nobleman 's Castle or a large Manor house in the Middle Ages, and

Contents

Theory and early history

Barrel vaulting was known and employed by early civilisations, including Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, but apparently it was not a very popular or very common method of construction. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The technique probably evolved out of necessity to roof buildings with masonry elements such as bricks or stone blocks in areas where timber and wood were scarce. The earliest known example of a vault is a Tunnel vault found under the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, ascribed to about 4000 BC, which was built of burnt bricks amalgamated with clay mortar. A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves in the case Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar A ziggurat ( Akkadian ziqqurrat, D-stem of zaqāru "to build on a raised area" was a Temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian Nippur (URUENLIL; Sumerian: Nibru Akkadian: Nibbur) from the Sumerian for 'lord wind' (Enlil is modern ? in Afak Al Qadisyah Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Mortar is a workable paste formed by mixture of Cement, Water and fine aggregate Masonry to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between The earliest tunnel vaults in Egypt are found at Requagnah and Denderah, circa 3500 BC; these were built in sun-dried brick in three rings over passages descending to tombs: in these cases, as the span of the vault was only two meters. Dendera ( Arabic: دندرة also spelled Denderah/Dandarah) is a little town in Egypt on the west bank of the Nile, about 5 km south from A brick is a block of Ceramic material used in Masonry construction laid using mortar. For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. Span is a section between two intermediate supports eg of a beam or a Bridge. In these early instances, the barrel vault was chiefly used for underground structures such as drains and sewers, though several buildings of the great Late Egyptian mortuary palace-temple of Ramesseum were also vaulted in this way. A palace is a grand residence especially the home of a Head of state or some other high-ranking Public figure. A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites The Ramesseum is the memorial temple (or mortuary temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great" also spelt "Ramses" and [1] Recent archaeological evidence discovered at the Morgantina site (in the province of Enna) shows that the aboveground barrel vault was known and used in Hellenistic Sicily in third century BC, indicating that the technique was also known to Ancient Greeks. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos The archaeological site of Morgantina is located in east central Sicily, at 37° 26 Enna is also a genus of spiders ( Trechaleidae) Enna ( Sicilian: Castrugiuvanni; Greek Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c

Ancient Romans most probably inherited their knowledge of barrel vaulting from Etruscans. Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy Romans were the first to use this building method extensively on large-scale projects, and were probably the first to use scaffolding to aid them in construction of vaults spanning over widths greater than anything seen before. Scaffolding is a temporary framework used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures However, Roman builders gradually began to prefer the use of groin vault; though more complex to erect, this type of vault did not require heavy, thick walls for support (see bellow), and thus allowed for more spacious buildings with greater openings and much more light inside, such as thermae. A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at This page is on buildings used for Roman bathing For the activity in general see Ancient Roman bathing.

After the fall of the Roman empire, few buildings large enough to require much in the way of vaulting were built for several centuries. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial In the early Romanesque period, a return to stone barrel vaults was seen for the first great cathedrals; their interiors were fairly dark, due to thick, heavy walls needed for support of vault. Regional characteristics of Romanesque architecture|Romanesque art Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which One of the largest and most famous churches enclosed from above by a vast barrel vault was the church of Cluny Abbey, built between eleventh and twelfth century. The Abbey of Cluny (or Cluni, or Clugny, pronunciation klyˈni is an abbey in France.

In thirteenth and fourteenth century, with the advance of the new Gothic style, barrel vaulting became almost extinct in constructions of great Gothic cathedrals; groin vaults reinforced by stone ribs were mostly used in the beginning, and later on various types of spectacular, ornate and complex medieval vaults were developed. See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at However, with the coming of Renaissance and Baroque, and revived interest in art and architecture of antiquity, barrel vaulting was re-introduced on a truly grandiose scale, and employed in constructions of many famous buildings and churches, such as Basilica di Sant'Andrea di Mantova by Leone Battista Alberti, San Giorgio Maggiore by Andrea Palladio, and perhaps most glorious of all, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where a huge barrel vault spans the 27 meters wide nave. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc The Basilica di Sant'Andrea is a Renaissance church in Mantua, Lombardy ( Italy) Leon Battista Alberti ( February 14, 1404 &ndash April 25, 1472) was an Italian author artist Architect, Poet San Giorgio Maggiore is one of the islands of Venice, lying east of the Giudecca and south of the main island group Andrea Palladio ( November 30, 1508 – August 19, 1580) was an Italian Architect, widely considered the most influential The Basilica of Saint Peter (Basilica Sancti Petri officially known in Italian as the Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as St [2]

Engineering issues

Pointed barrel vault showing direction of lateral forces.
Pointed barrel vault showing direction of lateral forces.

With a barrel vault design the vectors of pressure result in a downward force on the crown while the lower portions of the arches realise a lateral force pushing outwards. [3] As an outcome this form of design is subject to failure unless the sides are anchored or buttressed to very heavy building elements or substantial earthwork sidings. For example, at Muchalls Castle in Scotland adjacent walls to the barrel vaulted chambers are up to 4,6 meters thick, adding the buttressing strength needed to secure the curved design. Muchalls Castle stands overlooking the North Sea in the countryside of Kincardine and Mearns, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. [4] Well documented cases exist of the long term stress effects on inadequately laterally supported barrel vaults such as the seventeenth century church of Guimarei. Guimarei is a rural Parish in Portugal with a population of 736 (2001 census and an area of 6 [5]

The inherent difficulty of adequately lighting barrel vaulted structures has been widely acknowledged. [6] The intrinsic engineering issue is the need to avoid fenestration punctures in stonework barrel vaults. GlassWindowjpg|thumb|right|190px|A stained glass panel depicting Biblical scenes at a historic church in Scotland]] A window is an opening Such openings could compromise the integrity of the entire arch system. Thus the Romanesque medieval builders had to resort to techniques of small windows, large buttresses, or other forms of interior wall cross-bracing to achieve the desired lighting outcomes. In many of the monasteries a natural solution was cloisters which could have high barrel-vaulted construction with an open courtyard to allow ample lighting.

Since 1996 structural engineers have applied Newtonian mechanics to calculate numeric stress loads for ancient stonework barrel vaults. Structural engineers analyze design plan and research structural components and Structural systems Their work takes account mainly of technical economic and environmental Sir Isaac Newton, FRS (ˈnjuːtən 4 January 1643 31 March 1727) Biography Early years See also Isaac Newton's early life and achievements [7] These analyses have typically used a finite element algorithm to calculate gravity induced stresses from the self weight of an arched system. The finite element method (FEM (sometimes referred to as finite element analysis) is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions of Partial differential In fact, for structural engineers, analysis of the barrel vault has become a benchmark test of a structural engineering computer model "because of the complex membrane and inextensional bending states of stress" involved. A computer simulation, a computer model or a computational model is a Computer program, or network of computers that attempts to simulate an

In terms of comparison to other vaulting techniques the barrel vault is inherently a weaker design compared to the more complex groin vault. A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at The barrel vault structure must rest on long walls creating less stable lateral stress, whereas the groin vault design can direct stresses almost purely vertically on the apexes. [8]

Early occurrences

View of the interior of the Cloaca Maxima sewer in Rome. Construction started ca. 600 BCE
View of the interior of the Cloaca Maxima sewer in Rome. The Cloaca Maxima was one of the world's earliest Sewage systems Construction started ca. 600 BCE

Modern examples

There are numerous contemporary examples of barrel vault design in Victorian and modern architecture, including:

In unconventional usage

Beyond the classical use of the barrel vault in macro-architectural design (e. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre (also known as Forest Hill Chase or simply Forest Hill) is a major shopping centre in Forest Hill, a suburb of Melbourne Indiana University, founded in 1820, is a nine-campus University system in the state of Indiana. A library is a collection of information sources resources and services and the structure in which it is housed it is organized for use and maintained by a public body an institution g. as a major structural roofing element), there are a variety of derivative applications clearly based on the original concept and shape of the barrel vault. These applications arise in the fields of surgery, skylight design, children's toys and micro-structure design (such as bus shelters). Surgery (from the χειρουργική cheirourgikē, via chirurgiae meaning "hand work" is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental While none of these applications rival the majesty of the ancient and Classical predecessors, they demonstrate the pervasiveness of the barrel vault as an architectural concept in contemporary times.

In the field of bone surgery the technique of a "barrel vault" shaped incision is not only a well defined state-of-the-art surgical procedure, but the name barrel vault is given to this technique by orthopedic surgeons. This article is about the Amiga demo for other uses see State of the art (disambiguation. Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (also spelled orthopaedics) is the branch of Surgery concerned with injuries to or conditions involving the In Medicine, a surgeon is a person who performs Surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive Medical treatment that involves the cutting of a [11] The Wohlfahrt study cited documents results of this surgical procedure on the human tibia in 91 such operations. The tibia, shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two Bones in the Leg below the Knee in vertebrates and connects

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ Dietrich Wildung, Egypt, From Prehistory to the Romans, Taschen, 2001.
  2. ^ http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/Interior/Nave/Nave.htm
  3. ^ Mount Holyoke college, The Art of Cathedrals: Stresses in barrel vaulted design
  4. ^ C. Michael Hogan, History of Muchalls Castle, Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)
  5. ^ S. Huerta & G. Lopez, Stability and consolidation of an ashlar barrel vault with great deformations: the church of Guimarei, Transactions of the Wessex society, 17 November 2006
  6. ^ Friedrich Ragette, Traditional Domestic Architecture of the Arab Region, American University of Shadah (2003)
  7. ^ Gui-Rong Liu, Mesh Free Methods: Moving Beyond the Finite Element Method, CRC Press (2003)
  8. ^ Robert A. Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Scott, The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral University of California Press (2003)
  9. ^ Victorian architecture
  10. ^ Indiana University new library description
  11. ^ A. Wohlfahrt, P. Heppt, A. Goldmann and P. Wirtz, High tibial barrel-vault osteotomy. A clinical study and statistical analysis of 91 long-term results PZ Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb. 1991 Jan-Feb;129(1):72-9

External links

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