DOMED STRUCTURES

DOMED
STRUCTURES?
WHAT ARE

In architecture, these
are hemispherical
structures evolved
from the arch, usually
forming a ceiling or roof.

WHAT IS A

DOME?

A dome is an element of architecture

that resembles the hollow upper

half of a sphere. Dome structures

made of various materials have a long
architectural lineage extending into
prehistory.

The English word dome ultimately

derives from the Greek and Latin
domus, which was used up through the
Renaissance to label a revered house,
such as a Domus Dei, or House of God,
regardless of the shape of its roof.

Characteristics of a Dome:
A dome is a rounded vault made of either
curved segments or a shell of revolution, meaning an
arch rotated around its central vertical axis.
A hemispherical dome can be 2.5 times thinner than a
semicircular arch
Unlikevoussoirarches, which require support for each
element until thekeystoneis in place, domes are
stable during construction as each level is made a
complete and self-supporting ring.

 Corbel domes

achieve their shape

by

extending each horizontal

layer of stones inward slightly
farther than the previous, lower, one until
they meet at the top. These are sometimes
called false domes. True, or real, domes are
formed with increasingly inward-angled layers
of voussoirs which have ultimately turned 90
degrees from the base of the dome to the top.
Domes have been constructed from a wide
variety of building materials over the

mud to stone, wood,

brick, concrete, metal, glass and
plastic.
centuries: from

SYMBOLISM
Ancient:
From the late Stone Age the dome-shaped tomb was used as a reproduction of the ancestral, god-given
shelter made permanent as a venerated

home of the dead.

Medieval:
Symbol of wisdom
Cosmos (Universe)

Modern:
In the Renaissance the dome began to be a symbol throughout Europe of the

unity of religion.

GENERAL TYPES OF DOMES:

BEEHIVE DOME
Also called a corbelled dome, or
false dome, these are different from a
'true dome' in that they consist of purely
horizontal layers. As the layers get
higher, each is slightly cantilevered, or
corbeled, toward the center until meeting
at the top. A famous example is the
Mycenaean Treasury of Atreus.

BULBOUS DOME
Bulbous domes are those which bulge out
beyond their base diameters, offering a
profile greater than a hemisphere. They
became popular in the second half of the 15th
century in the Low Countries of Northern
Europe, possibly inspired by the finials of
minarets in Egypt and Syria, and developed in
the 16th and 17th centuries in the Netherlands
before spreading to Germany, becoming a
popular element of the baroque architecture of
Central Europe.

CLOISTERED
VAULT
Called

domical

vaults,

polygonal
domes,
coved domes, gored domes, segmental
domes, or pavilion vaults, these are
domes that maintain a polygonal shape
in their horizontal cross section.
The most famous example is the
Renaissance octagonal dome of Filippo
Brunelleschi
over
the
Florence
Cathedral.

CROSSED - ARCHED DOME

One of the

earliest types of ribbed

vault, the first known examples are found in the Great Mosque of
Crdoba in the 10th century. Rather than meeting in the center of the
dome, the ribs characteristically intersect one another off-center, forming
an empty polygonal space in the center. Geometry is a key element of
the designs, with the octagon being perhaps the most popular shape used.

Montreal
Biosphere.
Montreal,
Canada.

GEODESIC DOME
Geodesic domes are the upper portion of geodesic spheres. They are

framework of triangles in
a polyhedron pattern. The structures are based
composed of a

upon octahedrons or tetrahedrons. Such domes can be created using a

limited number of simple elements and joints and efficiently resolve a
domes internal forces.

HEMISPHERICAL DOME
The hemispherical dome is half of a
sphere. According to E. Baldwin Smith, it
was a shape likely known to the
Assyrians, defined by Greek theoretical
mathematicians, and standardized by
Roman builders.

ONION DOME
An onion dome is a greater than hemispherical
dome with a pointed top in an ogee
profile. They are typically wooden, although
masonry examples are found in late Mughal
architecture. They are found mostly in eastern
architecture, particularly in Russia, Turkey, India,
and the Middle East. An onion dome is a type of
architectural dome usually associated with
Russian Orthodox churches. Such a dome is
larger in diameter than the drum it is set upon
and its height usually exceeds its width.

OVAL DOME
An oval dome is a dome of oval
shape in plan, profile, or both. The
term comes from the Latin ovum,
meaning "egg".

PARABOLIC DOME
A parabolic dome is a unique structure in which bending stress due to
the uniformly distributed load of its dead load is zero. Hence it was widely
used in buildings in ancient times, before the advent of composite
structures. However if a point load is applied on the apex of a parabolic
dome, the bending stress becomes infinite. Hence it is found in most
ancient structures, the apex of the dome is stiffened or the shape modified
to avoid the infinite stress.

SAIL DOME
Also
calledsail
vaults,handkerchief
vaults,domical vaults,pendentive domesBohemian
vaults,orByzantine domes, this type can be thought
of aspendentives that, rather than merely
touching each other to form a circular base for a
drum or compound dome, smoothly continue their
curvature to form the dome itself. The dome gives
the impression of a square sail pinned down at each
corner and billowing upward.These can also be
thought of as saucer domes upon pendentives.
A pendentive is a constructive device
permitting the placing of a circular dome over a
square room or an elliptical dome over a rectangular
room.[1] The pendentives, which are triangular
segments of a sphere, taper to points at the bottom
and spread at the top to establish the continuous
circular or elliptical base needed for the dome.

Superdome.
Louisiana, USA.

SAUCER DOME
a low pitched,
shallow dome that is described geometrically as having a
Also called a calotte, this is

circular base and a segmental section. Many of the largest existing domes
are of this shape.

Waterfront Hall.
Belfast, Ireland.

UMBRELLA DOME
Also called gadrooned, fluted, organpiped,
pumpkin,
melon,
ribbed,
parachute, scalloped, or lobed domes,
these are a type of dome divided at
the base into curved segments,
which follow the curve of the elevation.

Haggia Sophia.
Istanbul, Turkey