Barrel vault
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[[Image:Lisbon28.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Nave of [[Lisbon Cathedral]] with a barrel vaulted [[soffit]]. Note the absence of [[Clerestory|clerestory windows]], all of the light being provided by the [[Rose window]] at one end of the vault.]]
[[Image:Barrel Vault.jpg|thumb|[[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 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 (architecture)|vault]]: effectively a series of [[arch|arches]] placed side by side, i.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 a 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 [[nave]]s ran parallel down the length of the building. However, the outer walls of the outermost vault would still have to be quite strong or reinforced by [[buttress]]ing. 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]].
Barrel vaults are known from [[Ancient Egypt]], and were used extensively in [[Roman architecture]]. They were also used to replace the [[Cloaca Maxima]] with a system of underground sewers. Early barrel vault designs occur in northern [[Europe]], [[Turkey]], [[Morocco]] and other regions. In [[medieval]] [[Europe]] the barrel vault was an important element of stone construction in [[monastery|monasteries]], [[castle]]s, [[tower house]]s and other structures. This form of design is observed in [[cellar]]s, [[crypt]]s, long [[hallway]]s, [[cloister]]s and even [[great hall]]s.
==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. 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 [[Sumer|Sumerian]] [[ziggurat]] at [[Nippur]] in [[Babylonia]], ascribed to about 4000 BC, which was built of burnt bricks amalgamated with [[clay]] [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]]. 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 [[tomb]]s: in these cases, as the [[span (architecture)|span]] of the vault was only two meters. In these early instances, the barrel vault was chiefly used for underground structures such as drains and [[sewer]]s, though several buildings of the great Late Egyptian [[mortuary]] [[palace]]-[[temple]] of [[Ramesseum]] were also vaulted in this way.<ref>Dietrich Wildung, ''Egypt, From Prehistory to the Romans'', Taschen, 2001.</ref> 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 Greek]]s.
Ancient Romans most probably inherited their knowledge of barrel vaulting from [[Etruscans]]. Romans were the first to use this building method extensively on large-scale projects, and were probably the first to use [[scaffold]]ing to aid them in construction of vaults spanning over widths greater than anything seen before. 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]].
After the fall of the [[Roman empire]], few buildings large enough to require much in the way of vaulting were built for several centuries. In the early [[Romanesque architecture|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. 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.
In thirteenth and fourteenth century, with the advance of the new [[Gothic_architecture|Gothic]] style, barrel vaulting became almost extinct in constructions of great Gothic cathedrals; [[groin vault]]s reinforced by stone ribs were mostly used in the beginning, and later on various types of spectacular, ornate and complex medieval vaults were developed. 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.<ref>http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/Interior/Nave/Nave.htm</ref>
==Engineering issues==
[[Image:Barrel vault top force.jpg |thumb|200px|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.<ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/mtdavis/222/barrelvault.html Mount Holyoke college, The Art of Cathedrals: Stresses in barrel vaulted design]</ref> 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.<ref>C.Michael Hogan, ''History of Muchalls Castle'', Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)</ref> Well documented cases exist of the long term stress effects on inadequately laterally supported barrel vaults such as the seventeenth century church of [[Guimarei]].<ref>[http://library.witpress.com/pages/PaperInfo.asp?PaperID=8336 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]]]</ref>
The inherent difficulty of adequately lighting barrel vaulted structures has been widely acknowledged.<ref>Friedrich Ragette, ''Traditional Domestic Architecture of the Arab Region'', American University of Shadah (2003)</ref>
The intrinsic engineering issue is the need to avoid [[window|fenestration]] punctures in stonework barrel vaults. 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 engineer]]s have applied [[Isaac Newton|Newton]]ian mechanics to calculate numeric stress loads for ancient stonework barrel vaults.<ref>Gui-Rong Liu, ''Mesh Free Methods: Moving Beyond the [[Finite element analysis|Finite Element]] Method'', CRC Press (2003)</ref> These analyses have typically used a [[finite element]] algorithm to calculate gravity induced stresses from the self weight of an arched system. 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.
In terms of comparison to other vaulting techniques the barrel vault is inherently a weaker design compared to the more complex [[groin vault]]. 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.<ref>Robert A. Scott, ''The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral'' University of California Press (2003)</ref>
==Early occurrences==
[[Image:Cloaca Maxima 2.jpg|thumb|200px|right|View of the interior of the [[Cloaca Maxima]] sewer in Rome. Construction started ca. 600 [[Common Era|BCE]]]]
<!---[[Image:Barrel Vault.jpg|thumb|Barrel Vault in [[The Cloisters]] in New York City]]This image isn't an early occurrence of a barrel vault - and the timber vault doesn't look structural to me either - supported from iron hoops I think - we should replace with a better image - probably a roman or romanesque version)--->
*[[Sistine Chapel]], [[Vatican City]]
*[[Vatican grotto]], [[Vatican City]]
*[[Beverston Castle]], [[England]], [[undercroft]] below south tower of west range
*[[Cathedral]] of [[Cortona]], Tuscany
*[[Dunnottar Castle]], [[Scotland]], Whigs [[Vault (architecture)|Vault]]
*[[Hadrian's Villa]], [[Tivoli, Italy]], numerous occurrences at this early second century AD site
*[[Mausoleum of Galla Placidia]], [[Ravenna]], [[Italy]] ( circa 500 AD)
*[[Muchalls Castle]], [[Scotland]], [[crypt]] and long hall
*[[Myres Castle]], [[Scotland]], [[cellar]]s
*[[Real Monasterio de Nuestra Senora de Rueda]], [[Spain]], [[cloister]]s of this twelfth century [[monastery]]
*[[Royal Granary]], [[Meknes]], [[Morocco]] (17th century)
==Modern examples==
There are numerous contemporary examples of barrel vault design in [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] and [[modern architecture]], including:
*[[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], City Hall [[Banquet]] room with barrel vault ceiling 1896-1906, [[Donegal]] Square<ref>[http://victorianweb.org/art/architecture/misc/30d.html Victorian architecture]</ref>
*[[Huntington Bank Building]], [[Cleveland, Ohio]], 1924 design
*[[Kimbell Art Museum]], [[Fort Worth, Texas]], [[United States|USA]], spanning a width of 174 feet.
*[[Melbourne]], [[Australia]], [[Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre]], made of [[polycarbonate]]
*The [[Indiana University]] new [[library]]<ref>[http://scs.indiana.edu/~ocmhp/021105/text/library2.shtml Indiana University new library description]</ref>
==In unconventional usage==
Beyond the classical use of the barrel vault in macro-architectural design (e.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). 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]] [[surgeon]]s.<ref>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</ref> The Wohlfahrt study cited documents results of this surgical procedure on the human [[tibia]] in 91 such operations.
==See also==
*[[Romanesque architecture]]
*[[Keystone (architecture)|Keystone]]
*[[Chandrashala]]
==References==
<div class="references-small">
;General
* {{cite book | author=Roth, Leland M | title=Understanding Architecture: Its Elements History and Meaning | location=Oxford, UK | publisher=Westview Press | year=1993 | id=ISBN 0-06-430158-3 | pages= 29 }}
;Specific
<references />
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==External links==
*[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/mtdavis/222/barrelvault.html Barrel vault design description of static force loads]
*[http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/longbarrel.htm Glossary of medieval architecture]
[[Category:Arches and vaults]]
[[Category:Medieval architecture]]
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[[es:Bóveda de cañón]]
[[fr:Voûte en berceau]]
[[he:קמרון חבית]]
[[it:Volta a botte]]
[[nl:Tongewelf]]
[[pl:Sklepienie kolebkowe]]
[[pt:Abóbada de berço]]
[[sv:Tunnvalv]]