ABSTRACT

Compared with earlier technologies, arch and vault constructions provided the possibility of covering larger spans with limited amount of material. Although the origin of masonry vaulted structures is lost in the mists of time, being practically impossible to date it, to many, the first example was the so-called corbel arch. This is an arch-like construction that uses the technique of corbeling to span a space or void in a structure. Masonry arches have been widely adopted also for building bridges. Vaults share the difficulties and challenges of masonry arches during the construction process, for example need for buttressing, centring and forms. The latter is an arch or a system of concentrically wider and gradually projecting arches, resulting in a kind of recess or niche. In particular, the lateral arches are presented, where arc doubleau and arc formeret are, respectively, transversal and parallel to the longitudinal axis.