ABSTRACT
Flat vaults expand the boundaries of knowledge on flat vault techniques, stepping away from the conventional rules. At first sight, flat vaults can be easily defined. They are a kind of vault without curvature. However, there are not many examples of strictly flat vaults; low vaults are much more common. We have located a group of vaults that seem flat: those located in Magalia Castle, in the Monastery of El Escorial and in the Casa de Campo’s Garden Pavilion. They belong to the same historical period and their builders are linked. The analysis of these vaults, built in stone or brick, and located in buildings with different purposes, military or monumental, allows us to know their geometric and constructive parameters to review the flat vault idea, and to conclude if they are a useful resource or an arrogant construction.
