VAULT CONSTRUCTION

AAR 1295 | BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS II

THE CONSTRUCTION OF VAULT

THE CONSTRUCTION OF VAULT 2011

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INTRODUCTION

The most subtle and exquisite part of Architecture is the formation of every sort of Arches

and vaults, cutting their stones, and adjusting them which such artifice, that the same gravity and

weight which should have precipitate them to the earth, maintain them constantly in the air,

supporting one another in virtue of the mutual complication which links them, and in such a way

close above masonry buildings with all safety and strength.

A vault, in architecture, is an arch-shaped structure, usually of masonry, used as the ceiling of

a room or other enclosed space, as the roof of a building, or as the support for a ceiling or roof.

Masonry vaults are usually composed of wedge-shaped pieces called voussoirs, which are held in

place, like the stones of an arch, by the pressure of the neighboring pieces. Because of the combined

pressure of its components, any arch exerts an outward pressure at its base, and the base, therefore,

must be so constructed as to withstand the outward as well as the downward thrust of the arch. This

construction can be accomplished by using strong, heavy walls to support the arch or by supporting

the walls with exterior structures, or buttresses. A temporary supporting structure must be erected

within the vaulted area during construction, because a masonry vault does not become self-

supporting until the central voussoirs or keystones are put in place.1

1 http://www.royalarchmasons.on.ca/architecture.htm

Figure 1 Vault


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TYPES OF VAULT

Barrel Vault

1. A barrel vault is the simplest of the vaults and is the base design for many vaults that have a

more intricate design. It consists of an ongoing series of semicircular arches. One is directly

behind another, causing it to look like a half of a barrel. In some instances, it is described as

resembling a tunnel.

Groin Vault

2. A groin vault is created by two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles. The arches of groin

vaults are round or pointed. It is also known as a cross vault.

Rib Vault

3. A vault reinforced by masonry ribs is known as a rib vault. When this type of vault has two

masonry ribs dividing it into four sections, it is called a quadripartite rib vault. A vault divided

by three masonry ribs that make six sections is called a sexpartite rib vault.

Cloister Vault

4. A cloister vault has a domed shape and has a base that is square or shaped like a polygon. It

has curved sections that rise from the square or polygon to a centered point.

Fan Vault

5. Half cones that are fan-shaped are know as fan vaults. The cones meet in the center of the

vault. This vault is considered to be a part of the rib vault family.

Net Vault

6. Another variation of the rib vault is the net vault. The masonry ribs have a complex design

that resembles a net.

Annular Vault

7. An annular vault uses the barrel vault as its base. Instead of a straight line, the barrel vault

has a ring shape and springs out from two walls that are concentric.

http://www.ehow.com/relationships-and-family/


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Rampant Vault

8. A rampant vault is a continuous barrel vault where one side is higher than the other. Usually

these are used to support or form the ceiling of a stairway.

Catalan Vault

9. The Catalan vault consists of plain bricks that form a low arch. It is also known as the Catalan

turn, timbrel vault,It is widely used in Catalonia from which it derives its name.

Figure 2 Four types of common vault

A number of different types of vaults are used architecturally. The simplest of these is the

barrel, or tunnel, vault, the roof of which is shaped like half a cylinder and is supported by straight

walls. The annular vault is similar to the barrel vault, except that the passage within it is not straight

but curved, giving the entire structure the appearance of a portion of a ring. A groined vault is

formed by the intersection of two vaults of the barrel type, usually at right angles to each other. The

junctures at which the two vaults meet are elliptical ridges, called groins. In the simplest form of

groined vault, the two conjoined vaults are of the same size and the floor of the vault is square; if the

vaults are of different sizes, however, the floor of the vault is rectangular and the two areas of the

ceiling between the groins are of unequal shape and size.2

2 Types of Vaults | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_5855587_types-vaults.html#ixzz1FjgMBvbS

http://www.ehow.com/list_5855587_types-vaults.html#ixzz1FjgMBvbS

http://www.ehow.com/list_5855587_types-vaults.html#ixzz1FjgMBvbS


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HISTORY OF VAULT

The Ancient World

In ancient Egypt brick vaulting was used, chiefly for drains. The Chaldaeans and Assyrians used vaults

for the same purpose but seem also to have made architectural use of high domes dome, a roof

circular or (rarely) elliptical in plan and usually hemispherical in form, placed over a circular, square,

oblong, or polygonal space. Domes have been built with a wide variety of outlines and of various

materials.

Roman and Romanesque Styles

The vaulting technique of the Etruscans was absorbed by the Romans, who started in the 1st cent.

A.D. the development of a mature

vaulting system. Casting concrete in

one solid mass, the Romans created

vaults of perfect rigidity, devoid of

external thrust, and requiring no

buttresses. Thus vaults and domes

could be easily erected over vast

spaces, producing impressive and

complex thermae, amphitheaters, and

basilicas.

Roman vaults were the basis on which

more complex and varied forms were

developed in the Middle Ages. The

tunnel (or barrel) vault spans between

two walls, like a continuous arch. The

cross, or groined, vault is formed by

the intersection at right angles of two

barrel vaults, producing a surface that

has arched openings for its four sides and concentration of load at the four corner points of the

square or rectangle.

Figure 3 Drawing for construction of vault in roman time


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The semicircular arch was universally employed in

Romanesque vaulting throughout Europe, and the

Roman cross vault was the type used for covering square

or rectangular compartments.

Figure 4 The interior view of St. Philibert, Tournos (950-1120), shows the transverse barrel vault covering the bay of the nave, the clearstory window and groin vaults in the aisle.

Figure 5 St. Sernin, Toulouse, (1077-1179) has paired aisles on each side of the nave, and the innermost aisle has a gallery above to help brace the thrust of the nave vault


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BARREL AND GROIN VAULT

RIBBED VAULT

Figure 6 Bayeux Cathedral, the crypt has groin vaults and simplified Corinthian capitals Figure 7 The barrel vault of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe

Figure 8 The nave of the abbey church of Saint-Georges de Boscherville, has pointed transverse ribs.

Figure 9 At Saint-Étienne, Caen, both the nave and the tower are covered by ribbed vaults. c.1080


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Gothic Vaulting

Unlike Romanesque Buildings, in which continuous mass of wall is necessary to sustain the

load, the Gothic structure is a skeletal system that transfers roof loads down to the ground at

discreet points , thereby freeing large expanses of wall to be opened for window.

Ribs to strengthen the groins and sides of a cross vault were first employed in the Church of

Sant'Ambrogio, Milan (11th cent.). When the system of using ribs to form a complete organic

supporting skeleton was developed, it became one of the basic principles of perfected Gothic

architecture. The use of ribs led to increasing complexity, beginning in the 12th cent., in vault forms.

The pointed arch, which was dominant in

medieval architecture from the 13th cent. onward,

helped to overcome the difficulties of vaulting oblong

compartments exclusively with semicircular sections

and to bring the various ribs of unequal spans to a

crown at the same height. Some vaulting

compartments or bays were divided by ribs into six

segments and were known as sexpartite vaults, but

the four-part vault generally prevailed. In England the

multiplication of ribs for structural and decorative


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purposes culminated in the 15th cent. in the elaborate fan vault of the Perpendicular style

Perpendicular style, term given the final period of English Gothic architecture (late 14th–middle 16th

cent.) because of the predominating vertical lines of its tracery and paneling. It is also called

rectilinear for the prevailing angularity of the designs.

‘This in turn led to a new esthetic, an esthetic of line rather than mass. In a Gothic building

not only is space defined by lines but this lines possess dynamic force. Clearly articulated shafts rise

from floor to ceiling, meeting and mingling in the pattern of vaults and traceried windows in way

that irresistibly suggest that this is how the building stands up.’3

English gothic vault style

3 Sutton , Ian, Western Architecture, Thames and Hudson, London 1999.

Figure 7 Early English (1775-1265) view of the nave, Canterbury cathedral

Figure 9 Final phase english gothic fan vaults, Kings College chapel


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Early English (1775-1265) corresponds

roughly to High Gothic work in France. Vaulting is

straight forward, usually quadripartite, and windows are lancet shaped. The Decorative period ( 1250-

1370), uses vaulting elaborated with extra ribs, .. And window tracery worked into trefoil or

quatrefoil cusped shapes, intersecting lines or flowing curvilinear shapes. The final phase, the

perpendicular, is the most distinctly English. Constructed from about 1330 until 1540, it is

distinguished by panel tracery and vaulting in elaborate conical fan shapes.

German Gothic vault style

Figure 8 ST. WOLFGANG CHURCH, SHNEEBERG

German Builders initially used French cathedrals as models, occasionally importing master

masons, but they were creating their own versions of the Gothic style. Particularly characteristic of

German Gothic is the Hall-Church, a building where the vaults of both the nave and the aisles are

essentially the same height.4

4 Moffet , Marian et al. A world History of Architecture, Laurence King Publishing Limited, London 2003.

Figure 8 The Decorative period (1250-1370) nave vaulting, Lincoln cathedral


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Figure 9 ST. BARBARA CHURCH, KUTNA HORA

‘One reason for the German fondness for hall-churches must have been that they were more

favorable to complex vaulting patterns , since ribs could spring in all direction instead of only

inwards. Vaulting is the outstanding feature of German late Gothic. It is tempting to look for

connections with English Decorated, but the style soon takes of into a world of Autonomous

fantasy.’

Italian gothic vault style

‘Italian designers modified Gothic style to fit local

conditions,.. that demonstrates the flexibility of Gothic

to accommodate varying interpretations… Cultural

esthetics pre disposed Italians to prefer internal tie-rods

instead buttressing, so flying buttresses appear only

rarely. Many of the religious orders desired churches that

maintained a sense of openness and visibility, qualities

that could be achieved by Gothic.’ 5

5 Moffet , Marian et al. A world History of Architecture, Laurence King Publishing Limited, London 2003.


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Renaissance and Later Vaulting

The architects of the Renaissance and baroque periods abandoned Gothic methods and returned to

Roman vault forms. New devices were added to these basic forms, including barrel vaults of semi-

elliptical section, domes mounted on drums, and cross vaults with groins of elliptical section. In

modern times reinforced concrete produces lightweight vaults devoid of thrust.


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THE TIMBREL VAULT

Brick, stone and concrete are materials strong in compression, but weak in tension (if the

structural breadth increases, the material has to be supported by many columns or it collapses).

Nowadays, this problem is solved by steel structures or the use of steel reinforced concrete - the

tensile strength of steel is significantly more than that of bricks, stone or plain concrete. Pre World

War II, the weak tensile strength of brick was compensated for by superior craftsmanship.

The "timbrel vault" allowed for structures that today no architect would dare to build without steel

reinforcements. The technique was cheap, fast, ecological and durable.

Figure 10 The craftsmanship associated with timbrel vaulting has long vanished, but the achievements are still with us today. Lonja de la Seda de Valencia, 15th century

The method of timbrel vaulting was developed in the 14th century around the

Mediterranean, although its precise origins are unknown. The timbrel vault is also known as a

"masonry vault", "Catalan vault", "tiled vault", "laminated vault", "flat vault" and "layered vault"

(derived from Spanish, French, Italian and Catalonian descriptions).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paco_calvino/486287381/

http://architecture.mit.edu/class/guastavino/resources/writings/ramage_text.pdf


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A roof of tiles

Timbrel vaulting differs substantially from the Roman method of arch building, which relies

on gravity. The timbrel vault does not rely on gravity but on the adhesion of several layers of

overlapping tiles which are woven together with fast-setting mortar. If just one layer of thin tiles was

used, the structure would collapse, but adding two or three layers makes the resulting laminated

shell almost as strong as reinforced concrete.

The result defies common sense, because a timbrel vault is very thin compared to a Roman

vault, while at the same time it is capable of bearing much higher loads. This of course enables wider

spans and gentler curves.

Figure 12 Timbrel vault in Catalonia Figure 11 Timbrel vault in medieval era, Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona


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At the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the timbrel vault was rediscovered

by the Catalonian architects of the Modernisme movement. Some striking examples are the crypt of

the Colonia Guell, which Antoni Gaudí designed in a very low-tech fashion by hanging

ropes and weights from the ceiling (the building has now suffered a disastrous restoration),

the Aymerich Amat i Jover in Terrassa, a textile factory built by Lluís Moncunill i Parellada, or

the Celler Cooperatiu de Pinell de Brai by Cèsar Martinell.

Figure 13 the Aymerich Amat i Jover in Terrassa

Figure 14 Timbrel vault at the crypt of the Colonia Guell


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CASE STUDY : TIMBREL VAULT BY RAFAEL

GUASTAVINO

Most masterpieces of catalan vaulting, however, are in the United States. The method was

previously unknown in the Americas, until a family by the name of Guastavinos imported it. Rafael

Guastavino, born in Valencia in 1842, improved the centuries-old technique and renamed it "cohesive

construction". He substituted bricks with thin tiles and the traditional mortar with rapidly hardening

Portland cement, which enabled him to build vaults 3 to 5 times wider than the typical size of

traditional timbrel arching.

The oyster bar in grand central terminal

Figure 15 The Celler Cooperatiu de Pinell de Brai by Cèsar Martinell

Figure 16 The ceiling of the osyter bar in Grand Central Terminal


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The con stuction of timbrel vault for Osyter bar in Grand Central Terminal

The main vaults at the oyster Bar are configured from a part of a sphere by cutting vertical

chunks off the sphere to form a four-sided shape.Rather than directing all of the load from the vault

into the pendentives in each corner, the Guastavinos trimmed the curved openings on the four sides

with veryb substantial, wide tile arches that carried a good portion of the vault load. The loads from

the vaults and the arches were delivered to the steel columns of the main Grand Central Terminal

building.

The vaults of the Osyter Bar were constructed for the most part of the three layer of tiles,

one being the glazed face layer and the other two consisting of red terra cotta. All were bonded

together with high-strengh Portland cement mortar along their edges, as well as between the layers.

At the pendentives it was customary for the Guastavino to use several more layers of tile.

Many face tile had fallen off during the fire. This may be attributed to two causes, most probably

acting together. The first was thermal shock caused by a rapid heating and concurrent expansion of

the tiles, followed by a rapid cooling when water from the fire house was sprayed on the ceiling,

which likely generated sufficient movement and stress to cause the bond in the mortar parge joint to

fail.6

Economical and fast

The popularity of the timbrel vault was not restricted to its aesthetic appeal. It was simply a very fast

and economical method, for two reasons. Firstly, and logically, much less building material was

required. Secondly, there was no need for wooden scaffolding. Building a Roman vault demands

large amounts of wood, as every arch is required to be supported by a wooden centering for a long

period after initial construction.

6 Structural Repairs to Fire damaged Guastavino

http://www.jstor.org/pss/1504709

http://www.jstor.org/pss/1504709


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The masonry vault, on the other hand, is self-supporting apart from some temporarily required,

light shiftable formwork at the beginning of the job. While constructing a timbrel vault, workers

simply stood on the work of the day before (which was two to four inches thick).

These huge savings in both building materials and construction equipment meant that the

Guastavinos could offer much lower prices than their

competitors.

Durable and fire-proof

Cohesive construction also made buildings fire-proof (an

example of this is the Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona,

which burned for 11 days during the Spanish Civil War,

without collapsing or too much damage). There have

been some major city fires during the 19th century (like

the great Chicago fire in 1871), and the Guastavinos aptly

saw the marketing potential: they soon renamed

themselves the "Guastavino Fireproof Construction

Company". There were more advantages to the construction. The floors, ceilings, arches and stairs

were sound-insulating and resistant to floods, dampness and the lodgement of pests such as rats

and roaches.

Figure 17 The santa Maria del mar in Barcelona

Figure 18 Cohesive construction of masonry vault

http://krisdedecker.typepad.com/.a/6a00e0099229e8883301310fe4fd31970c-pi


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Convincing the public

Cohesive construction also proved to be very durable. During the restoration of Ellis Island in

the 1980s, only 17 of almost 29,000 tiles had to be replaced. And of course, several churches are

living proof of the achievements of timbrel vaulting in the Middle Ages.

The Guastavinos initially had a hard time convincing the public that their ultra-thin and ultra-

light arches were strong and safe. To persuade their buyers, the technique was demonstrated in

public (see picture right).In many ways, timbrel vaulting offered similar properties to reinforced

concrete, but without the use of steel.It was achieved without computers or engineering

calculations, relying instead on intuition and practice.

According to Rafael Guastavino, the masonry vault would become the main construction

material of the future. He proved to be wrong. The Guastavinos firm closed in 1962, twelve years

after his son died. Rising labour costs and the arrival of steel and concrete building methods

rendered the technique virtually obsolete. Still, two later examples deserve attention.

CASE STUDY: THE CONSTRUCTION OF MASONRY VAULT IN MAPUNGUBWE

NATIONAL PARK

In Mapungubwe National Park,the vaulted structures were built using stabilized earth tiles

and the ancient tile vaulting technique, which requires no reinforcing.The largest free-form vaults

span 14.5m.It is unreinforced masonry vault which only 300mm in thickness.This vault called Catalan

Turn or Catalan Arch or a timbrel vault.Timbrel vault is a type of low arch made of plain bricks.It is

traditionally constructed by laying bricks lengthwise over a wood form or another word

centering,making it a much gentler curve than has generally been produced by other methods of

construction.

This is a design method rather than a design tool,in which the gravitational loads dictate the

structure.To build without steel reinforcing, as the structurally efficient shape leads to leads to a

compression-only solution,and therefore requires no tensile rein-forcing.The architect and engineer

are to evaluate and manipulate the forms within the natural constraints of the material and a skill

that can be learned.The resulting form is neither geometrically nor mathematically defined, but is

instead a direct structural response to the loading.


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In order to determine the thickness and degree of curvature for the vault we can find

through a line of thrust that fits within the masonry.

The static equilibrium of these surfaces is then checked with recently developed thrust

network analysis.The project incorporates ten masonry vaults,ranging in span from 5 meters to 20

meters,and a similar number of regular barrel vaults and domes.

This picture shows the wood is being constructed as a structure before bricks is laid.


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Bricks are arranged using mortar

The bricks with mortar are arranged from the edge of the vault until it reach at the thrust of the vault


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The mortar is laid over the surface in order to withstand more pressure and more stable

The vault are half constructed


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The interior of the vault look like


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The first tile-vault of the SUDU has a 5.8 meter span and consists of a floor

system for a second story occupancy.plaster mortar is to be build in the first

layer of the vault out into space without formwork.A vault cannot remain only

one tile thick.

This ”catenary” or “funicular” geometry indicates a theoretical “line of thrust”

which must exist in a masonry structure.This describes the compressive forces in

the arch as they travel through the masonry system. Within any arch, a catenary

line with a range of minimum and maximum thrusts may be found. The

shallowest catenary shows an arch of maximum thrust in which pushes more

substantially outward on its supports while the steepest catenary indicates an

arch of minimal thrust pushing outwards.


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When an arch is subjected to a point load, it catenary thrust-line becomes

deformed.As soon as this line of thrust touches the outside of the masonry,cracks

may be formed.When the line of thrust exits the masonry arch,failure

mechanisms are formed which will cause the vault collapse.

Design

VAULT CONSTRUCTION