Dome
**Definition and History of Domes:**
– Dome is an architectural element similar to a hollow upper half of a sphere.
– Cupola may refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome.
– Domes have a long architectural lineage dating back to ancient Mesopotamia.
– Advancements in mathematics and materials have led to various dome types.
– Early history includes examples like Apache wigwams, igloos, and desert igloos of the Himba people.
– Stone domes from the Neolithic period found in the ancient Near East.
– Persian architecture inherited dome-building tradition from Mesopotamia.
– Squinch invention allowed transition to octagonal bases for domes.
– Early Islamic domed mausoleums appeared in the tenth century.
– Seljuk Empires built various dome forms like conical, semi-circular, and pointed shapes.
**Materials and Construction of Domes:**
– Early domes were built with mud-brick, baked brick, and stone.
– Domes of wood allowed for wide spans due to their light and flexible nature.
– Over the centuries, domes have been constructed from materials such as wood, brick, concrete, metal, glass, and plastic.
– New materials and production techniques have led to innovative dome structures.
– Techniques like corbelling and squinches are used to bridge the base of the dome with supporting walls.
– Domes can be supported by an elliptical or circular wall called a drum.
– Drums tend to be thicker than the domes they support for small or tall domes with less horizontal thrust.
**Engineering and Architecture Aspects:**
– Engineering focuses on structural behavior, while architecture focuses on form and symbolism.
– New materials and structural systems in the 20th century have allowed for large dome-shaped structures.
– Domes with pendentives can be simple or compound.
– Pendentives concentrate the weight of a dome into the corners of the bay.
– Popular usage of the term ‘dome’ has expanded to mean almost any long-span roofing system.
– False domes achieve their shape by extending each horizontal layer of stones inward slightly farther than the lower one.
– The fields of engineering and architecture have lacked common language for domes.
**Symbolism and Acoustics of Domes:**
– Dome-shaped tombs were used across ancient cultures as a venerated home of the dead.
– Domes and tent-canopies symbolized the heavens in Ancient Persia and the Hellenistic-Roman world.
– Early Christians adopted the celestial symbolism of the dome in architecture and religious rituals.
– Domes in early Islam were associated with royalty and later became focal points for decoration or prayer.
– Domes reflect sound and create echoes due to their concave shape.
– Whispering galleries in domes can transmit sound to distant places within the gallery.
– Cavities in domes can diffuse sound, eliminate echoes, and create a divine atmosphere in worship spaces.
**Types and Shapes of Domes:**
– Beehive domes consist of purely horizontal layers, differentiating them from true domes.
– Braced domes include ribbed, Schwedler, three-way grid, lamella, Kiewitt, lattice, and geodesic domes.
– Compound domes, crossed-arch domes, ellipsoidal domes, geodesic domes, saucer domes, and umbrella domes are also common types.
– Different shapes like octagon, circular, and elliptical are used in dome designs.
– Each dome type has unique characteristics and structural considerations for supporting various architectural forms and functions.
A dome (from Latin domus) is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a matter of controversy and there are a wide variety of forms and specialized terms to describe them.
A dome can rest directly upon a rotunda wall, a drum, or a system of squinches or pendentives used to accommodate the transition in shape from a rectangular or square space to the round or polygonal base of the dome. The dome's apex may be closed or may be open in the form of an oculus, which may itself be covered with a roof lantern and cupola.
Domes have a long architectural lineage that extends back into prehistory. Domes were built in ancient Mesopotamia, and they have been found in Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Chinese architecture in the ancient world, as well as among a number of indigenous building traditions throughout the world. Dome structures were common in both Byzantine architecture and Sasanian architecture, which influenced that of the rest of Europe and Islam, respectively, in the Middle Ages. The domes of European Renaissance architecture spread from Italy in the early modern period, while domes were frequently employed in Ottoman architecture at the same time. Baroque and Neoclassical architecture took inspiration from Roman domes.
Advancements in mathematics, materials, and production techniques resulted in new dome types. Domes have been constructed over the centuries from mud, snow, stone, wood, brick, concrete, metal, glass, and plastic. The symbolism associated with domes includes mortuary, celestial, and governmental traditions that have likewise altered over time. The domes of the modern world can be found over religious buildings, legislative chambers, sports stadiums, and a variety of functional structures.