Byzantine Dome

Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire.

The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 CE, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. However, there was initially no hard line between the Byzantine and Roman empires, and early Byzantine architecture is stylistically and structurally indistinguishable from earlier Roman architecture. This terminology was introduced by modern historians to designate the medieval Roman Empire as it evolved as a distinct artistic and cultural entity centered on the new capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) rather than the city of Rome and its environs.

Its architecture dramatically influenced the later medieval architecture throughout Europe and the Near East, and became the primary progenitor of the Renaissance and Ottoman architectural traditions that followed its collapse.
Introduction of dome, and classification of dome.
Types of dome mainly used during byzantine architecture. Example of some epic architecture of byzantine period.
1. Cloister Vault
2. Geodesic Dome
3. Onion Dome
4. Oval Dome
5. Saucer Dome.

1. DOME OF BYZANTINE ARCHITECTURE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTUE

2. CONTENT

3. INTRODUCTION Byzantine architecture is a style of building that flourished under the rule of Roman Emperor Justinian between A.D. 527 and 565. Original Byzantine churches are square-shaped with a central floor plan. Bricks were used to create walls by laying two faces and pouring rubble and mortar between them. The mortar was made from lime, sand, and crushed brick or pebbles. An alternative to brick was ashlar stone blocks, which were more popular in the eastern half of the Byzantine Empire. 

4. DOME (MATERIALS USED) Mainly the Dome were made up of masonry construction (Brick and Stone). The structure has brick and mortar joints that are 1.5 times the width of the bricks. The mortar joints are composed of a combination of sand and minute ceramic pieces distributed evenly throughout the mortar joints. An epic example of dome construction: HAGIA SOPHIA

5. DOME (CONSTRUCTION TYPES) PENDENTIVE DOME Pendentive is the term given to a construction element that allows a dome to be placed over square or rectangular spaces. Pendentives are triangular segments of a sphere that spread at the top and taper to points at the bottom. The horizontal curve of the dome’s base is connected directly to the vertical curves of the four supporting arches on each corner. Where the curve of the pendentive and dome is continuous, the vaulting form is known as a pendentive dome. Pendentives

6. DOME (CONSTRUCTION TYPES) SQUINCH DOME In architecture, a squinch is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome. In the building one or more arches diagonally across the corner. The squinch has to be achieved by building a short bridge across each corner of a square structure, either by a system of corbelling (with projecting courses of stone or brick) or by constructing a small arch.

7. DOME (TYPES) Classification of Domes Simple Dome It is a type of Byzantine Dome in which the curve (arch) of the pendentive and Dome are the same. The Some were placed on square and polygon plan by mean of spherical pendentive. Such a form of dome is, however, rare, and perhaps the only example in Europe is that over the Tomb of Galla Placidia.

8. DOME (TYPES) Classification of Domes Compound Dome The Dome is not part of same sphere as the pendentives and dome rises independently upon them. Compound type of dome - gives greater height and was of two varieties. The first of which the dome ceased to be part of the same sphere as the pendentives, but rose independently above them. The second the dome was raised on a high drum pierced with windows.

9. DOME (TYPES) Classification of Domes

10. Cloister vault In architecture, a  cloister vault  or  domical vault  is a vault with four concave surfaces (patches of cylinders) meeting at a point above the center of the vault. It can be thought of as formed by two barrel vaults that cross at right angles to each other: the open space within the vault is the intersection of the space within the two barrel vaults, and the solid material that surrounds the vault is the union of the solid material surrounding the two barrel vaults. In this way it differs from a groin vault, which is also formed from two barrel vaults but in the opposite way: in a groin vault, the space is the union of the spaces of two barrel vaults, and the solid material is the intersection.

11. Geodesic Dome A  Geodesic Dome  is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy loads for their size.

12. Onion Dome An  Onion Dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion and is usually associated with Russian architectural style. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the  tholobate  upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point. It is a typical feature of churches belonging to  Russian Orthodox church .

13. Oval Dome An  oval dome  is a dome of oval shape in plan, profile, or both. The earliest oval domes were used by convenience in corbelled stone huts as rounded but geometrically undefined coverings. The geometry was eventually defined using combinations of circular arcs, transitioning at points of tangency. If the Romans created oval domes, it was only in exceptional circumstances. Example: St. Peter’s Basilica

14. Saucer Dome In terms of area these are often some of the largest domes, and are shallower in profile than other forms of dome. Also called  segmental domes (a term sometimes also used for cloister vaults), or  calottes , these have profiles of less than half a circle. Because they reduce the portion of the dome in tension, these domes are strong but have increased radial thrust. Masonry saucer domes, because they exist entirely in compression, can be built much thinner than other dome shapes without becoming unstable.

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