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, thereby enabling the continuous circular or elliptical base needed to support the dome. 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.
The pendentives receive the outward force from the dome’s weight and concentrate it at the four corners where it is directed down the columns to the foundations beneath. Prior to the development of pendentives, dome construction either demanded that the supporting structure was round, such as in Rome’s Pantheon, or were supported by corbelling or the use of squinches (a construction filling to form a base) in the corners of a room that allowed the dome to sit on top of four arches. Both of these methods limited the possible width and height of the dome. By directing force away from the walls, pendentive domes could be constructed much larger and higher.
The Romans were the first to experiment with pendentive domes in the 2nd-3rd century AD. They saw the supporting of a dome over an enclosed square or polygonal space as a particular architectural challenge.
Byzantine architects perfected the construction methods, and as a result pendentives are a common feature of Islamic architecture, often used with delicate ribbing. Pendentive domes were commonly built for Orthodox, Rennaissance and Baroque churches, in particular in Roman Catholic Europe and Latin America.
A major early example of a pendentive dome is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul which was completed in AD 537. Another famous example is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem from the 7th century.
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Architrave.
- Barrel vault.
- Bas-relief.
- Cantilever.
- Classical orders in architecture.
- Conoid shell.
- Flying buttress.
- Folded plate construction.
- Geodesic dome.
- Hagia Sophia.
- Hyperbolic paraboloid.
- Masonry.
- Millennium Dome.
- Portal frame.
- Purlins.
- Shell roof.
- The development of structural membranes.
- The history of fabric structures.
- Types of dome.
- Why are domes popular?
Featured articles and news
HBPT and BEAMS Jubilees. Book review.
Does the first Labour budget deliver for the built environment?
What does the UK Budget mean for electrical contractors?
Mixed response as business pays, are there silver linings?
A brownfield housing boost for Liverpool
A 56 million investment from Homes England now approved.
Fostering a future-ready workforce through collaboration
Collaborative Futures: Competence, Capability and Capacity, published and available for download.
Considerate Constructors Scheme acquires Building A Safer Future
Acquisition defines a new era for safety in construction.
AT Awards evening 2024; the winners and finalists
Recognising professionals with outstanding achievements.
Reactions to the Autumn Budget announcement
And key elements of the quoted budget to rebuild Britain.
Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers Budget
Repairing, fixing, rebuilding, protecting and strengthening.
Expectation management in building design
Interest, management, occupant satisfaction and the performance gap.
Connecting conservation research and practice with IHBC
State of the art heritage research & practice and guidance.
Innovative Silica Safety Toolkit
Receives funding boost in memory of construction visionary.
Gentle density and the current context of planning changes
How should designers deliver it now as it appears in NPPF.
Sustainable Futures. Redefining Retrofit for Net Zero Living
More speakers confirmed for BSRIA Briefing 2024.
Making the most of urban land: Brownfield Passports
Policy paper in brief with industry responses welcomed.
The boundaries and networks of the Magonsæte.