Renaissance groin vault in the church of Santa Maria dei Carmini in Venice
A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults.[1] The word "groin" refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults. Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round. In comparison with a barrel vault, a groin vault provides good economies of material and labor. The thrust is concentrated along the groins or arrises (the four diagonal edges formed along the points where the barrel vaults intersect), so the vault need only be abutted at its four corners.
Groin vault construction was first employed by the Romans, but then fell into relative obscurity in Europe until the resurgence of quality stone building brought about by Carolingian and Romanesque architecture. It was superseded by the more flexible rib vaults of Gothic architecture in the later Middle Ages. Difficult to construct neatly because of the geometry of the cross groins (usually elliptical in cross section), the groin vault required great skill in cutting stone to form a neat arris. This difficulty, in addition to the formwork required to create such constructions, led to the rib vault superseding the groin vault as the preferred solution for enclosing space in Gothic architecture.[2]
The construction method was particularly common on the basement level, such as at Myres Castle in Scotland, or at the ground floor level for the storerooms as at Muchalls Castle in Scotland.[3]
^Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) A World History of Art. 7th edn. London: Laurence King Publishing, p. 949. ISBN 978-1856695848
^"Concise Britannica". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2006-11-23.
^C.Michael Hogan, History of Muchalls Castle, Lumina Press, Aberdeen (2005)
A groinvault or groinedvault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel...
panels. Rib vaults are, like groinvaults, formed from two or three intersecting barrel vaults; the ribs conceal the junction of the vaults. The earliest...
was to create an intersection of two barrel vaults at right angles, thus forming a groinvault. Barrel vaults are known from the Ancient Iran (Elam), Indian...
arches and more massive forms. The development of vaults from barrel and groinvaults to ribbed vaults was the main structural innovation of this period...
project inward from the layer on which they rest. Cross vault – See Groinvault Cycloidal vault – A vault in which the diameter across the springline is equal...
that surrounds the vault is the union of the solid material surrounding the two barrel vaults. In this way it differs from a groinvault, which is also formed...
arches; a long nave covered with barrel vaults; and the use of the groinvault at the intersection of two barrel vaults, all supported by massive columns;...
used the barrel vault with a round arch to cover the nave, and a groinvault when two barrel vaults met at right angles. These vaults were the immediate...
Trilobed entrance portal with groinvaults at the Funerary complex of Barsbay (1432) Trilobed entrance portal with groinvaults and muqarnas at the Funerary...
early variation a rib vault, a ribbed groinvault, or meeting place of two barrel vaults, with stone ribs. The ribbed groinvaults were installed in 1093–96...
chapel, surrounded by three large chapels with Romanesque barrel vault and groinvault ceilings, which still exist. On top of this structure he built the...
wooden trussed roofs or groinvaults and arcades supported on stout piers as at St Michael's, Hildesheim, to elegant ribbed-vaults and arcades filled with...
measures 58 x 24 m, and that of the Baths of Diocletian, covered by a groinvault.[citation needed] Some, like one in Pompeii, had a circular plan.[dubious...
groinvault (arising from the crossing of two perpendicular barrel vaults) had been lost and was later taken up by great master builders. The groin vault...
ceiling was replaced with a groinvault of square bays, one of the outstanding achievements of Romanesque architecture. Each vault extends over two bays of...
12.6 metres (41 ft) from the floor. To enable this, the 12th-century groinvault of the south transept aisle was opened up in a world first. The lift...
cross-ribbed vaults, derived from groinedvaults. Im angevine western France, the principle of rib vaults was acquired, as it allowed to build vaults lighter...
guest bathrooms were created. Charles Follen McKim admired James Hoban's groinvault ceilings in the center hall. The hall was refurbished, and the center...
security of a cobweb". The ceiling is not a true fan vault, but a groinvault disguised as a fan vault. The interior walls are densely decorated with carvings...
by barrel vaults made of rubble stone, except for those of the north and east sides (rebuilt in the 18th century) which contain groinvaults. Stairs lead...
radiating terraced arches, Van Alen's design of the crown is a cruciform groinvault of seven concentric members with transitioning setbacks. The entire crown...
barrel-vaulted ceilings with no clerestory. The development of the groinvault and ribbed vault made possible the insertion of clerestory windows. Initially...
opened on 12 October 1913 (architect Wilhelm Leitgebel). With its high groinvault it is one of the most brightly decorated of the Berlin network. The eponymous...
still stands. The building consisted of a central nave covered by three groinvaults suspended 39 metres (128 ft) above the floor on four large piers, ending...
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