Dome upon tholobate of the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg
A tholobate (from Greek: θολοβάτης, romanized: tholobates, lit. 'dome pedestal') or drum is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised.[1] It is generally in the shape of a cylinder or a polygonal prism. The name derives from the tholos, the Greek term for a round building with a roof and a circular wall. Another architectural meaning of "drum" is a circular section of a column shaft
In the earlier Byzantine church architecture the dome rested directly on the pendentives and the windows were pierced in the dome itself; in later examples, between the pendentive and the dome an intervening circular wall was built in which the windows were pierced. This is the type which was universally employed by the architects of the Renaissance, of whose works the best-known example is St. Peter's Basilica at Rome. Other examples of churches of this type are St Paul's Cathedral in London and the churches of the Les Invalides, the Val-de-Grâce, and the Sorbonne in Paris.[1]
There are also secular buildings with tholobates: the United States Capitol dome in Washington, D.C. is set on a drum, a feature imitated in numerous American state capitols. The Panthéon in Paris is another secular building featuring a dome on a drum. St Paul's Cathedral and the Panthéon were the two inspirations for the U.S. Capitol.[citation needed] In contrast, the dome of the Reichstag building in Berlin before its post-war restoration was a quadrilateral, so its tholobate was square and not round.
The Reichstag in Berlin ca. 1894, with a square tholobate
Tholobate atop Kingston City Hall in Canada
Tholobate on Harichavank Monastery in Armenia
A row of Greek column drums (unfinished), at the Temple of Apollo, Didyma
^ abOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tholobate". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 862.
A tholobate (from Greek: θολοβάτης, romanized: tholobates, lit. 'dome pedestal') or drum is the upright part of a building on which a dome is raised....
ground or raised aloft on pendentives and carrying a dome (also known as a tholobate), and to the drum-shaped segments of a column, which is built up in several...
arm has a window. Additional five windows of the tholobate provide sufficient illumination. The tholobate is rather stumpy, slightly narrowing in the upper...
around them. The original South Asian form is a large solid dome above a tholobate, or drum, with vertical sides, which usually sits on a square base. There...
churches. The leading element of the building, the dome, has an 8-faceted tholobate. Under the dome, near the center of the interior, stands a postament,...
resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate (drum) upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width...
space. It was increased by introduction of pillars that held now the tholobate, which gave possibility to experiment with the walls and improved esthetic...
the round building may be called a "rotunda". Drums are also called "tholobates" and may or may not contain windows. A "tambour" or "lantern" is the equivalent...
Onion dome Elements Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery Category Architecture portal v t e...
Onion dome Elements Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery Category Architecture portal v t e...
nave and crown the dome or tholobate tower. The vault allows a significant reduction in the diameter and weight of the tholobate, the dome and the tower...
Onion dome Elements Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery Category Architecture portal v t e...
the east façade. Main entrance is in the west side. The dome with the tholobate is supported by the altar wall and two freely standing pillars (a more...
Onion dome Elements Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery Category Architecture portal v t e...
Church of the Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatzatzin), has a twelve-sided tholobate and dome and is dedicated to S. Astvatsatsin. The altar pulpit is well...
shape of simple muqarnasses. The spherical cupola is located on a high tholobate. Both internal and external parts of the mausoleum are faced with white...
slabs' because they were placed round the vertical lower part or "drum" (tholobate) of the stūpa. In the early period (circa 200-100 BCE), the stūpa had...
Chhatri Conservatory (greenhouse) Cupola Daylighting Passive daylighting Tholobate, a drum under a dome Horn, Walter. "Romanesque Churches in Florence: A...
smooth marble dome, which sits on a base of modillions and a hexagonal tholobate with acroteria. At the southwest corner of the building, a tetrastyle...
Above the windows is the tholobate; above it tholobate rises a rough wall that hides the small dome erected on the same tholobate. The church can be accessed...
Kokoshniks were placed on walls, at the basement of tented roofs or tholobates, or over the window frames, or in rows above the vaults. 1510s Tented...
Onion dome Elements Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery Category Architecture portal v t e...
Onion dome Elements Coffer Cupola Lantern Muqarnas Oculus Pendentive Rotunda Squinch Tholobate Whispering gallery Category Architecture portal v t e...
churches of 11-13th centuries, which makes it rather unique. The dome with tholobate is internally held by four pillars, which is also a more archaic feature...
is covered with azulejos and inside it is supported by a huge circular tholobate. There is also another dome that crowns one of the building's chapels...
Global Information
The Reichstag in Berlin ca. 1894, with a square tholobate
Tholobate atop Kingston City Hall in Canada
Tholobate on Harichavank Monastery in Armenia
A row of Greek column drums (unfinished), at the Temple of Apollo, Didyma
