SYMBOLIC BACKGROUND

Through the ages, mankind has always been attracted by arches, vaults and specially domes. In different eras this was expressed in various forms according to the local context – social, technical, cultural or spiritual belief.

Beyond the simple approach of people, as living material creatures, lies a vaster and wider sustaining holistic concept: the cosmic or divine dimension. People are the embodiment of souls to manifest and realise a spiritual evolution upon earth – to become united consciously with the Divinity within themselves and the Eternal Spirit and One Self.

Therefore, throughout Mankind’s evolution, men and women of all nations and cultures try to rediscover their divine origins. Arches, vaults and domes are particular outer means to express their aspiration through an architectural creation.

In many cultures arches, vaults and more particularly domes refer to a spiritual aspiration as shown in these names:
•    Tholos, from the Greek, which means rotunda, circular tomb with a beehive shape.
•    Omphalos, from the Greek, which means umbilici, the centre, the central part.
•    Tegurium, from the Latin, which means shrine, round roof covering an altar or a sarcophagus. It is often a pointed dome.
•    Domus, from the Latin, which means house (Domus Dei: the House of God).
•    Kalubé, from the Syrian & Palestinian, which is used for religious buildings and tabernacles.
•    Sacred baetyl, from the Syrian and Palestinian, which means tabernacle, to manifest the divine.
•    Vihâra, from the Sanskrit and Buddhist tradition, referring to spiritual community dwellings.
•    Dom, from the German, Icelandic and Danish, which means cathedral.
•    Dome, from the English, for Cathedral in the late XVIIth Century. It means also Town House, Guild Hall, and City Meeting House.
•    Dominical, from the French, which means “Day of God”.

In other cultures, domes refer also to:
•    The Cosmic Egg: In Egypt, India, Persia and Greece, they are seen as the egg at the origin of the Creation.
•    The Celestial Helmet: This is related to the Cosmic Egg in the Palestinian, Christian and Hebraic tradition. It is seen as the priest of heaven, symbol of authority and Divine Power.
•    The lotus: In the Egyptian and Indian spiritual traditions, it is seen as a manifestation of the divine.

When mankind was still in a nomadic state, people’s links with the cosmos through the starlit sky was obvious and crucial. Thus, dwellings were circular and covered either with cones or domes made of branches. These huts were referred to the centre, the number 1, the circle. These structures can still be found where there are nomadic cultures, like in Somalia.

When people slowly settled down, the circle evolved to the square, the number 4, which is related to the Mother Earth. Some houses were still covered by domes, often hemispherical, which are still found a lot in Muslim architecture and in Egypt. Later on, quadrangular plans and pyramidal or flat roofs prevailed.

Steps in the technical evolution

Originally made of branches, the conical or spherical nomad huts evolved into an organized and studied carpentry, more durable and stronger. It allowed building wider spans and higher rise. Wooden domes were for a time predominant in major architecture due their lightness, flexibility and earthquake resistance. But wooden domes were lacking the sense of eternity searched for by mankind, especially for spiritual or religious buildings. Thus the stone and brick masonry emerged progressively through the ages. More durable than wooden domes, they were lacking lightness and stability, and also required heavy load bearing walls because of their weight and thrust. They were also more sensitive to earthquakes.

Over the ages, people developed first many types of arches and later on many kinds of vaults and domes. Arches were mainly used to easily span openings without using wooden beams. This was done according to their cultural and technical developments and the available materials. Vaults and domes were not only developed for technical reasons or to avoid the use of wood. As we have seen, they manifested also a spiritual dimension, as happened with the development of Gothic architecture in Europe. In this period of time, there was such a religious fervour, that architects and builders could find the way to transform the heavy and massive Roman style into structures of lightness with the Flamboyant Gothic architecture. Barrel and groined vaults evolved into the rib system of the pointed vaults. These developments were often the result of technical experiments which were not always immediately successful.

PAST AND PRESENT DIVERSITY OF VAULTED STRUCTURES

An almost infinite variety of arch types, styles and shapes can be found all over the world. This variety evolved with the available local materials, and know-how of the time, but especially with the particular creativity and preferences of a culture.

Arches