サンタ・マリア・デル・フィオーレ大聖堂のドームのレンガ造水平アーチの構造的役割について

Abstract

The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore consists of two shells, an inner one and an outer one, which are connected by eight massive ribs and sixteen intermediate ribs. The principal rib and the intermediate rib are linked through little horizontal brick arches. As for the structural role of the horizontal brick arches, there are currently four interpretations; 1) they are connecting rings, 2) they are load-transmitting rings, 3) they contributed to the self-support of the outer shell during its construction, and 4) they are for their geometrical rather than their structural properties. Structurally, the horizontal brick arches must have provided an appropriate contribution to the self-supporting of the outer shell (interpretation 3)).