Abstract

The vault in Amiens cathedral’s transept is one of the most important ones in European Gothic style. It is a square plan vault with five keystones built with a crossover and tierceron arches. Presumably it was finished by 1230 under the direction of Renaud Cormont, architect. Interest in this vault has its origin in a commentary by Eugene Viollet le Duc in which he specifies that it is the first time a tierceron vault is constructed in France and, therefore, we dare to say in Europe. Besides, the vault’s shape is especially interesting because, as a consequence of the singular broken ridge line with which the vault is built, the central keystone seems to be somehow lower than the perimeter keys, so the vault moves away from the vaulted shape and presents a convex one. When using this shape, the architect sought to minimize the horizontal thrusts by concentrating the load in the center of the vault. The construction of a scale model in Madrid’s Escuela Superior de Arquitectura allowed us to get to know exactly the construction details of this vault.

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