首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"Building with Arches" Round Arch and Vault Although the round arch was used by the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia several
"Building with Arches" Round Arch and Vault Although the round arch was used by the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia several
admin
2018-07-24
172
问题
"Building with Arches"
Round Arch and Vault
Although the round arch was used by the ancient peoples of Mesopotamia several centuries before our common era, it was most fully developed by the Romans, who perfected the form in the 2nd century b.c.e. The arch has many virtues. In addition to being an attractive form, it enables the architect to open up fairly large spaces in a wall without risking the building’s structural soundness. These spaces admit light, reduce the weight of the walls, and decrease the amount of material needed. As utilized by the Romans, the arch is a perfect semicircle, although it may seem elongated if it rests on columns. It is constructed from wedge-shaped pieces of stone that meet at an angle always perpendicular to the curve of the arch. Because of tensions and compressions inherent in the form, the arch is stable only when it is complete, when the topmost stone, the keystone, has been set in place. For this reason an arch under construction must be supported from below, usually by a wooden framework.
Among the most elegant and enduring of Roman structures based on the arch is the Pont du Gard at Nimes, France, built about 15 c.e. when the empire was nearing its farthest expansion. At this time, Roman industry, commerce, and agriculture were at their peak. Engineering was applied to an ambitious system of public-works projects, not just in Italy but in the outlying areas as well. The Pont du Gard functioned as an aqueduct, a structure meant to transport water, and its lower level served as a footbridge across the river. That it stands today virtually intact after nearly two thousand years (and is crossed by cyclists on the route of the famous Tour de France bicycle race) testifies to the Romans’ brilliant engineering skills. Visually, the Pont du Gard exemplifies the best qualities of arch construction. Solid and heavy, obviously durable, it is shot through with open spaces that make it seem light and its weight-bearing capabilities effortless.
When the arch is extended in depth—when it is, in reality, many arches placed flush one behind the other—the result is called a barrel vault. This vault construction makes it possible to create large interior spaces. The Romans made great use of the barrel vault, but for its finest expression we look many hundreds of years later, to the churches of the Middle Ages.
The church of Sainte-Foy, in the French city of Conques, is an example of the style prevalent throughout Western Europe from about 1050 to 1200—a style known as Romanesque. Earlier churches had used the Roman round arch and barrel vault so as to add height to their churches. Until this period most churches had beamed wooden roofs, which not only posed a threat of fire but also limited the height to which architects could aspire. With the stone barrel vault, they could achieve the soaring, majestic space we see in the
nave
of Sainte-Foy to span the spaces between the interior columns that ultimately held up the roof. With the Romanesque style, builders set a stone barrel vault as a ceiling over the
nave
, hiding the roof structure from view. The barrel vault unified the interior visually, providing a soaring, majestic climax to the rhythms announced by the arches below.
Pointed Arch and Vault
While the round arch and vault of the Romanesque era solved many problems and made many things possible, they nevertheless had certain drawbacks. For one thing, a round arch, to be stable, must be a semicircle; therefore, the height of the arch is limited by its width. Two other difficulties were weight and darkness. Barrel vaults are both literally and visually heavy, calling for huge masses of stone to maintain their structural stability. They exert an outward thrust all along their base, which builders countered by setting them in massive walls that they dared not weaken with light-admitting openings. The Gothic period in Europe, which followed the Romanesque, solved these problems with the pointed arch. A
The pointed arch, while seemingly not very different from the round one, offers many advantages. IS Because the sides arc up to a point, weight is channeled down to the ground at a steeper angle, and therefore the arch can be taller. The vault constructed from such an arch also can be much taller than a barrel vault. C Architects of the Gothic period found they did not need heavy masses of material throughout the curve of the vault, as long as the major points of intersection were reinforced. D
Glossary
nave: the long central area in a church with aisles on each side
Complete the table by matching the phrases on the left with the headings on the right. Select the appropriate answer choices and drag them to the type of architecture to which they relate. TWO of the answer choices will NOT be used. This question is worth 4 points.
To delete an answer choice, click on it. To see the passage, click on View Text.
Answer Choices
A Allowed architects to create a taller arch
B Used in fortresses so that the soldiers could see out
C Represented the Romanesque style of architecture
D Similar to arches constructed in the ancient world
E Popular in many structures of the Gothic period
F Required special building materials for construction
G Prevalent in churches during the Middle Ages
H Associated with structures that include barrel vaults
I Permitted openings in or around them for light
Round Arch
-
-
-
-Pointed Arch
-
-
-
选项
答案
Round Arch: C, D, G, H Pointed Arch: A, E, I Not used: B, F
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/FxfO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
Completethenotesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTWOWORDSforeachanswer.Researchingtheoriginofmedievalmanus
Completethesentencesbelow.WriteNOMORETHANTWOWORDSforeachanswer.JobsatisfactionstudyThevarioussub-groupswere_
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.TheTawnyOwlMost【L31】______owlspeciesinUKStronglynocturna
Choosethecorrectletter,A,BorC.TheTownMarketoriginallymadealargeprofitselling
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
Completethenotesbelow.WriteONEWORDONLYforeachanswer.ChimpanzeeBehavioursSpeciesWecanfindPanorPanTroglody
PREPARINGFORASCHOLARSHIPINTERVIEWSophieworksas
A、Theyhaveonlyrecentlybeendiscovered.B、Theywerepaintedbythecolonistswhoknewher.C、Mostofthemportrayherasach
随机试题
背景资料:具有电力工程施工总承包一级资质的某施工单位,曾经多次承揽过500kV输电线路工程施工,拥有大型的施工设备,有丰富经验的施工技术人员和项目经理,近几年的经营状况和财务状况良好,但目前的施工任务不太饱满。该单位从“中国招标网”上获悉“呼一辽直
在民事诉讼中,当事人申请强制执行的期限为()
下列行为免征增值税的有()。(2015年)
集中式、半集中式、分散式空调系统是根据()划分的。
案例:某教师在进行二元一次方程教学时,给学生出了如下一道练习题:已知a,b是方程x2+(k一1)x+k+1=0的两个根且a,b是某直角三角形的两条直角边,其斜边长等于1,求k的值。某学生的解答过程如下:解:因为a,b是方程x2+(k一
基于某种特定的标准,来评价学生对与教学密切关联的具体知识和技能的掌握程度的评价方式称为()。
党的十八大报告强调,要牢牢把握扩大内需这一战略基点,充分发挥消费促进经济增长的作用。扩大内需的措施之一是创新销售方式。近年来,网络销售的发展迅速。每年的11日,已经成为网民们的购物狂欢节。2013年11月11日,某网络销售平台采用全场五折等促销手段,通过电
Themoneyisthere.Sowhyisitnotbeingspent?Thatisthebigpuzzleabouttherichworld’seffortstoimprovehealthinpoo
关系的实体完整性约束要求关系中不能为空的属性是()。
МеняоченьинтересуютстихиМаяковского,_____светлыйобразЛенина.
最新回复
(
0
)