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    Islamic Arches

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    atiqah
    The document discusses four types of arches used in Islamic architecture: 1) The horseshoe arch bends inward before meeting supporting columns, seen in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It allowed for greater height and visual patterns. 2) Transverse arches span between pillars and walls, using slimmer pillars. They were later adopted in Gothic cathedrals and led to pointed arches. 3) Pointed arches originated in Islamic architecture by 691 CE, centering weight on vertical points to support larger domes and thinner pillars. 4) Multifoil arches contain arches within arches, seen in Cordoba, providing decorative patterns but also structural benefits of pointed ar

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    Islamic Arches

    Uploaded by

    atiqah
    121 views2 pages
    The document discusses four types of arches used in Islamic architecture: 1) The horseshoe arch bends inward before meeting supporting columns, seen in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It allowed for greater height and visual patterns. 2) Transverse arches span between pillars and walls, using slimmer pillars. They were later adopted in Gothic cathedrals and led to pointed arches. 3) Pointed arches originated in Islamic architecture by 691 CE, centering weight on vertical points to support larger domes and thinner pillars. 4) Multifoil arches contain arches within arches, seen in Cordoba, providing decorative patterns but also structural benefits of pointed ar

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    The document discusses four types of arches used in Islamic architecture: 1) The horseshoe arch bends inward before meeting supporting columns, seen in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It allowed for greater height and visual patterns. 2) Transverse arches span between pillars and walls, using slimmer pillars. They were later adopted in Gothic cathedrals and led to pointed arches. 3) Pointed arches originated in Islamic architecture by 691 CE, centering weight on vertical points to support larger domes and thinner pillars. 4) Multifoil arches contain arches within arches, seen in Cordoba, providing decorative patterns but also structural benefits of pointed ar

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    121 views2 pages

    Islamic Arches

    Uploaded by

    atiqah
    The document discusses four types of arches used in Islamic architecture: 1) The horseshoe arch bends inward before meeting supporting columns, seen in the Great Mosque of Cordoba. It allowed for greater height and visual patterns. 2) Transverse arches span between pillars and walls, using slimmer pillars. They were later adopted in Gothic cathedrals and led to pointed arches. 3) Pointed arches originated in Islamic architecture by 691 CE, centering weight on vertical points to support larger domes and thinner pillars. 4) Multifoil arches contain arches within arches, seen in Cordoba, providing decorative patterns but also structural benefits of pointed ar

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    Horseshoe Arch

    The first use of arches in Islamic architecture included rounded arches similar to

    those found in Roman and Byzantine architecture, but these quickly developed into

    the horseshoe arch. In the horseshoe arch, the half-circle of the arch starts to turn in

    on itself before meeting the top of its supporting columns. The hypostyle hall in the

    Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain, is a classic example of this type of arch. The shape

    of the horseshoe arch allowed architects to achieve greater height in the arches and

    it gave an opportunity for greater visual pattern and rhythm in the design.

    Transverse Arch
    The use of the transverse arch, in which the arch structurally spans the space

    between a pillar and the wall instead of another pillar, allowed architects to use

    slimmer pillars instead of thick columns in arcades. This innovation was adopted by

    European architects and eventually used in many Gothic cathedrals. Coupled with

    the four-centered arch -- a low, slightly pointed arch shape that has a center of

    gravity below the crown of the pillars -- transverse arches allowed Islamic architects

    to cover large spaces and led to the development of the pointed arch.

    Pointed Arch
    Many art historians believe the pointed arch originated in Islamic architecture. As

    early as The Dome of the Rock, built in 691, one sees arches with a slight point. The

    pointed arch had a major architectural advantage in that it centered the load-bearing

    thrust of the building on a vertical point, so that more of the building's weight could

    be supported on the exterior, usually with the use of buttresses, instead of with walls

    and interior columns. This allowed for thinner pillars, higher ceilings, the support of

    larger domes and overall gave the building a lighter, more open feel.
    Multifoil Arches
    Sometimes called the cusped arch, multifoil arches contain arches within arches.

    This style of arch was very common in Moorish architecture and some examples can

    be found in the Great Mosque in Cordoba, alongside horseshoe arches. The main

    architectural benefit to multifoil arches is decorative -- like horseshoe arches, they

    provide opportunity for greater visual pattern and rhythm; and indeed the shape of

    multifoil arches was completely removed from arches to become a pattern motif on

    some buildings. But, like the pointed arch, multifoil arches also centered the thrust of

    the weight they carried to a single vertical point, which allowed for all the structural

    benefits of a pointed arch.

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