barrel vault

[′bar·əl ‚vȯlt]

(architecture)

A masonry vault of plain, semicircular cross section, supported by parallel walls or arcades and adapted to longitudinal areas. Also known as barrel roof; cradle vault; tunnel vault; wagonhead vault; wagon vault.

barrel vault

A masonry vault resting on two parallel walls having the form of a half cylinder, sometimes called a tunnel vault.

barrel vault, barrel roof, cradle vault, tunnel vault, wagonhead vault, wagon vault

A masonry vault of plain, semicircular cross section, supported by parallel walls or arcades and adapted to longitudinal areas.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Barrel Vault

in architecture, a roof shaped as a semi-cylinder with a raised and tapered top, as a result of which the facade has a keellike pediment. Barrel vaults, seen in religious and civil architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries, are most often built of wood (for example, the churches of the Russian north, the palace in Kolomenskoie) and more rarely of stone (the church in the village of Taininskaia in Moscow Oblast). The crossing of two barrel vaults forms a cross barrel vault or a cubelike roof.

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References in periodicals archive

Everything about The Barrel Vault makes it the perfect design for travel.

We visited London's newest Wetherspoons in St Pancras station and it was pretty slick; Spoons in railway stations are the best kinds of Spoons

The considered barrel vault is composed of polar scissor units for the arches and translational units between the arches with equal member's length and has an outside height of 3,45 m (Figure 2).

An Automated Structural Optimisation Methodology for Scissor Structures Using a Genetic Algorithm

The entrance in the north facade of the barrel vault is over an open, hard paved, elliptical piazza.

Vaulting ambition: with its ingenious suspended steel structure and low energy glass skin, this vast office building is a modern version of the industrial cathedrals of the nineteenth century

Cove lighting accentuates a subtle barrel vault, highlighting the custom cherry, travertine and glass reception desk.

Aztec designs for Franklin Mutual in New Jersey

So the roof is a kind of mutated barrel vault; its northern (sun-facing) section steps down to form a series of slot-like rooflights.

HORSE SENSE

While plans were being developed for the lobby work, ownership discovered the dramatic original ceiling, featuring a barrel vault of plaster coffered panels with decorative rosettes and moldings, hidden five feet above mundane flat sheet rock that had been installed in a 1970s "renovation."

High drama as first act begins on 1359 Broadway renovation

Recognizing the historical significance and aesthetic qualities of the original ceiling, which featured a barrel vault of plaster coffered panels with decorative rosettes, the architects and the landlord decided to restore the original design to the soon-to-be renovated lobby.

Back to the future for 1359 B'way

The undulating barrel vault appears to float above the floorplates, emphasized by cladding and internal partitions stopping short of the roof.

Sheltering sky

Otherwise, the Historical Hall which can house huge exhibits - such as a Richard Long stone-circle - has variable top and side-light and the barrel-vaulted East Gallery with its unbroken walls provides a magnificent setting for paintings which can be either naturally lit from the continuous skylight, controlled by louvres above the barrel vault, or alternatively artificially lit from the same source.

Hamburger stakes