The Dome and the Creation of Monumental Space

Question 1

Treasury of Atreus

Mycenae, Greece

c. 1300 ‐ 1250 BC

Answer 1

• Interior colume created through corbelling
• Stones are set outwards, one above the other

Question 2

Basilica of Maxentius

Rome

313 AD

Answer 2

• Barrel vault
• Octagonal coffers lightens the load
• High clerestory windows support the load
• Extrusion of a curve along a given distance
• Semi-cylindrical appearance

Question 3

Pantheon

Rome

c. 120 ‐ 130 AD

Answer 3

• Massive structure
• Series of recessing panels, coffers, make the structure lighter
• Oculus in the middle
• Large, thick wall bears the load
• Dome is made of thinner materials at the top

Question 4

HH Sergios & Bakchos

Constantinople

527‐36 AD

Answer 4

• Pumpkin dome, or convoluted dome
• Side wall linked to another church
• Billowing sections brought down onto octagonal plan
• Octagonal plan used to much greater effect in Hagia Sophia

Question 5

Hagia Sophia

Istanbul (Constantinople)

Isidorus & Anthemios, 6th C

Answer 5

• Developed from the plan of HH Sergios and Bakchos
• Contains half domes on the sides - load supported here
• Cross section passes through the pendentives
• Ribbing - can put in windows without a drum
• Conches, or little arches, placed around base of the dome
  
  • Take the thrust of the main dome
• More rational structure than HH Sergios and Bakchos