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Flying buttress

by Red Brick  |  3 years, 3 month(s) ago

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Flying buttress

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  1. Maira
    A flying buttress, or arc-boutant, is a specific type of buttress usually found on a religious building such as a cathedral. They are used to transmit the horizontal thrust of a vault across an intervening space (which might be an aisle, chapel or cloister), to a buttress outside the building. The employment of the flying buttress means that the load bearing walls can contain cut-outs, such as for large windows, that would otherwise seriously weaken them. Flying buttresses are often found in Gothic architecture. The purpose of a buttress is to provide horizontal strength to a wall. The majority of the load is carried by the upper part of the buttress, so making the buttress as a semi-arch provides almost the same load bearing capability, yet in a much lighter and cheaper structure. As a result, the buttress seemingly flies through the air, rather than resting on the ground and hence is known as a flying buttress. Though employed by the Romans in early Romanesque work, it was generally masked by other constructions or hidden under a roof. However, in the 12th century it was recognized as rational construction and emphasized by the decorative accentuation of its features, such as in the cathedrals of Chartres, Le Mans, Paris, Beauvais, and Reims.

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