Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire. The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 CE, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. However, there was initially no hard line between the Byzantine and Roman empires, and early Byzantine architecture is stylistically and structurally indistinguishable from earlier Roman architecture. This terminology was introduced by modern historians to designate the medieval Roman Empire as it evolved as a distinct artistic and cultural entity centered on the new capital of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) rather than the city of Rome and its environs. Its architecture dramatically influenced the later medieval architecture throughout Europe and the Near East, and became the primary progenitor of the Renaissance and Ottoman architectural traditions that followed its collapse. Introduction of dome, and classification of dome. Types of dome mainly used during byzantine architecture. Example of some epic architecture of byzantine period. 1. Cloister Vault 2. Geodesic Dome 3. Onion Dome 4. Oval Dome 5. Saucer Dome.

1. DOME
OF
BYZANTINE
ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTUE
SUBMITTED TO:
LEENA CHAUDHARY
SUBMITTED BY:
CHANDAN GUPTA

2. CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
DOME OF BYZANTINE
ARCHITECURE
CLASSIFICATION
OF DOME

3. INTRODUCTION
– Byzantine architecture is a style of building that flourished under the rule of
Roman Emperor Justinian between A.D. 527 and 565.
– Original Byzantine churches are square-shaped with a central floor plan.
– Bricks were used to create walls by laying two faces and pouring rubble and
mortar between them.
– The mortar was made from lime, sand, and crushed brick or pebbles.
– An alternative to brick was ashlar stone blocks, which were more popular in the
eastern half of the Byzantine Empire.

4. DOME
(MATERIALS USED)
– Mainly the Dome were made up of masonry
construction (Brick and Stone).
– The structure has brick and mortar joints that are 1.5
times the width of the bricks.
– The mortar joints are composed of a combination of
sand and minute ceramic pieces distributed evenly
throughout the mortar joints.
– An epic example of dome construction:
HAGIA SOPHIA

5. DOME
(CONSTRUCTION TYPES)
PENDENTIVE DOME
– Pendentive is the term given to
a construction element that allows a dome to be placed
over square or rectangular spaces.
– Pendentives are triangular segments of a sphere
that spread at the top and taper to points at the
bottom.
– The horizontal curve of the dome’s base is connected
directly to the vertical curves of the four
supporting arches on each corner. Where the curve of
the pendentive and dome is continuous, the
vaulting form is known as a pendentive dome.
Pendentives

6. DOME
(CONSTRUCTION TYPES)
SQUINCH DOME
– In architecture, a squinch is a construction filling in
the upper angles of a square room so as to form a
base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome.
– In the building one or more arches diagonally
across the corner.
– The squinch has to be achieved by building a short
bridge across each corner of a square structure,
either by a system of corbelling (with projecting
courses of stone or brick) or by constructing a
small arch.

7. Basilica of
San Vitale

8. DOME
(TYPES)
Classification of Domes
Simple Dome
– It is a type of Byzantine Dome in which the curve
(arch) of the pendentive and Dome are the same.
– The Some were placed on square and polygon plan
by mean of spherical pendentive.
– Such a form of dome is, however, rare, and perhaps
the only example in Europe is that over the Tomb of
Galla Placidia.

9. DOME
(TYPES)
Classification of Domes
Compound Dome
– The Dome is not part of same sphere as the pendentives and
dome rises independently upon them.
– Compound type of dome - gives greater height and was of two
varieties.
a. The first of which the dome ceased to be part of the same
sphere as the pendentives, but rose independently above
them.
b. The second the dome was raised on a high drum pierced with
windows.

10. DOME
(TYPES)
Classification of Domes
SpecialDesignDome
Cloister vault
Geodesic dome
Onion dome
Oval dome
Saucer dome

11. Cloister vault
– In architecture, a cloister vault or domical vault is a vault with four
concave surfaces (patches of cylinders) meeting at a point above
the center of the vault.
– It can be thought of as formed by two barrel vaults that cross at
right angles to each other: the open space within the vault is
the intersection of the space within the two barrel vaults, and the
solid material that surrounds the vault is the union of the solid
material surrounding the two barrel vaults.
– In this way it differs from a groin vault, which is also formed from
two barrel vaults but in the opposite way: in a groin vault, the
space is the union of the spaces of two barrel vaults, and the solid
material is the intersection.

12. Geodesic Dome
– A Geodesic Dome is
a hemispherical thin-shell
structure (lattice-shell) based on
a geodesic polyhedron.
– The triangular elements of the dome are
structurally rigid and distribute the
structural stress throughout the
structure, making geodesic domes able
to withstand very heavy loads for their
size.

13. Onion Dome
– An Onion Dome is a dome whose shape resembles
an onion and is usually associated with Russian architectural
style.
– Such domes are often larger in diameter than
the tholobate upon which they sit, and their height usually
exceeds their width.
– These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point.
– It is a typical feature of churches belonging to Russian Orthodox
church.

14. Oval Dome
– An oval dome is a dome of oval shape in plan, profile, or both.
– The earliest oval domes were used by convenience in corbelled
stone huts as rounded but geometrically undefined coverings.
– The geometry was eventually defined using combinations of
circular arcs, transitioning at points of tangency.
– If the Romans created oval domes, it was only in exceptional
circumstances.
Example:
St. Peter’s Basilica

15. Saucer Dome
– In terms of area these are often some of the
largest domes, and are shallower in profile than
other forms of dome.
– Also called segmental domes(a term sometimes also
used for cloister vaults), or calottes, these have profiles
of less than half a circle. Because they reduce the
portion of the dome in tension, these domes are strong
but have increased radial thrust.
Masonry saucer domes, because they
exist entirely in compression, can be
built much thinner than other dome
shapes without becoming unstable.

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