Which is the best definition of a flying buttress?
Definition of flying buttress : a masonry structure that typically consists of a straight inclined bar carried on an arch and a solid pier or buttress against which it abuts and that receives the thrust of a roof or vault.
What is buttress architecture?
buttress, in architecture, exterior support, usually of masonry, projecting from the face of a wall and serving either to strengthen it or to resist the side thrust created by the load on an arch or a roof.
What is a flying buttress used for?
Historically, buttresses have been used to strengthen large walls or buildings such as churches. Flying buttresses consist of an inclined beam carried on a half arch that projects from the walls of a structure to a pier which supports the weight and horizontal thrust of a roof, dome or vault.
Why is it called a flying buttress?
Why is it called a flying buttress? Flying buttresses are termed as such because they buttress (support from the side) a building while having a portion of the actual buttress open to the ground.
What is the role of flying buttress in Gothic architecture?
An arch that extends out from a tall stone wall is a flying buttress, an architectural feature that was especially popular during the Gothic period. The practical purpose of a flying buttress is to help hold the heavy wall up by pushing from the outside—a buttress is a support—but it also serves an aesthetic purpose.
What is a flying buttress Gothic Art II?
What is a flying buttress? an architectural structure used to provide horizontal strength to a wall.
Who designed the flying buttress?
Rudimentary flying buttresses were introduced by William the Englishman, beginning in 1179 (F. Woodman, The Architectural History of Canterbury Cathe- dral, London, 1981, 87-130).
What is a flying buttress in architecture?
The flying buttress (arc-boutant, arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arched structure that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall outwards, which are forces that arise from vaulted ceilings of stone and from wind-loading on roofs
flying buttress. An external, arched support for the wall of a church or other building. Flying buttresses were used in many Gothic cathedrals (see also cathedral); they enabled builders to put up very tall but comparatively thin stone walls, so that much of the wall space could be filled with stained-glass windows.
Who invented the flying buttress?
As a lateral-support system, the flying buttress was developed during late antiquity and later flourished during the Gothic period (12th–16th c.) of architecture. Ancient examples of the flying buttress can be found on the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and on the Rotunda of Galerius in Thessaloniki .