• Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage

The lower bound theorem of limit analysis and masonry vaults made with no-tension materials is the starting point of this paper. Statically admissible stress field, concentrated on surfaces and their folds contained into the masonry vault are taken into account. These ideal surfaces have the form of Dirac delta lines and surfaces for the stress field and can be considered as membranes/arches, in which the singular stress field represents the gen-eralized stress surface. The unilateral assumptions give as a result a membrane contained in the thickness of the vault (the surface lies between extrados and intrados of the vault) and generalized compressive stress on the surface, i.e. a concave stress function. The equilibrium of the membrane can be written in the Pucher form, so that both the scalar stress function and shape function can be determined by the transverse equilibrium and unilateral conditions. The model can be generally applied to no-tension materials, such as masonry and concrete. The paper examines the classical combination of two vaults present in several architectural examples since the Roman age: a domical vault and a barrel vault. Particular attention is given to the fold between the two vaults. The case study is a Roman concrete combination in the plaster room in the Villa dei Papiri at Ercolano.

From the 19th century onwards, with the introduction of new materials, such as iron and reinforced concrete, there was a significant change in construction, and vaults were gradually abandoned. However, before the Modern Movement, in the age of historicism, vaults were still used in churches and representative buildings. In the handbooks and treatises of the time, the more traditional techniques were included alongside the more modern ones and it is not uncommon, even well into the 20th century, to find chapters devoted to the construction of vaults. The search for economy in construction became particularly necessary in the post-war periods when many historic buildings had to be rebuilt. Traditional techniques of lightweight vault construction were used and the possibilities of new techniques were incorporated. Even some systems were patented. This article deals with the construction of light vaults between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries in Belgium, one of the pioneering countries in the industrial revolution. 

Gothic church vaults - an economic perspective: The uneven occurence of vaults from the period ca 1275-1550 in the Danish (incl. the Schleswig area) churches is mapped. Presuming that the main function of the vaults was fire protection, and that all congregations wanted their church vaulted, it is argued that the distribution of vaults reflects economic conditions, and the conditions of church building are presented in a model.

ESPAÑOL: En esta comunicación se hace un breve recorrido por el color en las bóvedas de crucería a través de algunas representaciones pictóricas, relacionándolas con algún ejemplo de edificaciones existentes que han llegado hasta nosotros prácticamente intactas. Se pretende asimismo, aportar un nuevo punto de vista al tratar de relacionar el empleo del color con aspectos geométricos. Se incluye también en la presente comunicación algún ejemplo que demuestra la presencia de decoración pictórica en las bóvedas de algunos edificios valencianos a partir de los restos de policromía localizados en algunos elementos de las mismas (nervios, claves o plementos) que permanecen en pie. También se incluye alguna muestra de restos de color en piezas halladas en excavaciones arqueológicas. En concreto, adjuntamos imágenes de las bóvedas del monasterio de la Trinidad y de la catedral de Valencia, de la iglesia de Santa María de Sagunto y una clave del monasterio de Santa María de la Valldigna (Simat de Valldigna, Valencia), con el fin de mostrar alguna relación entre los colores de dichos elementos y los ejemplos de decoraciones pictóricas analizados. ENGLISH: In this paper we do a brief tour of the color in the cross vaults through some pictorial representations, relating them with some examples of existing buildings that have come down to us practically intact. We also intended to bring a new point of view to try to relate the use of color with geometric aspects. There is also included in this communication an example which shows the presence of decorative paintings in the vaults of some Valencian buildings from the remains of polychromy in some elements of them (ribs, keys, or severies) that remain standing. There is also some sample paint in pieces found in archaeological excavations. In particular, we enclose images of the vaults of the Trinity monastery and the Valencia Cathedral, off the Santa Maria Church (Sagunto, Valencia), and a key of the “Santa María de la Valldigna” monastery (Simat de Valldigna, Valencia), in order to find any relationship between the colors of these elements and analyzed examples of pictorial decorations.