Elements and Materials

Barrel Vault

Structural Element

Citation Formats

General Reference

Architecture and Design Atlas. "Barrel Vault." Accessed August 29, 2026. https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/barrel-vault.

APA Style

Architecture and Design Atlas. (n.d.). Barrel Vault. Retrieved August 29, 2026, from https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/barrel-vault

BibTeX

@misc{architectureanddesignatlas-barrel-vault,
  author = {Architecture and Design Atlas},
  title = {Barrel Vault},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-architecture.interactiveatlas.org/elements/barrel-vault},
  note = {Accessed August 29, 2026}
}

A continuous vault of uniform semicircular or pointed cross-section, the simplest vault form, produced by extruding a single arch profile along a straight axis. Roman engineers used it extensively for aqueducts, bath houses and the substructures of amphitheaters, and it was revived as the primary vault of Romanesque church naves before the rib vault refined and lightened Gothic construction.

Facts

Element Kind

Structural Element 1

First Used Era

Ancient Near East and widely developed by Rome 1

Cross-Tradition Connections