dome of florence cathedral

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Architecture : The Dome of the Cathedral , Florence (The Duomo

The Cathedral was designed and built in between 1377-1466 by the architect and visionary Fillipo Brunelleschi and numerous others However parts of the building appear to date back to the 11th century by a sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio (Farfan , 2001 . The cathedral itself is located north of the Piazza del la Signoria and towers over the city Initially there had been a great deal of competition with regards to who would be granted the contract of building the dome

(also known as the Santa Maria del Fiore , but Brunelleschi used the innovative idea of constructing the dome support structure without a wooden center (Farfan 2001 . In 1420 , Brunelleschi was granted the contract that involved the inner support being constructed from brick alone (Farfan , 2001

The dome consists of a complicated geometrical design , with an octagonal drum that with several empty shells within to lighten up the interior of the structure , this Brunelleschi called the `oculus (the eye . Brick ribs crisscross the interior but do not serve as a support for the building . The springing put of the dome is approximately 177 feet above ground level . From the base of the drum to the top of the dome is around 108 feet , showing the massive volume of the building as a whole . The radius across the outer edges of the octagonal drum measures 176 feet . An estimated amount of bricks used is in excess of 4 million (Farfan , 2001 . The octagonal domes inside the cathedral were completed in succession of one another in to create a stable support . The process is complex and dependent of precision timing and measurement Bricks were laid using the `herringbone ' method , being laid on sloping beds in a ring like fashion , the spirals are closed with protruding bricks laid lengths ways instead of breadth . The cones within the spiral are divided into 5 equal geometric points in to locate the `pointed-fifth curvature . The axis of the inverted dome corresponds directly with the domes outer structure . The slack line corresponds with the bricks beds resting on the inverted cone surface . As work commenced the domes vertex shifts upwards (Farfan , 2001 . The completed dome is supported by 3 half domes on the exterior of the structure . The `quinta acuto (eight corner ribs , the method of the radius divided into four-fifths of the maximum crossing span , is visible in even the half domes (Salvadori , 1980 . Sandstone bricks were used within an iron reinforcement , prevent the collapse if the dome under pressure from its parallels (Salvadori , 1980 . This was the largest dome built without wooden centering . This was the first instance that Doric , Ionic and Corinthian s were used in architecture since the ancient times Constructed out of sandstone and iron reinforcements , Brunelleschi designed tiles for the surface of the dome that would be easy to maintain and resist the elements (Salvadori , 1980 . The outer facades are constructed with visible cantilevered arches , presenting themselves as alcoves...