Elements and Materials
Groin Vault
Structural Element
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A vault formed by the right-angle intersection of two barrel vaults, concentrating structural loads onto four corner piers rather than continuous side walls. This freed the wall plane for openings and allowed open, colonnaded interiors, and the Romans used it at large scale in bath complexes and basilicas; medieval builders continued to use it before the rib vault, with its exposed diagonal ribs, became the standard Gothic solution.
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Element Kind First Used Era Cross-Tradition Connections
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Sections of the Colosseum vomitoria and upper ambulatories use groin vaulting.
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