Arches & Domes

Building with compression

An interactive lesson with 6 steps, about 5 minutes: you predict, drag and solve, with instant feedback on every answer. It runs in your browser and needs JavaScript.

What you’ll learn

• Masonry is strong in compression and weak in tension.
• Arches keep every part in compression; the ideal shape is an inverted hanging chain.
• An arch stands on its own once the keystone locks it.

Steps

1. Stone hates being stretched
2. The keystone
3. Gaudí’s upside-down models
4. Flying buttresses
5. Rise versus thrust
6. The sideways push