Garcia, Adriana Gravalos, Mayela Piñate, Arantxa ARCH Garcia, Adriana Gravalos, Mayela Piñate, Arantxa

Content Introduction Definition of arch Elements of arch Types of arch History of arch Uses of the arch Conclusion

Introduction Have you ever wonder what is the arch for? Or why did early civilizations used it? Did you even know they did?

Definition The arch is a curved structure sustaining superiorly closing an opening or a hole, so all its parts are compressed and none of them occur extensions. These pressures are transmitted to the support (columns) which holds the arch ends. The arch is a way of making a roof or a doorway or a window without using any beams at all: just a lot of small stones, or small blocks of wood, or clay bricks. That's a lot cheaper and easier to get than the big beams. You use the weight of the blocks to hold the arch together.

Advantages and Disadvantages Two problems were solved: Wide openings could be spanned with small, light blocks in brick as well as stone, which were easy to transport and to handle; The arch was bent upward to resist and to conduct into its supports the loads that tended to bend the lintel downward.

Elements of the Arch In an arch structure, all of the elements hold each other in place. This is a general representation of the proportions and technical elements. Keystone Voussoir Extrados Impost Intrados Buttress

Because the arch is curved, the upper edge has a greater circumference than the lower, so that each of its blocks must be cut in wedge shapes that press firmly against the whole surface of neighboring blocks and conduct loads uniformly. This form creates problems of equilibrium that do not exit in lintels. The stresses in the arch tend to squeeze the blocks outward radially, and loads divert these outward forces downward to exert a resultant diagonal force, called thrust, which will cause the arch to collapse if it is not properly buttressed. So an arch cannot replace a lintel on two free-standing posts unless the posts are massive enough to buttress the thrust and to conduct it into the foundations (as in ancient Roman triumphal arches).

How many different forms of arch can you imagine? Types of arch How many different forms of arch can you imagine?  The various forms of arches are based on the intrados line can be straight, broken, curved or mixed: Flat Arch Corbelled Arch Semicircular Arch Venetian Arch Ogee Arch Triangular Arch Bullseye Arch Bell Arch Gothic Arch Skewed Arch Segmental Arch Foil Arches Arches based on circular arcs Geometrical Arches

History of Arch Did you know greeks knew the arch but decided not to use it? Arch structure was known by civilizations in Ancient Near East, the Levant, and Mexico but they did not make use of it. The Etruscans were the first civilization to use an arch. Etruscans invented imposts. After the Romans conquered the Etruscans, they assimilated the arch to fit into their architectural scheme. The Romans were the first builders in Europe, perhaps the first in the world, fully to appreciate the advantages of the arch, the vault and the dome. The segmental arch was first built by the Romans who realized that an arch in a bridge did not have to be a semicircle. The semicircular arch was followed in Europe by the pointed Gothic arch. The semicircular arch can be flattened to make an elliptical arch. Parabolic arches were introduced in construction by the Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí. The first known built horseshoe arches are known from Aksum(modern day Ethiopia and Eritrea) from around the 3rd–4th century.

Uses of the Arch Do you think arch was used only for structural purposes? The arch is considered one of the most important invention in architecture due to its strength, simplicity and economy. The use of the can be seen in churches, aqueducts, bridges, colleges, some homes and monumental structures (triumphal arches). The Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, also known as the Brazilian "wave" arch

Use of Roman Arch The Amphitheater The Aqueduct The Triumphal Arch Aqua Appia, first aqueduct built in Roma Col osseum The Triumphal Arch The Bridge Pons Fabricius across the Tiber River Arch of Constantine

The Colosseum Located just east of the Roman Forum Officially known as the Flavian Amphitheater Commissioned around A.D. 70-72 by Emperor Vespasian In A.D. 80, Vespasian's son Titus opened the Colosseum

Arch of Triumph Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his victories Completed in 1836 during the reign of Louis- Philippe Located at the end of theChamps-Elysées, in the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle

Conclusion Arches are everywhere—over doors, porches, windows, and hallways. They were born to serve as a powerful structural tool, allowing rooms to extend without the interruption of any vertical supports or columns. Arches come in many shapes, from rounded to pointy and quite a few variations in between. The architectural styles that each arch represents also are vary widely. But one thing is certain: an arch adds something special to the place where you find it.