The arcature belt is an element used in the construction of various structures. It is created both inside and outside the building. About what is an arcature belt, about its features and structure will be discussed in this essay.
What is arkatura?
Before you begin to consider what an arcature belt is, you should describe the meaning of the terms associated with this concept.
One of these terms is arkatura. Translated from Italian, it means "arc", "bend". In German, arkatura is a "series of arches." It is also called the arcature belt, the arcature frieze. In fact, these are all its varieties.
Arkatura is a continuous or dissected series of false decorative arches. They are either on the facade of the building or on the walls of the interior. The main view is blind arkatura, which consists of elements superimposed plastically on the wall surface. Sometimes a small space is left between the wall and the arcature.
There are also two types of arkatura: dissected and continuous. The last of them can be made in the form of an arcature belt, which is supplemented by columns on the brackets. In particular, this type of architectural solution is inherent in the temples of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality.
Arch Features
Another term is "arch" - an architectural element that makes up the arcade and its kind, such as the arcature belt. It is a curvilinear overlap of a blind or through opening or span in a wall that has supports. Arches can be supported by consoles, columns, and brackets. They are both real and false, that is, decorative. Typically, arches are symmetrical about the vertical axis. This element of the arcature will be considered in more detail below.
If we compare the arch with the beam, then the latter experiences the usual (normal) mechanical stress, while the arch is tangent. Due to the shear stress, a spacer occurs (horizontal support reaction).
An arch differs from the arch in that it has a significantly smaller width. Due to the vertical load, the arch works more on compression rather than bending, which is why its good technical characteristics are associated.
Arches are divided into three types:
- jointless;
- two-hinged;
- three-hinged.
In the event that the supporting arched ends are connected to each other by a jumper, (a rod perceiving a horizontal reaction), this will be an arch with a puff.
The names of the arched elements
The arch consists of a number of elements, the names of which are given below:
- blade stone;
- castle stone (crowning the top in the center);
- extrados (outer surface of the arch);
- intrados (inner surface);
- impost (heel, heel - a stone located at the base of the supports);
- supporting wall;
- span;
- lifting arrow (distance to the center of the castle element from the line that connects both centers of the calcaneus stones - impost).
The distance between the axes of the impost is called the calculated armhole. If the boom of the lift increases, accordingly, the strut of the arch itself decreases. The axis of the whole structure is selected so that the bending pressure is minimal. The design calculation is extremely important, since this accuracy can affect the strength of the entire room as a whole.
Ancient times
For the first time, the arched belt in architecture, used in the construction of buildings, decoration of facades and interior spaces, appeared around the 2nd millennium BC e. in Ancient Mesopotamia, as well as in the rest of the Ancient East. In this region, the construction of various buildings using brick blocks has reached the highest level, and with this the complexity of the structures themselves has increased. In the heyday of ancient Rome, arches were used quite often. For example, the world-famous Colosseum was created with the help of many arches, the combination of which makes an arkatura.
Arcature belt in world architecture
In eastern countries, arkatura is used in the construction of open galleries, which are located along the facades of houses. The main load in the case of such a technical solution is distributed between each individual arch support.
The use of an arcature belt increases the strength characteristics of the entire structure as a whole, while reducing the weight of the structure itself. The Colosseum mentioned earlier was built with the help of numerous arches, they were also actively used by the Romans in the construction of aqueducts, which have survived to the present.
In the Middle Ages, the erection of the English Gothic cathedrals and monasteries actively used the arcature belt. The place where it is located immediately attracts the eye with its beauty.
Typically, in Catholic churches, an arched passage leads from the nave or transept to the interior. Often the arcade adjoined the cloister from the eastern side, blocking the aisles in the temples that have a cruciform shape. In the Gloucestershire Cathedral, erected in 1029, the arcade is located on the opposite side, which is somewhat not in line with the canons of construction, but still met.
Arc-columned belt
Such belts are called decorative motifs from a series of small arches that rely on small columns. As already mentioned above, the columnar belt is one of the varieties of arkatura. It was widely used in the architecture of Ancient Russia. With its help, walls of buildings and church drums (the pre-domed part of the church) were decorated. Often elongated, narrow light windows erupted between the columns.
Columnar belts had various options. So, for example, one of the methods was the installation of small columns not under each fifth of the adjacent arches, but with different gaps in one or two arches. A similar arrangement can be seen in the Kremlin, on the drums of the Annunciation Cathedral.
Over time, the temple’s arcature belt begins to be used in ordinary architecture. Starting from the XVII century, this decorative element becomes mandatory not only in Russian temple architecture, but also in the construction of secular buildings. It is worth noting that, where the arcature belt was located in Russian temple architecture, quite often the openings and crowns of arches were decorated with mosaics on Bible themes.
Appeared in ancient times, this architectural element became not only necessary and often used, but also acquired aesthetic features, ennobling and decorating any building.