Practice question · Put in order
Arrange these structural systems in the order they became available in Western building.
- The pendentive dome
- The iron and steel frame
- Post and lintel in stone
- The true arch and the barrel vault
- The ribbed vault with flying buttresses
Hints
- The Greek system comes first and the industrial one last.
- The pendentive dome precedes the Gothic vault.
Show the answer
- Post and lintel in stone
- The true arch and the barrel vault
- The pendentive dome
- The ribbed vault with flying buttresses
- The iron and steel frame
Why
The sequence is cumulative rather than replacing: post and lintel is still used, and the arch never went away. What each addition changed was the range of possible spaces, which is why the architectural repertoire keeps growing.
Practise Architecture I: Structure and What It Permits
The app has 5 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Art History I is free to start.
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