CONSTRUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF CATALAN VAULT THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION EXPERIMENT OF FULL SCALE FLOOR MODEL

Abstract

Catalan vault, a historic brick vault construction method used mainly in Catalonia of Spain is characterized by thin and lightweight masonry construction. This paper cleared the characteristics and the construction techniques of the Catalan vault through the experiment of constructing a full scale floor type vault. The materials like bricks and plaster available in Japan could be substituted for those used in Spain. The important technical knowledge acquired in the experiment and the difficulty of construction were related to the first layer of the vault which bricks are united with plaster of Paris, and characterizes the unique vaulting system.