La bóveda sexpartita del Monasterio de Santa María de Huerta, Soria_08 Print E-mail


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As a conclusion

The preceding lines show ostensibly the ideas expressed in the introduction to this article. Only the construction of such a complex structure as the one represented by a sexpartite vault will let us have a deep knowledge of it (Fig. 40). By building it, research acquires levels of detail that are unattainable by theoretical speculation. Besides, in the pedagogical field, this procedure is more efficient and attractive than the traditional way of approaching the field of historic construction, as it has been confirmed by the enthusiastic participation of students.

After the experience of building the vault presented to you, there are still tasks to perform. In the first place, the removing of the centering, interesting moment which in the Escuela de Arquitectura de Madrid has become a considerably media highlight and receives a large number of visits, as do the video reports in Youtube UPM witness. As a final activity, the vault must be destroyed to leave space for the one being built the following year. Its destruction is, nevertheless, carried out through a collapse test which has given way to a parallel research path: calculation of stability of this type of structures.

Cross ribbed vaults are complex tridimensional structures which have been neglected by regulations nowadays, exclusively oriented to steel and concrete. These structures, which once were main actors in western civilization and which, challenging time, remain invariable, would be totally unsustainable in our days.

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