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The ramping arch (also known as rampant arch, from French: arc rampant, and raking arch) is an asymmetrical arch that has its springers located at substantially different heights. Frequently a ramping arch is associated with a ramp or stairs.

Originally used to support inclined structures, like stairs or ramps, in the 13th-14th centuries the rampant arch appeared as parts of flying buttresses used to counteract the thrust of Gothic ribbed vaults, typical design was based on a truncated semicircular arch. Viollet-le-Duc in 1854 described two arch types in buttresses: the earlier one where the center of the intrados segment is located on the face of the wall (intrados close to a quarter-circle), and the later, more efficient, design where the center is moved inside the wall, narrowing the segment. The main purpose of the buttress is to relay the thrust to the foundations, the structure also accommodates the downspouts.

History

The earliest time for the ramping arches appeared in flying-buttress-like constructs outside the main walls was c. 1100 AD (Durham Cathedral). The arches were not yet used to relief the thrust of the vault, but provided support for the roof over the triforium. The need to buttress the walls to counteract the thrust was recognized when the Romanesque architecture barrel vaults began cracking up with time. At first, wooden frameworks appeared outside the walls, later replaced by masonry, probably the first place to do so was the Abbey of Vezelay (12th century). The ramping arches played a major role in the Gothic arcchitecture, as their use in buttresses allowed to lighten the walls and use large windows, significantly improving the lighting inside the Gothic churches in comparison to the Romanesque ones.

A typical flying buttress used a single-arch arrangement, although two-tiered arches and even three-tiered designs were used.

References

1. Woodman & Bloom 2003, Ramping.
2. Davies & Jokiniemi 2008, p. 305.
3. Gorse, Johnston & Pritchard 2020.
4. Curl & Wilson 2021.
5. arco entry (in Italian) by C. Ewert in the Enciclopedia Treccani, 1991
6. Velilla et al. 2019, p. 1, page numbers used are from the online copy.
7. ^ Velilla et al. 2019, p. 2.

Sources

• Curl, James Stevens; Wilson, Susan (2021). "ramping". The Oxford dictionary of architecture: over 5000 entries (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-191874-2.
• Davies, N.; Jokiniemi, E. (2008). Dictionary of Architecture and Building Construction. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-41025-3. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
• Gorse, Christopher A.; Johnston, David; Pritchard, Martin (2020). "rampant arch". A Dictionary of Construction, Surveying, and Civil Engineering (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-187106-1.
• Velilla, Cristina; Alcayde, Alfredo; San-Antonio-Gómez, Carlos; Montoya, Francisco G.; Zavala, Ignacio; Manzano-Agugliaro, Francisco (2019-05-03). "Rampant Arch and Its Optimum Geometrical Generation". Symmetry. 11 (5): 627. doi:10.3390/sym11050627. ISSN 2073-8994.
• Woodman, Francis; Bloom, Jonathan M. (2003). "Arch". Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t003657. ISBN 978-1-884446-05-4.