Rib Vaults: Intersecting Stone Ribs and the Shell Between

A view looking up at a vaulted ceiling. Stone ribs branch out from the top of the clustered columns, crossing in the air to form a diamond-shaped net, with thinner stone shells filling the spaces between the ribs. The ribs have moldings in their cross-section, and the intersections have carved roundels. The entire weight of the vault is directed to the columns through the ribs. Avoid: depicting the vault as a smooth, ribless dome, making the ribs merely decorative lines applied to the surface, using wood or plaster to imitate stone ribs, making the curved surface of the vault semicircular instead of pointed.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一個仰望拱頂的畫面。石肋從柱束頂端分岔出去,在空中交叉成菱形的網,肋與肋之間填著較薄的石殼。肋的斷面有線腳,交點有雕花圓盤。整個拱頂的重量透過肋條被導到柱子上。避免:把拱頂畫成平滑無肋的圓頂、讓肋條只是貼在表面的裝飾線、使用木作或石膏模仿石肋、拱頂的曲面做成半圓形而非尖起。