The Catalan vault, also called the Catalan turn or Catalan arch or a timbrel vault, is a type of low arch

Arch

An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...

 made of plain bricks often used to make a structural floor surface. It is traditionally constructed by laying bricks lengthwise over a wood form or "centering", making it a much gentler curve than has generally been produced by other methods of construction.

It is a traditional form in Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

 (where it is widely used), and has spread around the world through the work of Catalan architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

s such as Antoni Gaudí and Josep Puig i Cadafalch

Josep Puig i Cadafalch

Josep Puig i Cadafalch was a Spanish Catalan Modernista architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona...

.

A study on the stability of the Catalan vault is kept at the archive of the Institute of Catalan Studies, where it is said to have been entrusted by Puig i Cadafalch.

Though it is popularly called the Catalan vault, this construction method is found throughout the Mediterranean and the invention of the term "Catalan vault" occurred in 1904 at an architectural congress in Madrid. The earliest known reference to this vault is from Valencia in 1382.

External links

• Ramage, Michael. "Construction of a Vault". details the process of constructing a six-foot by six-foot vault.