Fanvaulting

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of architectural design featuring intersecting pointed arches, creating a series of ribbed structures overhead
2. A decorative construction method utilized in vaulted ceilings, characterized by a network of arches for aesthetic and structural purposes
3. An intricate form of ceiling treatment that involves the arrangement of ribbed arches, enhancing both support and visual appeal in Gothic architecture

Etymology: Fan vaulting is a ceiling design in which the ribs spread outward from the springing point like the struts of an open fan, and the surfaces between them are shaped as shallow, identical cones. It is almost entirely an English invention. Builders developed it in the early 1300s, and the Gloucester Cathedral cloister, begun around 1351, is the classic early example. Its ribs are carved so that the pattern repeats evenly across the whole ceiling, which made the design look more like tracery than structure. The term itself is much later. "Fan" in this sense is the ordinary word for the folding hand or electric device, from Old English "fann", a winnowing shovel, which refers to the spreading shape. "Vaulting" comes from the Old French "volte", an arched roof, and is ultimately from Latin "volvere", to roll. The compound appears in English architectural writing in the 19th century, when Victorian architects and antiquarians were studying medieval English churches and needed a name for the form.

Synonyms: fan vault, fan vault ceiling