Diseñol y construcción de las bóvedas por cruceros en españa durante el siglo XVI

Abstract

The aim of this text is to present the historical guidelines, design and construction of the grid crossing vaults built in Spain during the 16th century to show how the Gothic tradition of building ribbed vaults could be adapted to classical aesthetic principles. In the Andalusia of the 16th century, both a Renaissance classical architecture and another extraordinarily evolved Gothic one reached, at the same time, their full development, taking place between them interesting knowledge, stylistic and technical transfers. In this respect, the grid crossing vaults are a remarkable example of the formal autonomy of Gothic ribs which, without losing their medieval construction principles, are capable of adapting themselves to Renaissance models. We will see how in the grid crossing vaults, the Gothic crossings adapted themselves to the shape of a classical grid structure, drawing on the surface of the vault a design of caissons according to the stricter Roman Canon.