What are arches and domes used for?

Arches and domes are praised for their ability to span quite wide while using only compressive material (stone), nowadays, in the advent of tensile material (steel), they fell into disuse due to the complexity resulting in high cost. Nowadays, arches and domes are still used to incorporate a classical feel to a building. read more

As with arches, the "springing" of a dome is the level from which the dome rises. The top of a dome is the "crown". The inner side of a dome is called the "intrados" and the outer side is called the "extrados". read more

They achieve openings and large-scale spans. Large beams did not exist because the technologies to manufacture them did not exist. read more