On the Inclination of a Flying Buttress Arch

Abstract

AbstractHistorically in architecture, the inclination of a flying buttress arch is determined as the amplitude of the angle that spans between the horizontal straight line and the straight line connecting the two ends of the arch’s lower edge. Nonetheless, this inclination does not represent the entire flyer, but at most only its lower edge. Therefore, using techniques based on geometrical and mechanical criteria, applied to twenty flyer arches belonging to twelve flying buttresses from several European Gothic cathedrals, we present a new proposal for a definition of inclination which represents the entire arch.