dome (architecture)

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In architecture, a roof form which is usually hemispherical and constructed over a circular, square, or octagonal space in a building. A feature of Islamic and Roman architecture, the dome was revived during the Renaissance period.

The dome first appears in Assyrian architecture, later becoming a feature of Islamic mosques (after the notable example in the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia, Istanbul 532–37) and Roman ceremonial buildings: the Pantheon in Rome (about AD 112) is 43.5 m/143 ft in diameter.

Rediscovered during the Renaissance, the dome features prominently in Brunelleschi's Florence Cathedral (1420–34), Bramante's Tempietto at San Pietro in Montorio, Rome (1502–10), and St Peter's, Rome (1588–90). Other notable examples are St Paul's, London (1675–1710), by Christopher Wren, and the Panthéon, Paris (1757–90), by Jacques Soufflot (1709–1780).

In the 20th century Buckminster Fuller developed the geodesic dome (a type of space-frame).

The arms show a Bible open at the Gospel of St John, a Trinitarian symbol. The white cross symbolizes faith. The arms appear on national and state flags. Effective date: 14 September 1863. >>