Squinch

Squinches supporting a dome in Odzun Basilica, Armenia, early 8th century

A squinch in architecture is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome. A later solution of this structural problem was provided by the pendentive.

Construction

Squinches may be formed by masonry built out from the angle in corbelled courses, by filling the corner with a vise placed diagonally, or by building an arch or a number of corbelled arches diagonally across the corner.

History in the Middle East

The squinch was probably invented in Iran. It was used in the Middle East in both eastern Romanesque and Islamic architecture. It remained a feature of Islamic architecture, especially in Iran, and was often covered by corbelled stalactite-like structures known as muqarnas.

History in Western Europe

It spread to the Romanesque architecture of western Europe, one example being the Normans' 12th-century church of San Cataldo, Palermo in Sicily. This has three domes, each supported by four doubled squinches.

Etymology

The word "squinch" comes from the Persian word "سه+کنج=) "سکنج) (pronounced sekonj).

See also

• Pendentive