How Did Brunelleschi Build The Dome Of Florence Cathedral?

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The Design and Construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral was a Major Feat of Structural Engineering Discuss Brunelleschi was the great renewer of Italian Architecture and one of the greatest contributors to the advancement of Structural Engineering in History. When in the gothic period Architects were trying to build higher and higher, he pushed the boundaries much further; stopped the use of Buttresses; and while at it set the cornerstone of the Renaissance. His greatest feat is the Building of Florence’s Cathedral dome; and as with many feats in History other inventions had to be created to supplement the capacity and the rate at which any colossus can be built. In this essay first we will discuss first the design requirements…show more content…
Brunelleschi’s hands were tied as an Artist, as the building, the Cathedral of Florence, was already designed with a long gothic octagonal cupola. And he was not permitted to change anything. The nave was finished was 1380, and on the 18th of August 1418 a competition to build the dome was announced. The finalists of this competition were Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi. They both competed in 1401 for the building of the Baptistery doors, where Ghiberti was found victorious, but this time Filippo was the only to present a design were no wooden scaffolding was needed, and therefore he won. Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377. His father was a lawyer, and his early education was driven towards following the steps of his father who was a civil…show more content…
This was only sixty centimetres thick and thirty centimetres thick at the top. Filippo engrossed the outer dome at nine different locations to create 9 vertical rings. To overcome hoop stress the outer dome is only connected to inner dome via the stone iron ring at its base. Not being connected to the other rings on the inner dome. Brunelleschi also used a herringbone brick pattern to place weight of the laid brick to nearest vertical of the outer dome. At the top there was supposed to be a circular open area (as the pantheon) but Brunelleschi decided to place a lantern of octagonal form with buttresses and arched windows. On top of this lantern there was a bronze ball which was commissioned to Michelozzo, a friend of Brunelleschi, whom at the time had a young Leonardo da Vinci working in his studio. Speculating that the ball was built by Da
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