The Structural Depth of the Masonry Antidome and Ambidome

Structural or effective depth is a concept often used to indicate the material efficiency of a spanning structures: a larger structural depth allows for less material use. This paper investigates the structural depth of the masonry shells called Antidome and Ambidome to demonstrate the potential of this concept in understanding and designing shells. In the case of the masonry Antidome, it is shown that only the first outer course(s) in relation to the position of the shell support and tension ring, add(s) to the structural depth of this typology, while all the other following, lower inner courses reduce this structural depth. For the Ambidome it is shown that still some advantage can be found in the lower courses of its antidome part for its spanning qualities.