Semi-dome

In architecture, a semi-dome (or half-dome) is a half dome that covers a semi-circular area in a building.

Architecture

Semi-domes are a common feature of apses in Ancient Roman and traditional church architecture, and in mosques and iwans in Islamic architecture.

A semi-dome, or the whole apse, may also be called a conch after the

Found in many Ancient Greek

When the Byzantine styles were adapted in Ottoman architecture, which was even less concerned with maintaining a central axis, a multiplicity of domes and semi-domes becomes the dominating feature of both the internal space and the external appearance of the building. The buildings of Mimar Sinan and his pupil Sedefkar Mehmed Agha are the masterpieces of this style. Mihrabs are another common location for semi-domes.

In Western Europe the external appearance of a semi-dome is less often exploited than in Byzantine and Ottoman architecture, and is often disguised as a sloping rather than curved semi-circular roof.^[6]

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  Cross-section of Hagia Sophia, as first built
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  Exterior of the

  Sultan Ahmed Mosque
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  Interior of

  Sultan Ahmed Mosque ("Blue Mosque"), Istanbul

  . The main dome is surrounded by four semi-domes, three of which are visible in this image. They in turn have smaller semi-domes hanging off them.
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  Mosaics in Nea Moni of Chios, 11th century
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  conch niche, 18th century
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  Semi-domed mihrab niche, Cairo
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  Painted semi-dome; Parma Cathedral
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  Tribune with semi-dome, Winter Palace

Notes