barrel vault

[rampage]

Does anyone know of a link, book, etc. for doing a barrel vaulted ceiling. I caught the tail end of a show a few years ago about the subject. They were saying how easy it was to do. It looked like they put up some metal bands and the dry wall actually curved in on it. Thanks

[Amanda_931]

Nader Khalili and Cal-Earth.  Although these are made from adobes, maybe earthbags.

Hathan Fathy(?) liked them too, but IIRC no instructions in his books--pictures of Lybian craftsmen making them, though.  Both South Asia and the Lybian desert areas use them.

I'm going to do something I consider stupid, and give you the search results--My internet link is really unstable right now.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/102-5033885-9976111?url=index%3Dblended&field-keywords=Earthbag&Go.x=11&Go.y=7

the Paulina Wojciechowska book may have something, I know that the Khalili Ceramic Houses does.

But you may have been thinking of wood.

Or quonset hut type structures.

(Kelly Hart's shop/office was done with a quonset type top over an earthbag) You could look him up--search with quonset--too

[rampage]

Thanks Amanda. Those books look like they have some cool pics. I'm a sucker for great architecture. I dont see any reason why small dwellings cant be pleasing to the eye. By looking at some of the pics in the Country Plans gallery, I'm not the only one that feels that way.

[Shelley]

Maybe this is what you're thinking of

http://www.hgtvpro.com/hpro/bp_interior_finishes/article/0,2617,HPRO_20148_3444476,00.html

[tjm73]

That's kinda cool.  Bet it looks real nice all finished.

[Sassy]

Here's a link to Flying Concrete... the vaulted ceilings/domes - constructed of lightweight concrete...  if you are looking for a nice vacation in Mexico, the link below shows their homesite & also a workshop they are conducting in January.
The Flying Concrete Co makes some fantastic, sometimes surreal buildings/balconies/stairways/doors/windows etc.; fascinating!

http://www.geocities.com/flyingconcrete

[Amanda_931]

That second Flying Concrete picture is just mind-bogglingly gorgeous.

[Ailsa C. Ek]

That second Flying Concrete picture is just mind-bogglingly gorgeous.

What she said!  Now that I've seen it, I want to run out & do it.

There's a section in A Pattern Language on barrel-vaulted ceilings and how to build them, but I've only skimmed it, not actually gone through and read it to see if it's enough to explain to me how I might do it.