Glossary · O
Onion dome
Also called onion domes, onion
A bulbous dome that swells out beyond its drum and tapers to a point, characteristic of Russian churches from the sixteenth century. It is usually a timber-framed shell sheathed in metal over a lower masonry vault.
Rules that use the word
The onion dome on a tall drum. Lift each dome on a tall drum and give it a bulbous outer shell that swells beyond the drum and draws up to a point under the cross; build the shell as a light timber frame sheathed in metal over the structural vault below.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters Domes, Byzantium and the Early Church.
A feature of Russian architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Obelisk · Oculus · Ogee · Ondol · Open plan · Optical refinements · Opus caementicium · Opus incertum