get a line more about what this architectural feature can do for your home ’s design and function .
Werner Straube
Cupolas are vulgar architectural features across the United States , though you might not have give them much thought . Used for both practical and ornamental purpose , cupolas top everything from civic building and historic houses to gazebos and barns .
Credit:Werner Straube
What Is a Cupola?
Common to architecture in the U.S. , a cupola is a tug - similar , roof structure that shoots upwards from a building ’s roof . This is not to be fox with another cupola in architecture , which is the ceiling or home vault of a dome ( likethis cupola fresco in the Austrian National Library . )
cupola column above many humans - renowned spiritual and civil construction , topping domes on theCapitol Buildingin Washington D.C. andCathedral of Santa Maria del Fiorein Florence , Italy . But they were also incorporated on a more practical scale , along the roofs of residences likeGeorge Washington ’s Mount Vernon place . They ’re also found on sheds , garages , barns , and even landscape feature , like the short octangular cupola above the Stars Hollow gazebo in the TV showGilmore Girls .
These roofline additions were a way to admit light source and air into the structure below . Cupolas were integrated into the ceiling construction , imply someone in the building could look up and into the cupola . Although typically enclosed , helping keep brute , debris , and conditions elements out of the structure , cupolas often have openings , such as louver or operable window , for air to mobilize . At Mount Vernon , the cupola not only add together to the home ’s symmetry as a focal point of the roofline , but its posture at the centre of attention of the menage allows the cupola to light up the staircase and make a draft for ventilation throughout the home . Because of these feature , cupola promote air circulation and forbid moisture buildup , which is why you ’ll see them on many barn , stables , and garages .
Credit:John Merkl
John Merkl
A Brief History of Cupolas
According to Britannica , cupola are traced as far back as the 8th century in Islamic , Middle Eastern , and Indian architecture . In the United States , cupola have particularly strong affiliation to 18th and 19th - century computer architecture . InA Field Guide to American Houses , Virginia Savage McAlester writes that rooftop cupolas are common to Federal , Italianate , Octagon , Second Empire , and Greek Revival buildings . You ’ll find them on many Victorian- andGeorgian - era structures .
Cupolas were especially popular as part of the Picturesque Movement , which had a large impact on residential architecture when these styles were developing . It was a period of design focused on spring up a home ’s architecture to well appreciate its surrounding landscape . Many cupola were plainly added to the roofline . But a cupola that is approachable so that a person can look out of it — and peradventure even fit entirely at heart of it — is called abelvedere . Styles that developed with strong influence from the Picturesque Movement , likeItalianate houses , often integrate belvederes as a lookout . For example , the belvedere on theHoumas Housein Darrow , Louisiana , offered a high advantage point to view and appreciate surrounding lands .
Many decades later , cupola were tote up to theranch - style homespopular in the U.S. from the 1930s through the 1970s . According to McAlester , traditional detailing were common additions to these more modern homes , admit the utilisation of decorative , rather than functional , cupolas .
Credit:Edmund Barr
Edmund Barr
Style and Design Elements of Cupolas
Historically , cupola were integrate into the roof to put up the benefits of ventilation and natural light source . Today , they can be simple ornamental additions .
cupola are often solid , especially on Italianate theater , but they can also be rounded , octangular , or hexagonal . cupola may be custom - contrive to equalise a structure ’s computer architecture and stylus . There are also prefabricated styles , generally made of Natalie Wood , vinyl , and metal , in multiple sizes and styles that can be purchased from nursing home and garden stores and Es - retailers .
Although cupola are not as common today , they still serve a useful decorative function . esthetically , cupolas change the visibility of a building by make a more active roofline . For example , cupolas add variety to low - pitch shot cap and single - news report homes . And do n’t forget to moot garage , sheds , barns , and landscape painting elements like gazebos or porch roofs when key out possible locations for a cupola .
When it get to the design , the two most critical part of the cupola are thecap , or roof , and thebodyor main enclosure . The bottom portion that connects the cupola to the house is generally jazz as thebase .
Cupolas are also an chance to incorporate cosmetic component into exterior computer architecture . For example , consider varying the color , shape , or pitch of a cupola capital from the residuum of the structure ’s cap . The cupola ceiling can also be bell - shaped , insipid , tall and pointed , or match the style of the family , like ahip roof . Copper is a pop traditional choice for cupola cap accents .
you may also vary the soundbox elements , including siding type , window shape and pane stylus , or louvers . Cupolas can even impart a touch of whimsy to whatever social system they top ; they are often the complete pole for a weather blade , flagstone , or finial that shows off your personality or the home base ’s architectural expressive style . In addition to toppers , lantern or light fixtures inside the cupola can supply cozy ambience at Nox .
“ Cupola Tower . ”George Washington ’s Mount Vernon , www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/cupola-tower/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024 .
