**Russian Tented Churches**:
– The Church of Ascension in Kolomenskoye is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
– Tented churches in Russia deviate from Byzantine architecture.
– Tented roofs in Russia were made of wood or brick/stone.
– Originating in the Russian North, tented roofs were practical for snowy winters.
– Notable examples include churches in Vologda and Kondopoga.
– Tented roofs symbolized high ambitions of the state.
– Tented churches were popular during Ivan the Terrible’s reign.
– Tent designs evolved in the 17th century with decorative effects.
**Architectural Features**:
– Tented roofs are polygonal hipped roofs with steep slopes.
– Widely used in medieval religious architecture.
– Queen Anne Victorian style featured wooden turrets with octagonal bases.
– In 16th- and 17th-century Russian architecture, tented roofs were used for churches.
– Modern tent roofs can be found in structures like airports and hotels.
**Symbolism and Interpretations**:
– Some scholars interpret tented roofs as phallic symbols.
– Tented churches were popular during Ivan the Terrible’s reign.
– Patriarch Nikon’s ban on tented churches was lifted in the late 19th century.
**Historical Significance**:
– The Ascension church of Kolomenskoye is considered the first stone tented roof church.
– The Trinity Church in Alexandrov also had an early stone tented roof.
– Tented churches were popular during Boris Godunov’s reign.
– Ivan the Terrible’s reign saw the construction of iconic tented churches.
– Tented roofs became a typical architectural solution for church bell towers.
**References**:
– W. Dean Eastman’s ‘Hometown Handbook: Architecture.’
– Illustrated Architecture Dictionary.
– Definition of tent roof on the Go-Historic website.
– List of roof shapes.
– Encyclopedic travel guide.
A tented roof (also known as a pavilion roof) is a type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak. Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious architecture, were widely used to cover churches with steep, conical roof structures.
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In the Queen Anne Victorian style, it took the form of a wooden turret with an octagonal base with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak, usually topped with a finial. A distinctive local adaptation of this roof style was widely used in 16th- and 17th-century Russian architecture for churches, although there are examples of this style also in other parts of Europe. It took the form of a polygonal spire but differed in purpose in that it was typically used to roof the main internal space of a church, rather than as an auxiliary structure. The same architectural form is also applied to bell towers.
The term "tent roof" may also be applied in modern architecture to membrane and thin shell structures comprising roofs of modern materials and actual tents.
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Modern tent roofs at the Denver International Airport using suspended structural membranes. -
A modern tent roof on the Pavilion Hotel in Wagga Wagga, Australia
Definition from ChatGPT:
Tented roof:
A tented roof is a type of roof that has steeply sloping sides that meet at a peak, resembling the shape of a tent. This design creates a high, pointed roofline that provides a spacious interior and allows for good ventilation. Tented roofs are often used in architectural styles such as Victorian and Gothic Revival.