This article focuses on a very specific type of vault found in Valencia through a particular example: the vault of the access space of the Más Palace in Valencia. This vault variant reflects two very specific characteristics, typical of Valencian construction practices. On the one hand, it is a star-shaped vault, that is, a vault conceived similarly to the multi-ribbed vaults of the late Gothic period, but without ribs. On the other hand, it is a brick vault constructed in a partitioned manner. That is, it is a very thin vault, which also has no load-bearing function, but rather to create a false ceiling or protection for the wooden floor above it. The vault analyzed is not a unique or singular case, as there are many others that are still preserved. It is an architectural type that enjoyed a certain diffusion due to its formal, constructive, and economical characteristics, and should be studied as such. The article offers a historical approach to the formal and constructive characteristics of this type, and through the example of the Palacio Más, it determines, to the extent possible, the importance of this construction method, since it has not been treated independently in studies conducted to date. In other words, this type of vault has always been presented as a (partly secondary) product of the era of stone groin vaults. However, star-shaped brick vaults deserve special attention, due to their greater diffusion than the previous ones, and their more functional and pragmatic characteristics, in keeping with the needs of their time. The article, for its part, is based on a laser scanner survey of the Palacio Más vault in order to determine as much as possible the set of formal and constructive parameters that govern it.
Gil et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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