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A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (sideways) forces arising out of inadequately braced roof structures.
The term counterfort can be synonymous with buttress<ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref> and is often used when referring to dams, retaining walls and other structures holding back earth.
Early examples of buttresses are found on the Eanna Temple (ancient Uruk), dating to as early as the 4th millennium BC.Template:Citation needed
TerminologyEdit
In addition to flying and ordinary buttresses, brick and masonry buttresses that support wall corners can be classified according to their ground plan. A clasping or clamped buttress has an L-shaped ground plan surrounding the corner, an angled buttress has two buttresses meeting at the corner, a setback buttress is similar to an angled buttress but the buttresses are set back from the corner, and a diagonal (or 'French') buttress bisects the angle between the walls where they meet.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The gallery below shows top-down views of various types of buttress (dark grey) supporting the corner wall of a structure (light grey).
- Buttress ground plans
- Anglebuttress.PNG
Angled buttress
- Claspingbuttress.PNG
Clasping or clamped buttress
- Diagonalbuttress.PNG
Diagonal or 'french' buttress
- Setbackbuttress.PNG
Setback buttress
GalleryEdit
- Examples of Buttresses
- Buttress - Palace of Westminster - London - England - 040404.jpg
A buttress and a flying buttress, mostly concealed, supporting walls at the Palace of Westminster
- Zejtun cultural heritage 11.jpg
Buttress at Our Saviour's Chapel, Żejtun, Malta
- 2014 02 13 16 12 25 Milano ITALY Duomo facciata facade con lampione with street lamp photo Paolo Villa FOTO3972.JPG
Façade buttresses at Milan Cathedral, Italy
- Barrage Daniel-Johnson2 edited.jpg
Buttresses on the 700ft tall Daniel-Johnson Dam, Quebec
- Stone Butresses (48013292043).jpg
Thick buttresses characterize Earthquake Baroque architecture like Paoay Church, Philippines
- Western side of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.jpg
Buttresses of the western side of the Mosque of Uqba in Kairouan, Tunisia
- Standalone row house in Centralia, Pennsylvania.JPG
Buttresses to support the wall of this row house were constructed after its neighboring house was taken down as part of the Centralia mine fire.
See alsoEdit
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External linksEdit
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