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A squinch in architecture is a piece of construction used for filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a proper base to receive an octagon
Octagon

In geometry, an octagon is a polygon that has 8 sides. A regular octagon is represented by the Schl?fli symbol ....
al or spherical
Sphere

A sphere is a symmetrical geometrical object. In non-mathematical usage, the term is used to refer either to a round ball or to its two-dimensional surface....
 dome
Dome

A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. It was the primitive solution of this problem, the perfected one being eventually provided by the pendentive
Pendentive

A pendentive is a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an ellipse dome over a rectangular room....
. Squinches may be formed by masonry built out from the angle in corbel
Corbel

In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger"....
led courses, by filling the corner with a vise
Visé

Vis? is a Wallonia municipality and City status in Belgium of Belgium, where it is located on the river Meuse river, in the province of Li?ge ....
 placed diagonally, or by building an arch or a number of corbelled arches diagonally across the corner.

In Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the History of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
, especially in Persia, where it may have been invented, the squinch was often disguised by a succession of corbelled stalactite
Stalactite

A stalactite is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling or wall of limestone caves. It is sometimes referred to as dripstone....
-like structures known as muqarnas
Muqarnas

Muqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture and Persian architecture. The term is similar to moc?rabe, but moc?rabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole....
.






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A squinch in architecture is a piece of construction used for filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a proper base to receive an octagon
Octagon

In geometry, an octagon is a polygon that has 8 sides. A regular octagon is represented by the Schl?fli symbol ....
al or spherical
Sphere

A sphere is a symmetrical geometrical object. In non-mathematical usage, the term is used to refer either to a round ball or to its two-dimensional surface....
 dome
Dome

A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. It was the primitive solution of this problem, the perfected one being eventually provided by the pendentive
Pendentive

A pendentive is a constructive device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or an ellipse dome over a rectangular room....
. Squinches may be formed by masonry built out from the angle in corbel
Corbel

In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger"....
led courses, by filling the corner with a vise
Visé

Vis? is a Wallonia municipality and City status in Belgium of Belgium, where it is located on the river Meuse river, in the province of Li?ge ....
 placed diagonally, or by building an arch or a number of corbelled arches diagonally across the corner.

In Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture

Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the History of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
, especially in Persia, where it may have been invented, the squinch was often disguised by a succession of corbelled stalactite
Stalactite

A stalactite is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling or wall of limestone caves. It is sometimes referred to as dripstone....
-like structures known as muqarnas
Muqarnas

Muqarnas is a type of corbel used as a decorative device in traditional Islamic architecture and Persian architecture. The term is similar to moc?rabe, but moc?rabe only refers to designs with formations resembling stalactites, by the use of elements known as alveole....
. It was also commonly used in churches of Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and the East; one such example being the Norman church of San Cataldo in Palermo, Sicily. This twelfth-century church features three domes. Each is supported by four doubled squinches.