A new type of stone dome based on Abeille’s bond

We deal with a new kind of stone spherical vaults, bonded adapting Joseph Abeille’s 1699 patent for flat vaults. After the presentation of a parametric design procedure, we put forward a numerical model and propose a method to seek the optimal parameters. We conclude giving tools to process the information and produce fabrication outputs. f the issues related to the stereotomy of the quoted system are solved; the automatic design of such vaults is made accessible starting from the choice of a topology and a few geometric parameters. A finite element model of the structure is put forward, sufficiently rich to nourish with numerical results the seek of optimality. A graphic representation of such results is proposed to characterize synthetically each structure’s performances and compare tentatives to select the optimum. es are given of optimal choices of the design parameters.