Arnolfo di Cambio originally designed the new cathedral of Florence, Italy, in 1294. Over a century later and the collective contributions of several generations, the cathedral still had an enormous hole in its ceiling where the city council had planned to build a dome. Unable to figure out how to build a dome over 150 feet across, the city of Florence decided to sponsor a structural design competition in August of 1418 for the ideal dome design. Fillipo Brunelleschi, a brilliant goldsmith, presented his proposal of a dome inside another dome, which won him the competition as he superseded his rival Lorenzo Ghiberti. Since the overseers of the project believed that competition would ensure quality control, they designated Ghiberti as Brunelleschi’s…show more content… Up to that point, a dome of this magnitude had never been build. All arches and domes at the time were built upon a wood framework that would support the arch until the corner stone was locked in place. The problem was that they did not have enough lumber to build or have the strength to support the weight of the dome until placing the corner stone. Brunelleschi ingenuity solved this problem by making the dome as light as possible by having two domes with a hollow space in between them. He also used multiple ribs to help support and bear the weight of the dome. He used eight main vertical ribs that are visible from the outside with two more vertical ribs in-between each main rib. He also added horizontal tension rings that held the vertical ribs like hoops on a barrel. This new technique allowed the dome to self-sustain and lock itself in place as each course of stone and brick was added. Another challenged face by Brunelleschi was to hoist heavy pieces of stone, bricks, and iron to the top of the dome. To solve the problem, Brunelleschi created new kinds of pulleys and ox hoist mechanism never seen before. He also invented other types of lifting machines that made the construction of the dome
