domes and half domes in the Aya Sofia
sustaining domes
Another option for supporting a dome is to build adjacent domes and/or half domes. In the Aya Sofia (around 536 - Istanbul) adjacent half domes support the central dome witch has a perimater of 33 m. The half domes themselves are supported by lower supplemantary buildings. So the horizontal powers of the central dome are supported stepwise.
