Voussoir

William Henry Playfair, University of Edinburgh: bevelled edges of each stone block in the pattern of rustication emphasize the voussoir blocks.

The entrance to the chapel at Colditz Castle, a Mannerist arch.

A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element in an arch, a mason's term borrowed in Middle English from French verbs connoting a "turn" (OED). Each wedge-shaped voussoir turns aside the thrust of the mass above, transferring it from stone to stone to the final edge, which is horizontal and passes the thrust to the supports. Voussoir arches distribute weight efficiently and take maximum advantage of the compressive strength of stone, as in an arch bridge. The outer boundaries of a voussoir are the extrados.

Though each unit in an arch or vault is known as a voussoir, there are two specific voussoir components of an arch: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. Often decorated, embellished or exaggerated in size, no true arching action occurs until this unit is in place. The springer is the lowermost voussoir, located where the curve of the arch springs from the vertical support of wall or pier.

Mannerist architects of the 16th century enjoyed building an arch with a slightly dropped keystone, as seen to the right.

References

• Photo repertory of voussoirs
• "Keystones, windows and more about arches"
• Josh Hargraves, "The construction of the Pons Fabricius"