A catenary arch is a perfect physical embodiment of compression. There’s no wasted section of the arch and it’s self supporting. The word catenary comes from the Latin for chain. If you hook each end of a chain to a post, the way it hangs loose is a catenary as it acts on its own weight. An example of an inverted catenary arch is the St. Louis, Missouri Gateway Arch. I’m attaching a copy of a double inverted catenary arch to the end of this post. You might be surprised about it.
I’m oversimplfying this as there are also arguments that the Gateway Arch is a parabolic arch which is a math term that differs somewhat from a catenary. Just trust me on this, if you want the differences explained, don’t ask an architect as they are too esoteric to explain it in layman’s terms – you must trust me on this because my son has his degree in architecture and I don’t have a clue what he said about it. LOL! Just check out the pictures and enjoy!
Gateway Arch
Double inverted catenary arches
Jillian Chantal 
It seems like I’ve heard something about the Romans in these arches. If I recall correctly the way the arches work is pure genius. I know the architect son was thrilled to see this post.
By: Darlene Henderson on August 12, 2011
at 7:25 am
I don’t think he reads my blog. LOL! I asked him about the coliseum arches and he said they were not this type.
By: Jillian Chantal on August 12, 2011
at 7:40 am
This sounds more like a physics discussion than an architectural one. I guess physics does play pretty heavily into the design phase of things. It must. TGIF!
By: Laurie Ryan on August 12, 2011
at 11:24 am
Yeah, architecture does require physics. LOL! I took physics in high school and don’t recall much- other than I was the only girl in the class and I was in hog heaven.
By: Jillian Chantal on August 12, 2011
at 12:16 pm