18 Awe-Inspiring Homes With Barrel-Vaulted Ceilings

British Architect Richard Hawkes is known for his sustainable designs, and he built his family home in the Kent countryside to strict environmental standards. The resulting Crossway House is among the UK’s first homes to meet Passivhaus specifications, and it features a wide, barrel-vaulted roof. Hawkes appreciated the barrel construction for the classic reasons. It incorporates tiles made from local Kentish clay—not only minimizing fossil fuel waste, but giving the home a strong sense of place. Second, Hawkes says the timbrel vaulting technique of gluing the first layer of tiles together using quick-drying plaster is "brilliant" in that it does not require extensive guide work structure, thus minimizing the quantity of material required to do the job. "I will never tire from the joy of knowing what it is this scarily thin parabolic arch is doing," he says.