Ridge turret
A ridge turret is a turret or small tower constructed over the ridge or apex between two or more sloping roofs of a building.[1] It is usually built either as an architectural ornament for purely decorative purposes or else for the practical housing of a clock, a bell or an observation platform. Its function is thus different from that of a roof lantern, despite a frequent similarity of external appearance. It can have a flat roof but usually has a pointed roof or other kind of apex over.
When the height of a roof turret exceeds its width it is usually called a tower or steeple in English architecture, and when the height of a ridge turret's roof exceeds its width, it is called a spire in English architecture or a flèche in French architecture.
Images
- Ridge turret on Ars-sur-Moselle town hall, France
- Ridge turret on Benedictine abbey in Einsiedeln, Switzerland
- Ridge turret on Greenlane Medical Centre in Greenlane, Auckland, New Zealand.
- Ridge tower of the Liebfrauenkapelle in Rapperswil, Switzerland
- The 27.1 metres (88.9 ft) high ridge turret of Predigerkirche Zürich, its 96 metres (315 ft) clock tower in the background.
References