Below, find 10 examples of barrel vaults, a construction technique that has permeated the entire history of architecture, built in reinforced concrete and applied in contemporary buildings.

The desk belonged to Guelph, Ont., architect Richard (Dick) Pagani. The brochure, which caught the young man's eye, illustrated how to build an eye-catching barrel-vault roof.

The residence is a singular example of contemporized Santa Fe Style, broadly speaking, but it boasts a dominant feature that instead relates to Egypt, Morocco, and Mexico: the barrel vault.