Which exterior support structure transfers weight to external supports?

• A. Arches
• B. Groin Vaults
• C. Columns
• D. Flying Buttresses

Answer: (D)

In Gothic architecture, exterior support structures are designed to take the outward push of vaults and walls and transfer it to external supports, away from the interior space. Flying buttresses do exactly this: they stand outside the building and connect to the nave walls with arched channels, channeling the lateral thrust of the vaulted roof to external piers. This system frees the interior walls to be thinner and taller and allows large stained-glass windows to be set into the walls.

Other internal elements—arches, groin vaults, and columns—primarily transfer weight and thrust within the interior framework to adjacent supports or down to the foundations. They do not perform the function of redirecting the load to exterior supports in the same deliberate way that a flying buttress does.