DESIGN

HISTORY
 1

• long passageways and

Catacombs
chambers/underground tunnel
PENDENTIVE
• designed as cemeteries for
 enable to sit a dome on a square
burying the Christian dead.

barrel vault ribbed vault

• Support roof
• fire-proof barrier between the roof and interior
 What is the usage of Basilica during Byzantine &
Romanesque
• used as public gathering places for large groups of Christian,
become a Christianity Church
What is the usage of Basilica during
The roman basilica the building in which judicial, commercial, and governmental
activities(debate & law making) took place

Romanesque architecture characteristic

• composed of simple geometrical forms such as the cube, the
cylinder or halfcylinder, the semi-circle or hemisphere.
• built with thick and heavy wall & seriousness and coarseness
 Byzantine architecture characteristics
• round arches, large domes and extensive use of mosaic.
Agenda:
 Characteristics of Gothic
Cathedrals in France,
England, Germany and
Italy

 Analysis of the important

Gothic structures
 FRENCH GOTHIC
Expression of the Heavens

A period where great cathedrals were constructed in the highest

quality with a great amount of effort, ingenuity and

the invention of

The pointed arch, the ribbed vaulting & the flying

buttress.
Gothic man imagined HEAVENin the form of a
heavenly
 architectural structure.

C e n t u r y o fc a t h e d r a l s
 FRENCH GOTHIC
FRENCH GOTHIC
• Gothic developed in a small area in Paris, France, during
11th – 12th Centuries.
• Gothic architecture was a symbol of the new power of the
French Kings and spread out in France along with the
influence of the crown (royals).
• The pride of the guild was on display for all to see – Design of
cathedrals speaks the language of all social classes –
symbolism, all the figures and window images

Guild -craftsman/merchant/architect/artist(tradesman) - having considerable power

 FRENCH GOTHIC
• Abbot Suger – was the politician and religious advisor to the
French King Louis VI & VII.
• Saint Denis – first Gothic cathedral, built under direction of
Abbot Suger
• Intended to make the Saint Denis the spiritual centre of
France.
• Emphasised on the mathematical harmony that should exist
between the parts of a building and on the miraculous, mystical
effect of light. (express the relationship between light and God’s presence in a
distinctive/unique way.
Basilica of St. Denis
Basilica of St. Denis

Apse

Aisle Nave
Transept
 FRENCH GOTHIC
• Suger’s new architecture : different from the dark interiors and
thick, massive walls of Romanesque architecture.
• From the 1230s to 1250, French architects built over eighty
Gothic churches.
• cathedrals were built taller & higher – the vision of creating a
colourful imaginative representation of Heavenly
Jerusalem.

• Gothic symbolised a new synthesis of Humanity, God and

Nature.

ARCHITECTURAL
ELEMENTS
The entrance
• The west front entrance of the
church pictured the Gate into
Heaven, usually incorporating
sculptures of the Last
Judgement, Christ and the
Apostles, the Good Souls and
the Damned.

• The sides were also covered in

sculptures depicting the
temporal world, and like Greek
temples, the whole was
originally multicoloured.
[Elements for the soul purpose of lifting
man’s soul up to heaven]

Cologne Cathedral
Cathedral of St. Peter & Mary
Stained glass window
• This new, unreal light, was very important to the faithful
because stained glass windows carried a theological message:
‘ the sacred origin of the images was apparent from the way
in which the light filtered thru them’.

• It illustrated bible for the ‘poor’, the windows conveyed the

biblical message to the illiterate and those who could not
afford expensive bibles.

• Sometimes, it also illustrated daily life scenes, zodiacs, and

story of the saints.

* Sacred - connected with God

* Illiterate - unable to read or write.
Stained glass window
Stained glass window
Rose window
• Rose window – the window
itself is a descendant of the
Roman oculus.

• Utilize geometry on three

levels: manifest (clear to
sight or mind) , hidden and
symbolic. Every space is
defined by another smaller
geometric figure.
Flying buttress

• The roof is carried via bridges

(flying buttresses) to free
standing walls at right angles
outside.
• Stone technology was
continually refined and honed
by trial and error into
architecture of tension, rhythm
and equilibrium, where
columns and tracery became as
slender as plants and as
delicate as lace.
Flying Buttress
CHURCH STRUCTURES
• The church building became an image of nature, imitation
plan forms, ribs, stems and growing out of the earth like a
tree. Statues were now recognisable portraits of
individuals.
• Internally the strong vertical lines of structure divided up

the space like a mathematical diagram or musical rhythm,

representing God’s ordering of humanity and nature.
The Vault of Heaven
 •Ribbed Vault

•Pointed Arch
Pointed Arch - a curved structure spanning an open space, supporting the weight above it.

Clerestory - an upward expansion of an interior space created by many vertical windows in a wall. It is
clear of the roofs of the aisles and admits light to the central parts of the building.

Triforium - a gallery of arches above

the longitudinal arches along the nave of a
church.
Vault - part of a structure roofed by
arched masonry

Pier - an upright support

Flying Buttress - a buttress ( a

pier that supports a wall )slanting from a
separate column, typically forming an
arch with the wall it supports.

Pinnacle - a terminal ornament found

on roofs, buttresses, or other high points.

Buttress- a projecting support of stone

or brick built against a wall.
All View - a
description of
Gothic
Architecture

Cathedral of
Ch a p e l l e
P a r i s
skeletal structure
, filled with majestically
shinningcolouredleaves
• Statues were now
recognisable portraits of
individuals.
 Notre Dame De Paris
Most famous Gothic cathedral – expressive beacon of Christianity –
volume, height and grandeur.
A network of spidery flying buttresses
brace the exterior walls, allowing them
to be fenestrated with stained glass.
Rose window is visible in the transept
façade.
• Highlights of the
crossing of the
nave and
transept.
 Gargoyle decorating the Cathedral de
Gargoyle Notre Dame (1163-1345) in Paris,
France
A carved or formed grotesque(a very
ugly or comically distorted figure,
creature, or image)
To frighten offand protectthose that it guards,
such as achurch, from any evil or harmful spirits.
 Sigh! I’m sure they
think we are ugly &
Don’t worry, they scary statue…
just have not
discover our
function & purpose
• with a spout designed to convey water
from a roof and away from the side of a
building

• Rain water spouts

 ENGLISH
GOTHIC
1200-1500

• What emerged in England was a combination of

Norman architecture (which already incorporated
many Gothic trends and the new style).
• However, this resulted in the development of
something completely independent of the French
style.

Westminster
Abbey
The Collegiate Church of
S t . P e t e r
Prince William & Kate Middleton wedding
• Place where royals are
coroneted (crowned)
portraying scenes in the bible
Fan-vaults– It is lighter compare to the French cathedrals
Westminster Bridge
GERMAN GOTHIC
1250-1500
• French Gothic style was adopted very hesitantly in
Germany because it was here that Romanesque
style was most popular.
Cologne
Cathedral
Cathedral of St. Peter &
Mary
After the "Old Cathedral“ (818 AD) burned down on April 30, 1248, construction
of the present Gothic church began in the 13th century and took, with
interruptions, more than 600 years to complete. Suffered from 14 hits during
WWII, the building still remains standing until today.

In 1996, the cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List of culturally
important sites.
 Free–standing buttressing: Created a further open space uniform
than classical Gothic cathedrals

ITALIAN GOTHIC
1250-1450

• Shifted away from religious architecture

• Italian Gothic deviated even more strongly from the French model
than the German version
• Italian Gothic tended to pursue the development of it own
architectural traditions rather than adopting the French models. The
middle classes in Italy rose to power and affluence earlier than the
Germans, thus they developed a different style which reflected in the
transformation of architecture.
• The religious was no longer seen as the matching part of the
material.

Palazzo Pubblico
T ownhall, I taly
1297-1348
High tower – conveyed a
strong sense of urban
power, resembles a castle.
It served as a model for many town halls and residences.
 Milan Cathedral
Employs certain Gothic elements but the geometry of the triangle is
most obvious here.
THE END
Questions?