History of Architecture Exam 3 Kim Sextion

Old St Peters Basilica

(Background)

Rome, Italy, 4th Cen CE, Early Christian

Santa Sabina Basilica

(Background)

Rome, Italy, 5th Cen CE, Early Christian

I. Old St. Peters + St. Sabinas

A. Context

Architecture still heavily roman

- Late Antiquity/ Late Ancient/ Late Roman = 284-632 CE

- Diocletian to Muhammad

Noncolumnar aesthetic of Late Roman Architecture in 4th Cen

- moving to more and more concrete architecture

Late ancient style in a civil basilica

- rhythms of voids in a smooth wall plane

- windows punched in

- windows grouped and banked in progression

- generous illumination

- columns subordinated to vaulting

Nero + Caligula build a Circus

- Acropolis of city of the dead

- Persecution of Christians here

Emperor Constantine

- Legalized Christianity in Roman Empire in 313 CE

- built basilicas

- battle of Milivan Bridge

- Constantine takes over

Neros Circus goes into ruins so Constantine builds St Peters

- memorial to Peter the Apostle

I. Old St. Peters + St Sabina

B. Precedent

Precedent is Roman Basilica

- basilica in trajans forum

- About Assembly

Old St Peters + St Sabina

C. Features of Early Christian Basilica

Atrium - A peristyle courtyard in front of a buildings transition space

Nave - Naos (greek) middle vessel of basilica

Apse - A vaulted semicircular or semi-polygonal space usually found at the 2 aisles on either side of nave

Axis urges down to apse

- longitudinal

Not always an altar in apse

Transept - the transverse arm crossing the main body of a Christian Church

- Memorial to St Peter located in transept

St Peters Shrine - people would drop things down into box

- Gain power from Apostle Bones

Transept becomes symbolic of the cross of crucifixion

Orientation of early christian basilicas will turn the liturgical focus (apse) to the East

- St Peters is oriented east

- St Sabina has no orientation

Old St Peters + S. Sabina

D. Early Christian Style

Brick faced concrete

smooth continuous plane

load bearing wall (internal self buttressing)

Revealing of interior shape

WIndows punched in

generous illumination

Interior

- horizontal nave articulation

- lots of columns

- continuous nave colonnade

- St Peters - trabeated nave colonnade

- S. Sabina - Arcuated nave colonnade

Spolia - conspicuous reuse of building material = rightful heir of a past legacy.... Christianity is rightful heir to Roman Culture

St Peters - jeweled style of columns, frescoes for the illiterate, apse had an expensive mosaic

S. Sabina - matching spolia columns, apse mosaic (marble intarsia, different insignias of christ)

1. ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE

Christian Architecture adapts arched lintel

old St Peters + S. Sabina

E. Ritual

Atrium for preparation physiologically

St Peters had a fountain + was a place for pilgrimage

S. Sabina - aisles for people not baptized but interested in Christianity, between columns had curtains

St. Peters - processional days to close off nave from aisles, sequential/ management of multitudes

Hagia Sophia

(background)

Istanbul, Turkey, 6th Cen CE

Hagia Sophia

A. COntext

analogue of Heaven + Earth

Virgin marys throne of Wisdom (sophia)

- container of the incontainable

Emperor Justinian

- Symbolic of Christian belief in eternal paradise in heaven

- purged everyone who wasnt Christian

Hagia Sophia

B + C. Ritual + Formal Analysis

1. THE CONCEPT = CONGREGATIONAL BASILICA

elongation of nave

- stretched out

Apse oriented east

2. ATRIUM

preparation

patriarch and people would walk into nave together

3. NARTHEXES

2 Narthexes

- transitional space porch

1st inner narthex

- gleaming, glowing

- doors are hierarchical

- center door aligns you with mosaic

4. DOMED BASILICA INTERIOR

Emperor has no fancy place to sit

Nave Arcade

upstairs to aisle

- more close to action

- spolia here

columns are all spolia

porphyry columns from egypt

dome lifts edges up

follow patriarch through door

glimpse of an otherworldly order inside

center apse has most windows

imperial box/ private oratory for the emperor - metatorian

-not centered, off to the side

Hagia Sophia

D. STRUCTURE

Dome Comes from roman architecture

good geometrically

oculus

brick facing, rubble fill

its not concrete

Hagia Sophia

E. Theory

Metaphysical order - beyond the physical

Byzantine hagia sophia

Hagia Sophia

F. BYZANTINE STYLE

1. SPATIAL EFFECTS

side spaces

exedras

straight line becomes something else

billowing space

in a forest of columns

2. BYZANTINE LIGHT

a lot of light

- to see paintings

Clerestories put in lunettes

40 windows around dome

- light sometimes erase architecture

- floating

3. SURFACE DECORATION + MOSAIC

marble + gold

material seen coming from them

- highly polished

- glittered mosaic

marble revetment of walls

- lacy molding

marble fretwork, screen panel in the gallery

basket capital

- looks like an empty basket

4. MODULATION OF CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE

Basket capital

- basically a composite capital

- made to appear weak

Stilted arch

- intuitive understanding of load and support

- springings begin above impost block

ISLAM AND ITS NEED FOR CONGRGATIONAL ARCHITECTURE

A. KABBA AND ITS IMPORTANCE

Dont need architecture, just a proper rug for prayer

Prophet Muhammad

revelations (Quran)

About one god (allah)

Islam

Muslim

Pray five times a day, on friday, congregational prayer

The Hajj: make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime

Kabba is axis mundi

The Kabba, the house of God

Empty room

Black Stone in corner is holy

ISLAM AND ITS NEED FOR CONGRGATIONAL ARCHITECTURE

B. ARAB CONQUESTS AND EARLY ARCHITECTURAL FORMS

Mosques of mecca

- mosques spread from there

Umayyads build first monumental architecture

Dome of the Rock

(background)

Jerusalem, Israel, 7th Cen CE, Umayyad

Dome of the Rock

A. Context

Super byzantine

- gold mosaic

Temple built after Titus destroyed area

found rock over area

- rock where Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac

Medina - Jerusalem then Celestial Voyage

Visuals from other cultures implemented to building

Dome of The Rock

B. Program

Central plan

martyrium

Dome of the Rock

C. SYMBOLISM OF 8 SIDES

8 is the number of initiation, beginnings

- starting of a new thing

Dome of the Rock

D. Triumphialistic display

Many material columns

immensely detailed exterior

Circumambulating

People of the book are priviliged

Dome of the Rock mosiac iconography

Dome of the Rock

E. Aesthetics

Early use of a pointed arch

The Great Mosque

(background)

Cordoba, Spain, 8th - 10th Cen CE, Umayyad

The Great Mosque

A. Context

A Great Mosque = congregational mosque/friday mosque

Classical roman columns

visigothic capitals

umayyad captials

The Great Mosque

B. Precedent

Architecture suspended from heaven

No precedents

Sanctification of the house as an ideal

The Great Mosque

C. Ritual

1. PURPOSE OF MINARET

Tower used to call prayer

fairly close on axis with Mosque

2. PLAIN EXTERIOR

architecture experienced from within

- people belonged inside

Massive unpierced temeos walls

3. ISLAMS NON PROCESSIONAL GATHERINGS

non-hierarchical

non-ceremonial

various points of entrance to mosque

4. RITUAL PREPARATIONS

ablution fountain

- washing

5. INDICATIORS OF DIRECTIONALITY

qibla = the direction of prayer toward Kabba in Mecca

columns parallel that direction

6. QIBLA AXIS PRESENT IN ARCHITECTURE

mirab niche seen on qibla axis

- door to beyond

6A. MIHRAB NON FIGURAL ORNAMENT

classical elements

is an arch

horseshoe arch

voussoirs have mosaics

- fretwork

non figural

- detach from everyday world

The Great Mosque

D. Style

Horseshoe Arch

- seen in visigothic churches

- different roots

Modulated with 180 degree arch

- inherent circle

Ceiling needs to be high enough to see mihrab niche

copying roman aqueduct architecture

1. PRIZED NON TECTONIC AESTHEITCS

ambiguity in alternating voussoirs

- signaling architectonic

- seeing a field of them is a pattern, not architectonic

1A. PATTERN IN LATER GATES

non tectonic values

exterior less anonymous

vocab from inside to outside

Door of the Ministries

- interlinked horseshoe arches, become pointed

- textiles become an inspiration

- weaving tiles on facade

- patterns of lace

- covering up construction qualities

IB. Maqsura

- privileged space in front of niche

- ribs to create geometrical pattern

The Great Mosque

E. SYMBOLISM

immeasurable distance, infinity conquered by prayer

Mihrab niche has no relics, just pointer to mecca

sense of longing

symbolism is abstract

Carolingian Royal Palace

(background)

Aachen, Germany, 8th-9th Cen CE, Carolingian

Carolingian Royal Palace

A. Context

Carolingian Kingship

- charlemagne

- frankish (Germanic Christian tribe)

Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor

Converter North German tribes to Christian

- genocide?

- militaristic

Tomb was under Palatine Chapel

Carolingian emperor to govern his subjects as Gode Lieutenant

Renovatio Romae

- renovation of Rome

idea of monasteries were invented by Carolingians

lots of wood chapels

plan of St Gall (850)

Carolingian Royal Palace

B. Features and Their Orgins

Aachen is Roman City with Cardo and Decumanus

Charlemagne reorganized buildings to Cardinal Direction

- church faces east

Aula Regia

- royal hall

Palatine Chapel of St Marys

Gallery

residence

Atrium

Courtiers houses made of wood

baths

Carolingian Royal Palace

C. Evidence of Romanness

Aula Regia has ties to Roman architecture

- differences

- 3 apses

- triconch (3 shell) hall having 3 labeled tricliniums

1. FUNCTIONS IN AULA REGIA

Charlemagne = guarantor of Justice

- big daddy

2. ATRIUM = ROMAN FORUM

Aachens atrium

exedras remind people of Trajans Forum

2 basilicas on either side of atrium

- hypothesis

3. SCOPIC EYE

gatehouse (solarium) - og security camera

Carolingian Royal Palace

D. GERMANIC TRADITION

Courtiers Hall raised

- found all over Europe

Towers are vertical expressions of power

- tower isnt just a point of access

- steps meant to be occupied

- each room with a cloister vault

Palatine Chapel

(background)

Palatine Chapel, Aachen, Germany, 8th - 9th Cen CE, Carolingian

Palatine Chapel

B. Program

Arrival point is 2nd point of tower

Members of court is on lower level

Collected relics from Rome for Chapel

Palatine Chapel

C. Style

Masonry built not ashlar

- suggests Roman ties

Bronze fixtures

- bronze doors + railing

Voussoirs are green and white

- From Dome of the Rock

Columns are from Ravenna

- spolia

8 straight sides

- 8 inside, 16 outside

- mentality of timber thinking

Palatine Chapel

D. RITUAL

Very tall and narrow

- bronze chandelier

- scopic eye down from chapel to nave

ideological verticality in chapel

pyramid of power

- dome is God

- charlemagne in his throne on 2nd floor

- people on first floor

cosmology inserted in theology

Palatine Chapel

E. Symbolism and Theory

1. SYMBOLISM OF NUMBER 8

Imperial coronations took place here

burial of charlemagne in this chapel

2. OTHER NUMEROLOGICAL SYMBOLISM

circumfrence of inner octagon is 144 carolingian feet

walls of the heavenly jerusalem are 144 cubits high

- giving god credit to design

MAYA IN MESOMERICA

A. basic architectural strategies

Pyramids with stairs on one side = temple or mausoleum temple

Radial pyramids = cosmological shrines

typical of maya interiors: scant space and corbel vaults

MAYA IN MESOAMERICA

B. Maya Religion and practice

Underworld, earth, and heavens

Kings duty to safeguard his community by reinventing cosmos after death

world tree

Nobles duty: safeguard community through blood letting to contact the beyong

Lots of blood in the penis

Very intricate ritual

cosmological

Temple of the Inscriptions

(background)

Palenque, Mexico, 7th CEN, Mayan

Temple of the Inscriptions

A. Context

total organic organization

- on platforms + terraces

Built of limestone

9 levels = 9 layers of the underworld

monarchy

pacal descended from mother

- was a patriarchal society

Temple of the Inscriptions

B. Ritual

Ritual King does in underworld

Corbelled arch shaft

Sarcophagus surrounded by portraits of king

Top of sarcophagus shows underworld

Vision serpent

Temple of the Inscriptions

C. SYMBOLISM

Numerology

13 corbelled vaulted arches = 13 levels of the heavens

Royal Palace of Palenque

(background)

Royal Palace of Palenque, Mexico, 7th - 8th Cen CE, Mayan

Royal Palace at Palenque

A. Context

narrating defeat against city-states on stairs

had their own trinity in gods?

Royal Palace at Palenque

B. Origins

Courtyards

houses comprised of 2 parallel galleries

- entrance on long side

An important cast court

Pinwheel design

outer colonnade or portico has little doors inside

Underlying typology = the pyramid

Biggest plaza faced the north side

Royal Palace at Palenque

C. Style

domestic dwellings but with roof combs

- elaborated versions of Mayan house

Translate perishable materials - into stone - hip roof over a corbelled vault

Royal Palace at Palenque

D. Religious Symbolism

subterranean structure is underworld

- 2 headed cosmic monster

Royal Palace at Palenque

E. Legitimacy

stairs on north side

- bringing home sacrificial victims

- bleachers

display of power

1. LITERAL LEGITIMACY

east court, SE corner

House C - ancestor portraits

2. WHERE TO EXCERCISE ROLE OF JUSTICE

House E

- Position of opening + bench

- medallion

Death Eyes

- floral motifs with eye in center

Medallion

- pacal crowned by Mama

3. EAST COURT AND DISCIPLINE TO SUBORDINATED

When destiny waits for them

Below my feet

tower and its court

shell enclosing a narrow inner stairway

Upper room has bench

- ceremonial

watchtower

Ste Foy

(background)

Conques, France, 11th Cen, Romanesque

Ste Foy

A. Context

1. aiming to surpass all others in the splendor of construction

2. new churches on pilgrimage roads

pilgrimage chruch type

Ste Foy

B. Ritual

transept has its own aisles

- facilitates circulation

Tribune gallery

- people slept here

ambulatory around apse with radiating chapels

- radiate out of apse

Ste Foy

C. STYLE AND ARCHITECTURAL LANGUAGE (EXTERIOR)

1. OVERALL APPEARANCE

towered exterior reaching for heaven

2. FACADE DESIGN

twin tower facade

sculpture all over facade

Large Door

- bronze

Grand threshold

3. EXTERIOR WALLS

chevet - elaborate east end

Heavy emphasis on exterior walls

- more than an apse

Reveals thickness through layers + planes

blind arcade - columns carrying arches

archivolts

spur buttresses - left articulated on outside

engaged columns

crossing - transept + nave meeting

tribune gallery looks like clerestory

4. INTERIOR NAVE ELEVATION

compound pier - a pier transformed into a multiform vertical support my many of attached engaged columns, shafts, and or colonnettes

Dividing space into vertical units

Funneling lines of sight up to vaulted ceiling

Historiated capitals

- moment of important transitions

- has gestures to communicate stories

- atlas figures

Ste Foy

D. Theory

neoplatonic philosophy - neoplaonic medieval architecture theory

- emanation of divine force of energy

- beauty is found in number

- idea goes to Plato

- Platinus

- very monotheistic thinkin

- the one - souls - physical

Divine illumination

- some people can "look back" and discern the order of Gods creation

- most common quadratine: 1 to radical 2; based on manipulating a square

Revealing thickness of walls

- creating lines + divisions relating to simple geometry

pairing of arches under bling arcade in the cloister

Ste Foy

E. Structure

Load bearing stone masonry

- not with concrete but with weak mortar

Barrel vault will have long line of thrust

wall or spur buttresses pushed outside to aisles

Quadrant vaults - half barrel vault

Masonry isnt super precise

1. ROMANESQUE BARREL VAULTS WITH BANDS

transverse arches - banded barrel vault

for aesthetics and structures

Medieval construction required centering for barrel vaults

advantage: transverse arches help the barrel vault maintain its form

2. BANDED VAULTS FOR AESTHETICS

continue vertical articulation on vault

- carries it down

- unified interior logic

3. PROBLEMS WITH VAULT

church is a bit dark

- bring a dust like vibe

fairly translucent glass

half light - half dark

Speyer Cathedral

(background)

Speyer, Germany, 11th - 12th cen CE

Speyer Cathedral

A. Context

Cathedral - the principle church in a diocese, the seat of its bishop or archbishop

Carolingian empire existed

Holy Roman Empire under German Ottonian Dynasty

Then to Holy Roman Empire under German Salian Dynasty

- when a new dynasty begins, they wanna make a statement

A big European desire for better churches

- competing with other towns for better churches

1. IMPERIAL SCALE

Humongous

2. IMPERIAL MODELS

verticality + constant rhythm recalled from Late Antique period

Speyer Cathedral

B. Style/Architectural language

1. IMPRESSION OF REVEALED EXTERIOR LAYERS

2 crossing domes, 4 towers

Blind arcades help reveal thickness of walls

2. NAVE ELEVATION

drawing your eye upward

- compound piers

Speyer Cathedral

C. Ritual

Sarcophagus in crypt

Alternating voussoirs in red and white in crypt

Speyer Cathedral

D. Structure

Every bay had a lunette

Narrow

Groin vault

- for illumination

1. INTERIOR OF BAYS RATIONALIZED

2 bays together, groin vault over 2

Alternating piers thickened

2. RIB VAULTS

rib vaults yay

Speyer Cathedral

E. Theory

Articulated hierarchical subdivisions

- whole to part relationships

Le Thoronet Abbey

(Background)

Le Thoronet Abbey (Cistercian), Provence region, France 12th Cen CE, Romanesque

Le Thoronet Abbey

A. Context

no central door

- rejecting extravagance

Cistercian order found in 1098

- robert of molesme

Door is rejection to major door

- side door

- voussoirs are different sizes

Le Thoronet Abbey

B. Program

ora et labora (manual work)

the laity (lay people) - people who are not clergy

novices - people who are studying to become monks, nons, often live in a novitiate

Dining Hall

Grange - blacksmithers

Cistercians have strong feeling of purity (in architecture)

Cloister feels heavy

- a cloistered paradise

- glimpse of paradise

Groups of people slept together in dormotories

Columns of cloister sit on low wall

- pericut

Dorm is all ashlar masonry

- pointed barrel vault

- banded vault

Le Thoronet Abbey

C. Style

No Romanesque features

very early christian basilica

tower here was a sign of pride

round apse

Ashlar Masonry with minimal grooves

Walk into aisle, step down into apse

Details of chapter house + cloister

Le Thoronet abbey

D. Structure

Banded pointed barrel vault

No clerestory, no tribune gallery

rib vaults in chapter house

Le Thoronet Abbey

E. Theory

Cistercians love 1:2

Square for proportions

God described laws of nature

Le Thoronet Abbey

F. Symbolism

lavabo - fountain for drinking water

- attached to cloister walk

kept building immaculate

- water is between material + spiritual

Daily Walking practices, theology of the infinite

Choir of St Denis

(background)

Choir of St Denis, Paris, France, 12th Cen CE

Choir of St Denis

A. Context

Gothic Architecture

- skeletal frame

- dematerialized walls

- other substitutes for masonry planes

- colored light transforms architectural forms

- flying buttresses

A royal abbey + royal necropolis

associated with kings and kingship

citizens interested in quality items

Choir of St Denis = a crown of light

- windows = a crown

Choir of St Denis

B. Structure

1. POINTED ARCHES

helped point thrust down

- wider windows

2. RIB VAULTS

all arch crowns at same space, space unified

walls can be thin or simply glazed

Choir of St Denis

C. Style

ambulatory + radiating chapels

intense linearity

otherworldly aesthetics - masonry minimized, luminous color, linear energy

Aristotle's natural sciences

Choir of St Denis

D. Theory

Aristotle thinking

- understanding certain objects

- colored light to appeal senses

Chartes Cathedral

(Background)

Chartes, France, 12th-13th Cen CE

Chartes Cathedral

A. Context

Race for taller churches

Chartes Cathedral

B. Theory

from material to immaterial

Chartes Cathedral

C + D. Aesthetics and Structure

Greater spatial unity

- spatial height

- transparency of layers

Stuff needs to be bigger and taller in Chartes

1. SPATIAL UNITY

2 front west towers

- no care for uniformity

Flow of unified space

sweep of a way

2. DIAPHANEITY

plate tracery in clerestory

poking hole in wall to let light in

a. STRUCTURE

POINTED ARCHES

rib vaults completes skeletal frame, walls are thin

b. CLERESTORY WINDOWS MADE LONGER

eleminate tribune gallery

- trifornium instead

c. TRIFORNIUM INCREASING DIAPHANEITY

enlivens the blank zome where the pent roof is

3. HEIGHT

race for height means learning to use flying buttresses

had to predict wind velocity

Chartes Cathedral

E. Style/Architectural Language

represent style in linearity

walls dematerialized with glass

colonettes

pointed arches all over the church (broken arches)

Pocket capital (crocket)

bar tracery - antithetical to wall surface

rose window is linear

round window

Chartes Cathedral

F. GOTHIC EXTERIOR

Structural exhibition

support system is pushed outside

- flying butresses

facade began as romanesque

correspondence between exterior and interior

flying buttresses are visualized inside mentally

- correspondence with trifornium

transparent shell

1. UNIFIED GOTHIC EXTERIOR

low aisle, high nave

towers make look like everything is taller

towers are just facade builders

2. FACADE RECONCILE TWIN TOWER IDEA IN SECTION

model of the city of the heaven Jerusalem

Ascension of Christ, Last Judgement, Assumption of the Virgin

Biblical scenes represent each entryway

Old testament, kings and queens as door jambs

naturalistic figures = Aristotelian natural world

Chartes Cathedral

G. Symbolism

1. CATHEDRAL AS CITY OF JERUSALEM

looks like a city wall or gate

portals are a city wall or gate

church was strongest building in town

The Ste Chapelle

(background)

Paris France, 13th Cen CE

Ste Chapelle

A. Context

otherworldly aesthetics through urbanity

bishop and king pushed different style to stand out

trusting sight as gateway to immaterial

King Louis IX

1. RELICS

a great reliquary chest

crown of thorns and nails

chapel was built for relics

Ste Chapelle

B. Program

in service of the king

direct access to royal palace by upper level walkway

1. SENSE OF HOVERING

king hovering in total clerestory

lower chapel = nave arcade

trifornium + upper chapel = upper chapel

trifornium = dado zone

dado zone is solid

Ste Chapelle

C. Aesthetics

1 - 4. INNER ELEVATION, VAULTING, ELEVATIONAL SYSTEM, BUTTRESSING, BAR TRACERY

piers clustered with responds

- piers cluster, not compound

structure disappears behind stained glass

4 part rib vault

vaults painted with gold

- firmament of heaven

- goes with jewel like interior

wall or spur buttressing

aggressive buttresses

interior chapel is 20 meters

tubular bar tracery creates an antithetical relationship between framework and wall surface

rayonnant gothic

Ste Chapelle

D. Symbolism

whole building is considered a reliquary

- a story element

Ste Chapelle

E. TRIMPHIALISTIC DISPLAY

1. NEW JERUSALEM REPRESENTED IN PARIS

holy sepulcher to temple of solomon

Ste Chapelle to notre dame

2. SCULPTURE SUGGEST LOUIS NEW KING OF NEW JERUSALEM

windows are decorated to old testament scriptures

ones around relics are different

last window is about Louis IX

Dado zone has enamels + gold leaf

Nestled chapels for King and Queen

- oratories

- pictures of early martyrs

12 apostles represented in pillars

- to evangelize the others

- transition zone

- halfway up from dado zone

Wells Chapter House

(Background)

Wells Chapter House, Wells, England, 13th Cen CE

Wells Chapter House

A. English Reception of French Gothic Style

westminster Abbey

St stephens chapel

English had a very long nave

- transept felt in middle

Octagonal chapter house

- where disputes are discussed

3 part nave elevation

Wells Chapter House

B. English innovation and program

Wells Cathedral

- super long nave

vertical elements look very tall

scissor vaults

no vertical elements

has linearity

cluster piers

inside scissor arches

tierceron - addition of not structural ribs, decorative ribs, looks structural

lierne - make pattern in ribs, connect rib to rib

- creating star patterns

Door has tracery with no glass

Wells Chapter House

C. Style

Decorated style tracery

tracery starts to have curvy elements

octagon shape room with ridge ribs

outer geometry determined by piers

people used wood putting in ridges of nave

- english idea

1. TIERCERON AND GOTHIC EFFECTS

patterns

grow and slightly taper

hard to get perfect joints, so focuses are added

2. Ogee arch

imported from the East

ogee arch

Gloucester Cathedral

(background)

Gloucester, England, 14th - 15th Cen

Gloucester Cathedral

A. Context for Late Gothic

more ethereal, transparency, otherworldly, christian space

designs for micro-architecture

english craftsman brought back idea from crusades

Edward III

- hundred years war

- fought off france

didnt want nobility to turn against him, so made him close to him

- created new positions in nobility

- nobility felt in place in royal + duties

Gloucester Cathedral

B. Appearance of Exterior

A lot more varied in profile

perpendicular choir is 86 feet tall

closer translation to interior to exterior

windows are quite dark, not transparent

Gloucester Cathedral

C. Ritual

choir screen

eastern part reserved for clergy

4 part lofted vault

- conservative architecture

Gloucester Cathedral

D. Aesthetics

1. COMPOSITIONAL UNITY

reticulated cage of mullions + tracery

compositional unity

tracery is cage like boundary between 2 spaces

Kept a thin level - verticals

- thicker when reaching the bottom

3 rib ridges

Diagonals overlap

Lierne vault

No hierarchy in ribs

Fan vaults in cloister

- continuity of wall + vault

- borrowed from Rose window tracery

2. DIAPHANEITY

blind tracery gives way to deep space

variety of textures kept in a single plane

diaphaneity is vertical rather than real

light dematerializes stone in cloister hall

3. VERTICALITY

verticals are more present

piers have strong colonnettes, in rayonnant style

at some point, horizontal members shy away

piers do all the work

Gloucester Cathedral

E. Structure

Four Centered arch and vault

- tudor arch

mortar joints cross over ribs

looks structural

Gloucester Cathedral

F. Theory

CLearish glass

more white glass is better

layering of celestial hierarchy

fauces, celestial concert, gold elements

The Phoenix Hall

(background)

Uji, Japan, 11th Cen

Japans Heian Architecture

A. Origins

in urban city

shinden - principal hall in a Heian palace

Heian Period (794-1185)

Prospering times in Japan

Precedent is Chang'an

- southern gate

- symmetrical wall boundary into palace

- overall order

Japans Heian Architecture

B. Context

rigid space for emperor

detached imperial porches

aristocrats could be casual

outer palaces are more relaxed