GothicArchitecture

History of Architecture (World)

D.A.A

Semester : 3rd

Butler Polytechnic

• Introduction

• Forms

• Construction Methodsand Techniques

• Characteristics oftypical GothicCathedral

• Notre Dame , Paris

• Bibliography

2Sub TopicsGothic Architecture

• Gothic architecture is a style ofarchitecture that flourished during thehigh

and late medieval period.

• It evolved from Romanesque Architectureand was succeeded by Renaissance

Architecture.

• It originated in France in 12th century, thenspread throughout Western

Europe till 15th century and lasted up to16th century.

• Gothic architecture is most familiar as thearchitecture of many

great Cathedrals, Abbeys, Churches,Castles, Palaces, Town halls, Guild

halls, Universities of Europe, etc.

• A great number of ecclesiastical buildingsof this period are considered

priceless works of art and are listed withUNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

• A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread

through 19th-century Europe and continued,largely for ecclesiastical and

3IntroductionGothic Architecture

• The various features of the Gothic Architecture were pointed arch,

the ribbed vault and the flying buttresses.

• The Gothic Architecture emphasized strong vertical lines, high vaulted

ceilings, minimal wall space, pointed window & door openings and buttresses walls.

• Gothic structure is a skeleton system that transfers roof loads down to ground

at discrete points, therefore freeing large expanses of walls.

• The flying buttresses had automatically become the aesthetic component

by cutting out arches from it and emphasizing the end of it by raising it high..

• The widespread introduction of a single feature of the Gothic Architecture, the

pointed arch, brought about the change that separated Gothic architecture

from the Romanesque tradition. It lent itself to elaborate intersecting shapes

which developed within window spaces into complex.

4FormsGothic Architecture

• The painted arches were more flexible in design as one could vary the angle of the arch.

• Window tracery, the decorative and intersecting stonework in the upper

section of windows was introduced and became increasingly slender evolving

from plate tracery to bar tracery as the Gothic style developed.

• The technique of filling windows with stained glass, added a dimension of

color to the light within the building along with providing a medium for

figurative and narrative art.

5Construction Methods and

TechniquesGothic Architecture

• Ribs were used to minimize the load of vault, as the dead load on vaulting was created primarily by the weight of the stone and thus, reducing this weight was not only economical but also gave great heights to buildings.

• The flying buttress in the Gothic construction concentrate loads at pillars so that there remains no need of reinforcement at specific points, as they were the structural members, they carried the load of very high and long walls.

• The entire structures were conceived as frame works of arches and arches were organized in the coherent systems which reduced structural function of wall to minimum. Thus, the walls were not load bearing walls.

• The Gothic architects wanted to bring lights in the cathedral as the light was the purest substance on the earth and a representative of God. Thus, the upper portion of the nave was having large stained glass to bring adequate light.

• The only mathematical calculations were the dimensions of space frames.

• The technological change in the Romanesque tradition permitted a stylistic changewhich broke the tradition of massive masonry and solid walls penetrated by smallopenings, replacing it with a style where light appears to triumph over substance.

Construction Methods and Techniques

6Gothic Architecture

• The Gothic Cathedrals have a Latin cross plan, with a long nave making the

body of church a traverse arm called the transept and, beyond it, an

extension which may be called the choir, chancel or presbytery.

• The nave is generally flanked on either side by aisles, usually single,

but sometimes doubles and is generally considerably taller than the

aisles, having clerestory windows which light the central space..

• The end of the cathedral is semicircular or polygonal convex termination.

• At the apse end, the big idol of God is there & small chapels are laid around

it..

7Characteristics of Gothic

CathedralGothic Architecture

• The bays of the nave are covered at right angles by vaulting so that independent character of bay is emphasized.

• The rejection of galleries and crypt is one of the most decisive differences between Roman and Gothic style..

• In English cathedrals transepts tendto project boldly and there may betwo of them but are not the case withlesser churches.

• The eastern arm shows considerable diversity. It is often square ended or has a projecting Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

• The Gothic vault, unlike the semi-circular vault of Roman and

• This enabled architects to raise vaults much higher than was possible

in Romanesque architecture. While, structurally, use of the pointed

arch gave a greater flexibility to architectural form, it also gave

Gothic architecture a very different and more vertical visual character

than Romanesque.

• Gothic openings such as doorways, windows, arcades and galleries

have pointed arches.

• Gothic vaulting above spaces both large and small is usually supported

by richly molded ribs.

• Rows of pointed arches upon delicate shafts form a typical wall

decoration known as blind arcading.

8Characteristics of Gothic

CathedralGothic Architecture

• Niches with pointed arches andcontaining statuary are a majorexternal feature.

• The pointed arch lent itself toelaborate intersecting shapes whichdeveloped within window spaces intocomplex Gothic tracery forming thestructural support of the largewindows.

• A characteristic of Gothic cathedralarchitecture is its height, bothabsolute and in proportion to its width,the verticality suggesting anaspiration to Heaven. A section of themain body of a Gothic church usuallyshows the nave as considerablytaller than it is wide. In England the

• Towers and spires are characteristic ofGothic churches both great and small, thenumber and positioning being one of thegreatest variables in Gothicarchitecture. Smaller churches usuallyhave just one tower, but this may also bethe case at larger buildings, such asSalisbury Cathedral or Ulm Minster, whichhas the tallest spire in the world,slightly exceeding that of LincolnCathedral, the tallest which wasactually completed during the medievalperiod, at 160 meters (520 ft.).

• On the exterior, the verticality isemphasized in a major way by the towersand spires and in a lesser way by stronglyprojecting vertical buttresses, bynarrow half-columns called attachedshafts which often pass through severalstoreys of the building, by long narrowwindows, vertical moldings around doorsand figurative sculpture whichemphasizes the vertical and is oftenattenuated. The roofline, gable ends,buttresses and other parts of thebuilding are often terminated by smallpinnacles, Milan Cathedral being anextreme example in the use of this form ofdecoration. 9

Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral

Gothic Architecture

• On the interior of the buildingattached shafts often sweepunbroken from floor to ceiling andmeet the ribs of the vault, like a talltree spreading into branches. Theverticals are generally repeated inthe treatment of the windows andwall surfaces.

• Increase in size between windows ofthe Romanesque and Gothic periods isrelated to the use of the ribbedvault, and in particular, the pointedribbed vault which channeled the

• The flying buttress is arched externally from the springingof the vault across the roof of the aisle to a largebuttress pier projecting well beyond the line of theexternal wall. These piers were often surmounted by apinnacle or statue, further adding to the downward weight,and counteracting the outward thrust of the vault andbuttress arch as well as stress from wind loading.

• The internal columns of the arcade with their attachedshafts, the ribs of the vault and the flying buttresses, withtheir associated vertical buttresses jutting at right-angles to the building, created a stone skeleton. Betweenthese parts, the walls and the infill of the vaults could beof lighter construction. Between the narrow buttresses,the walls could be opened up into large windows.

• The façade of a large church or cathedral, often referredto as

the West Front, is generally designed to create a powerful

impression on the approaching worshipper, demonstrating

both the might of God and the might of the institution that

it represents. One of the best known and most typical of

such facades is that of Notre Dame de Paris.

• Thus, these are the architectural characteristics of atypical

Gothic Cathedral.

10Characteristics of Gothic

CathedralGothic Architecture

• A few cathedrals are listed below:• Durham Cathedral ( 1128-1134)

– England– A rib vaulted and a pointed

arch roof• Cathedral of Cefalù(1131-1471)

– Sicily– In 1420, Portico was added

between the two towers ofthe façade.

• St. Denis’ Basilica( 1135- 1140)– France– The flying buttresses,

pointed arches and ribbedvault were used as one unitfor the first time in thiscathedral.

• Noyon Cathedral ( 1150-1231)– France– It is the first true Gothic

Cathedral because of theheavy use of all featuresthat came to be known asGothic including pointedarches, flying buttressesand ribbed vaulting.

• Wells Cathedral ( 1174-1239)– England– The first building of its kind

to entirely dispense with

Characteristics of Gothic Cathedral

11Gothic Architecture

• The Notre Dame de Paris is one of thefinest monumental buildings of FrenchGothic style of Architecture.

• It was started by Bishop Maurice DeSully in 1163 and the west towers werethe last to be completed in 1250.

• Its length is 420 ft. X 226 ft. and hasheight of 226 ft.

• The Cathedral was to be built in the newgothic style and had to reflect Paris’sstatus as the capital of the kingdomFrance.

• It was the first cathedral built on amonumental scale and became theprototype for future cathedrals inFrance.

• The original plan contained doubleambulatories and was on a bent axialline.

• The interior elevation was of fourlevels with an area of pillars.

• It has a wide nave, double aisles,transepts surrounded with chapels andwestern towers.

• The central nave is divided into numberof bays with cylindrical columns ofCorinthian capitals carrying pointedarches.

12Notre Dame, ParisGothic Architecture

• The façade is designed to create apowerful impression on the approachingworshipper, demonstrating the might ofGod and of the institute that itrepresents.

• The spectacular eastern flyingbuttresses at the east side of thebuilding are 15m wide.

• The Notre- Dame Cathedral has severallarge rose windows among which thenorthern 13th century window is themost impressive with a diameter of 13.1meter.

• A tribune was originally covered bybarrel vaults and lit by aroundwindows.

• This cathedral is with double aisles,the transept does not project beyondthe aisles.

• The type of tracery that evolved tofill the spaces of equilateral arches isknown in England as GeometricDecorated Gothic and can be seen hereto splendid effect.

• Vigorous restoration of crumblingdetail of French cathedrals can also be

13Notre Dame , ParisGothic Architecture

• The spire, which reaches 295 feet wasadded in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc.

• The site of the Notre Dame is the cradle ofParis and has always been the religiouscenter of the city.

• The colt had their sacred ground here andthe romans built a temple to worshipJupiter.

• A Christian basilica was built in the 6thcentury and the last religious structurebefore the Notre Dame Constructionstarted was a Romanesque Church.

• The building with its impressive façade andimposing towers is one of the bestcathedrals of Gothic Buildings.

Notre Dame , Paris 14Gothic Architecture

• www.wikipedia.org

• www.greatbuildings.com

• History of Architecture by Sir Banister Fletcher ( CBS Publication, Delhi)

15BibliographyGothic Architecture

16Presented By:Gothic Architecture

• Mudra Vyas – 126060350002

• Leena Kothalikar– 126060350009

• Sifali Patel– 126060350024