Life of a Cathedral: Notre-Dame of Amiens - revolution

The Gothic Structural Revolution 4

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Gothic

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Gothic combines the optical unity and spaciousness of Early Christian with the totally-vaulted structure of Romanesque. Amiens Cathedral provides the best example. This revolution in architecture is facilitated through the deployment of 3 structural devices- a) The pointed arch. Appropriated from Islamic sources and applied to reduce outward thrust. b) The ribbed vault. Also from Islamic, Roman and Byzantine sources, but not rendered in thin masonry, greatly reducing the weight of the superstructure. c) Exterior supports or culées (labeled as G on the Viollet-le-Duc plan). It is as if the outer wall (labeld F) has been broken into segments, each of which is rotated 90 degrees to provide rigid transverse supports for exposed arches (flying buttresses) which support the high vaults.

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revolution

The Gothic Structural Revolution 3

admin — Thu, 11 May 2017 19:26:36 +0000

Romanesque

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Romanesque builders have created a totally-vaulted basilica with groin vaults in the aisles and groin or barrel vaults in the main vessel. Since the heavy masonry of the vaulting creates considerable outward thrust it has been necessary to thicken the main supports (no longer columns but compound piers) and outer walls which are stiffened by shallow buttresses. Windows are small. The interior is now dark and optical continuity is obstructed by the substantial supports. An example of such a structure with a barrel vault is Saint-Etienne in Nevers.

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revolution

The Gothic Structural Revolution 2

admin — Thu, 11 May 2017 19:25:50 +0000

Early Christian

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An Early Christian (Viollet-le-Duc calls it "Roman") wooden-roofed basilica-- perhaps Santa Sabina in Rome. The edifice has slender marble columns and thin walls punctuated with enormous windows. Light-reflective materials (marble, mosaic, silver, gold) contribute to a brilliantly-lit, spatially-unified interior.

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revolution

The Gothic Structural Revolution 1

admin — Thu, 11 May 2017 19:22:12 +0000

Overview

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Overview

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revolution