Don Tishman's Real Estate Development and Investing Solutions

Gothic architecture brought  spaciousness and natural light to their structures. The nave is the part of the church for the laity. As Gothic cathedrals were designed and built as a result of the excitement created by Abbott Suger, the height of the nave increased. here is a table of showing the height of naves evolved.

CATHEDRAL    DATE    NAVE HEIGHT

Sens                  1145         80  feet

Notre Dame    1163         108 feet

Chartres             1193         121 feet

Bourges            1195          123 feet

Reims                1212          124 feet 9 inches

Amiens              1220         138 feet 10 inches

Beauvais             1230       157 feet  6 inches

The height of the nave of the  Cathedral of Beauvais in 1230 was the equivalent of a 15 story building . After the 13th century, new gothic architecture was distinguished by decorations on the building’s exterior.  According to the Gothic architectural historian, Jean Gimpel, the next architectural advance in spaciousness and natural light was not until the advent of modern architecture led by  Le Corbusier, Gropius, and Mies, van der Rohe.

LET’S START TODAY WITH SOME OF THESE MAGNIFICENT GOTHIC CATHEDRALS BUILT IN  MEDIEVAL TIMES.

First the masterpiece of Abbot Suger that started the magnificent Gothic Architecture- St. Denis of Paris-

ST. DENIS, PARIS – THE  FOUNDING OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

imagine being in this church after centuries of praying in dark, unlighted structures.

NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame Cathedral (full name: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, “Our Lady of Paris”) is a beautiful cathedral on the the Île de la Cité in Paris. Begun in 1163 and mostly completed by 1250, Notre Dame is an important example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass.

The Notre Dame is the most popular monument in Paris and in all of France, beating even the Eiffel Tower with 13 million visitors each year. But the famous cathedral is also an active Catholic church, a place of pilgrimage, and the focal point for Catholicism in France – religious events of national significance still take place here.

Starting in the French Revolution, the Cathedral of Notre Dame has been attacked and sacked several times. During the French Revolution, the statutes of the Prophets were destroyed because these statutes were thought to be statutes of French Kings. After each of these attacks, there have been restorations of this Cathedral. In 1991, a major restoration program was undertaken. It was expected to last 10 years but continued well into the 21st century – the cleaning and restoration of the old sculptures was an exceedingly delicate job. But now the scaffolding is down and the result is spectacular: the stone architecture and sculptures gleam in their original honey-toned color instead of industrial black.

AMAZING GROWTH OF GOTHIC CATHEDRALS

“The enthusiasm for cathedral building began in the second half of the twelfth century- at Sens in 1133, at Noyon in 1153, at Laon in 1160, at Notre Dame in 1163 – and reached its high peak during the last part of the century and the first thirty years of the next century – at Bourges in 1192, at Chartres in 1194, at Rouen in 1202, at Rheims in 1211,  at Le Mans in 1217, at Amiens in 1221, and at Beauvais in 1247.” (The Cathedral Builders, Jean Gimpel)

As Gothic architecture evolved, the basic church layout changed. All Church layouts had been designed in the form of a cross.

 

 

 

The magnificent Gothic Cathedrals from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries completely  blow my mind.  Great architecture is the result of  effectively matching vision and building technology.  These amazing Gothic Cathedrals were built in the Middle Ages which were barbaric times. Prior to these magnificent Gothic Cathedrals, Romanesque churches were dark with thick walls. “The art we call Gothic was the assertion of a spirit of modernity which went on renewing itself for centuries, almost ceaselessly; and what matters is to perceive again the vitality of that movement and the accidental quality of its development —- each Gothic work of art is meant as a final statement for its moment and each moment has its right to be considered ultimate “( J.Bonn, French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries)

Three of the technical development that led to Gothic architecture were the pointed arch, the ribbed vault, and the flying buttress.

POINTED ARCH

POINTED ARCHES-REIMS CATHEDRAL

The structural advantage is that the pointed arch channels the weight onto the bearing piers or columns at a steep angle. 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 visual character to Romanesque, the verticality suggesting an aspiration to Heaven.

The Ribbed Vault is formed using pointed arches.  When two circular vaults intersect, a groin vault is created. The same groin vault was modified using “ribs”.  Ribs were pointed arches arranged to form a skeleton over which the vaulting could be done.  The weight of the vaults is evenly distributed to the arched ribs instead of the walls.  Hence the entire weight of the vault was now concentrated at a few points – that is, at the end of the arches.  So pillars were made, corresponding to these stress points, to support the weight of the vault.  These pillars were further strengthened by either monumental sculpture, a second story above them or by buttresses. The ribs are stone and the balance of the vault is concrete.

Ribbed vaults

Flying Buttress

flying buttress : A free-standing buttress attached to the main vessel (nave, choir, or transept wall) by an arch or half-arch which transmits the thrust of the vault to the buttress.  The flying buttress evolved in the Gothic era from earlier simpler, hidden supports. The design increased the supporting power of the buttress and allowed for the creation of the high-ceilinged churches typical of Gothic architecture.

In 1130  Abbott Suger of the Abbey of St. Denis in Paris  felt that a new road can be opened to create churches that were more spacious and filled with light.  In the Cathedral Builders , Jean Gimpel stated:

” Suger’s great triumph was established on the second Sunday in June, 1144, the date of the consecration of the choir. This day had perhaps a greater effect on architecture than any other day in history. To the grandiose ceremony to consecrate the twenty altars Suger summoned the King of France, all peers of the realm, the archbishops  and bishops, including those from Sen, Senlis, Soissons,  Chartes, Rheims, and Beauvais.  Dazzled by the new abbey, they returned to their own cathedrals anxious to equal or better this extraordinary spiritual creation”

In India, you can buy an automobile for $2,000. No automobile introduction has attracted more media interest that Tata Motor’s new “one lakh” car, the Nano. One lakh, or 100,000, rupees, roughly equivalent to US$ 2,000. The actual price to the consumer after taxes, dealer markup, etc. starts at about $2,500 for the Standard model. For $3,000, you’ll get the CX model with air conditioning and $3,500 will get you the LX, which adds power windows and electric central locking. So much for the $2,000 car.

(more…)