ARCHI 157: History of World Architecture Middle Ages to 18th Century Universe of Stone
Hammer and Stone
The Sculpture of the Portals
- Why was sculpture not practiced and all statues were decreed to be removed from temples in 408?
- How did this affect sculpture in the middle ages?
- Why is Chartres different in how it approached sculpture?
- What was one o the themes of Romanesque sculpture? What was the sculpture’s purpose?
- How do the proportions look from the ground?
- How many statues were there and how many remain?
- Were the sculptures left as natural stone or colored?
- After the fall of Rome what material were churches built from? What happened to them?
- What material were the churches during the crusades constructed from?
- What does Paris sit on top of?
Work in Progress
- Were cathedrals finished in a short time? Were they planned in the same way they were built Give examples.
- How many workers were employed on a site according to the author?
- How did workers weather-proof and preserve their work during the winter months?
- What type of work did the term “mason” include?
- Who were some of the other workers who labored on the site?
- What was the hardest job?
- How was stone transported? Give several examples of how this changed over time.
- How did the Bishop of Cambrai find the stone for the cathedral?
- How did Abbot Suger find the stone for his columns? What miracle happened so they could move the stones?
- How was stone cut and shaped?
- Did the workers know about the stories behind the figures they were carving?
- What were the workers paid? How long did they work?
- How did the climate affect the construction of the cathedrals?
- What was the workers main practical concern?
Mysteries of the Lodge
- What type of marks were found on the stones of the cathedrals?
- What were the “Bauhüttes”
- What rules and codes of conduct governed the workers of the lodges?
On Site
- What was the “tracing floor”? how many templates were required for an entire cathedral?
- Why did master masons work with geometry? Give details and examples.
- How were the stones cemented together?
The woodworks
- What methods were used to support scaffolding?
- What materials did the workers stand on?
- What is a “vice” and how was it used?
- What were the wooden supports for arches called?
- How was the formwork removed from the church?
- What type of machines did the workers use?
- How was cathedral construction related to military technology?
Chapter 8: Underneath the Arches
The Flying Buttresses
- According to the author, what is the defining characteristic of Gothic architecture at Chartres cathedral?
- How is the rose window related to the flying buttresses in Chartres?
- How did Gothic churches hold up in the bombing of European cities in World War II?
- What happened to Beauvais and Troyes cathedrals?
- How was stability achieved in Romanesque churches?
- Why do stone buildings fall down? Is it from the crushing weight or the web of forces toppling them?
- Does the mortar have any strength to resist the greater structural forces in the cathedral? In what direction is mortar strong?
- How did the builders prevent sliding of the blocks?
- How powerful can wind forces be?
- Where does the line of stress need to be located in a wall of stone?
- Is stone completely rigid?
- How thick are the walls at times in the great medieval buildings? How big are the stones typically, or more precisely how is the wall built? Draw a picture.
- What do the throughstones do?
- What are the blocks of an arch called in a Romanesque arch?
- What is the keystone?
- What is one way to make an arch without centering to support it?
- What is the “springing” of the arch?
- What happens to the arch when the abutments spread apart?
- How many hinge points does it take for an arch to collapse?
- What are the buttresses and the pinnacles? Draw a picture. What does the pinnacle do structurally?
- How much des the pointed arch reduce lateral thrust? Was this known by medieval builders? What did Renaissance builders believe?
- What did the Renaissance architects believe was the origin of the Gothic arch?
- How did the Islamic architects and buildings of the middle east influence the builders of Europe? How did the Normans influence the shape of arches?
- When did pointed arches begin to be seen in multiple locations in France?
- How did stone vaults affect the acoustic of churches?
- In Romanesque architecture, what is a “respond”?
- What happened to the walls in the Romanesque churches when the aisles were introduced and integrated with the main church? How did this affect the structure?
- How does the grin vault help solve this problem? How did they affect light and area for windows?
- What did the Romanesque masons do to make the joint of the transverse arches look better?
- What was the function of the diagonal armature on the groin lines? How was this related to the Gothic rib vault?
- What are advantages of the rib vault?
- What is the tas-de-charge? Draw a picture.
- What is a “rebated” voussoir?
- What is a sexpartite vault? Draw a picture.
- Draw the difference between a sexpartite vault and a quadripartite vault. Which one has repeating pier diameters and which one has alternating pier diameters? Point to them in your drawing.
- Did gothic vaults have to be square as the style progressed?
- What does “stilting” do? Draw a diagram.
- What did Hans Jantzen say about the tent-like form of the Gothic cathedrals?
- What are murs-boutants? How are they related to the flying buttress?
- What is the function of the second level of flying buttresses?
Building for Eternity
- Why was it dangerous to put up the flying buttress last?
- How was an incomplete building sometimes strengthened?
- What is the sequence for building a gothic cathedral? Draw a picture and number the parts as they go in, color may help identify which pieces are built in sequence in your drawing.