Medieval and Gothic Architecture

I am so excited about our current explorations in class as we are looking at Medieval and Gothic architecture. I was set straight early on as to what Medieval and Gothic architecture is REALLY all about when I traveled to Poland and visited St. Mary's Basilica in Cracow (Mariacki Bazylika w Krakowie).

The Basilica has an extensive website with loads of wonderful pictures (from which I share a small collection). 

http://www.mariacki.com/mariacki_galerie.php

What it is today is a hodge-podge of architectural elements dating back to the late 13th century. Despite being within a walled city St. Mary's was damaged several times and suffered from fires as well as enemy occupations.

No dark and dreary here! St. Mary's is famous for its alterpiece by "the greatest sculptor of Gothic art" (http://www.krakow-info.com/oltarz.htm) Viet Stoss in the late 15th century.

The exterior tells the story of invasions, fires, changing aesthetics, and variety in building materials but the INTERIOR is STUNNING!!!

Even if you can't read the Polish - admittedly my own ability has diminished in the 15 years it has been since I first visited - you can see the history and faithful dedication to preservation that the people of Krakow have lavished on this lovely old cathedral.

Unit Summary 1 - Foundations: Elements of Order

A single foundational theme emerges from early architectural history: ORDER.

The objects, buildings, spaces and places that have persisted through the ages are expressions of how we humans have tried to bring order to our lives and our afterlives. Both the Neolithic stone circles in Europe (Roth, pp. 171-176) and early dwellings of Asia Minor (Ching, pp.17-18, 34-37) demonstrate the need for an organized orientation to the cosmos. Structures and their openings were created to follow the predictable paths of the stars, planets, the sun and moon. Early civilizations looked outward to find meaning to their lives and this was no more clearly represented than through the pyramid tombs of Egypt (Ching, 64-73). Starting from below ground the leaders of Egypt were compelled to reach into the heavens with their architecture as they sought to understand and express the hierarchy of the living and how that order persisted even after death.

Moving progressively from the outer cosmos through the indeterminate spaces of faith and religion toward the individual early civilizations built solid and permanent reminders of how they viewed the world. Early Greek architecture is an example of how this ordering of faith is expressed in form. Temples large and small appeared on the landscape paying tribute the numerous god and goddesses of Greek religion. The order of importance for these gods was expressed by the size, intricacies, maintenance, and placement of these temples (Ching, 121-138). We also see the most prominent expression of bringing order to people and their faith in the layout Greek cities as they were intentionally planned and ordered in a grid pattern around the most prominent temples (Roth, 222-226).

As time passes and people begin to migrate, trade, and conquer the basic elements of building are seen across civilizations. The basic principle of bringing order remains as consistent as the architectural elements represented by circles, stacks, and groves and are repeated across the globe.  In the forms as they were built we see prototypes of circles in the Stupa of India (Ching, pp. 177-179) and the tombs in Mayan North America (Ching, pp. 186-188); stacks in Xianyang Palace in China (Ching, pp.148-150) and the pyramids of Teotihuacan in present day Mexico (Ching, pp. 225-228); and groves in the form of Egyptian (Roth, pp. 203-206), Greek (Ching, 121-129) and Roman columns (Roth pp. 264-271). While the fundamental forms of circles, stacks, and groves are pervasive their expression is always unique to the culture in which it is created (Hall, p. 3).

This compelling desire to bring order to our space and our lives has persisted over the centuries so that the forms used especially from ancient Greek and Roman Empires continue to be referenced and used in present-day architecture. Especially in public places like universities, government buildings, and community spaces the archetypes of the Roman column and the palace stacks of China are repeated. We, as humans, continue to find ways to bring order to our space. Because the foundational drive to create order is the same there is every reason to expect that the expression of that drive has changed so little.

Reading Reflection 5 - Rebuilding: Bamiyan and Ise Jingu

Blog Post - Design & Music: Centre Pompidou

Free to flow from all directions

Color for purpose

BLUE for the air and electric YELLOW

 Insides out and outsides in

People form the movement

Words fill the space

Can you see the rhythm?

Blog Post - Intention and Function at UNCG

During our tour of campus on Friday I was struck by the "ugly circles" identified by the instructor. I understand the elements of design and the intentionality that designers are charged with in negotiating those elements. The symmetry and balance of the academic buildings placed along College Avenue, for the most part, follow clearly defined principles of "good" design. But I struggled with the "ugly circles" embedded in the stonework intermittently placed along the College Avenue promenade.

I see the axes on which many of these circles are placed and when I think about the infinite number of axes possible within a circle I wonder if a more nuanced explanation may be applied.

Outside of the residence hall entrances, regardless of any structure in opposition to the hall, there are these "ugly circles". So, as a student I walk out of my hall and land on one of these stonework circles. For me these circles symbolize the infinite number of directions I can take without being slowed down by a more perpendicular intersection. Symbolically, I would want to have as many options to me as possible.

It is like round-abouts in vehicular traffic: some assume that they are more dangerous, or "ugly" but it turns out in practice they are a safer, and more efficient, design for intersections and there are a multitude of axes from which one can enter or exit a traffic circle. (Merry-go-round. (2007). Economist, 384(8541), 24. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.) Ultimately, "ugly circles", to me, are about choice and opportunity in form and function.

This idea applied to an identified beautiful circle on campus might enlighten my discussion. Let's use the circular, neo-classical entrance to the Jackson Library:

http://libphoto1.uncg.edu/netpub/server.np?find&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=683&site=UR_Public

It clearly marks the entrance to the library and the columns support the upper roof of the entranceway so it is rather commodious. Made of stone, marble, and concrete it has stood steadfast over the decades and fits a reasonable definition of firmness. Of course, it is aesthetically pleasing; the columns bring your eyes upward and it is a beautiful entrance for the setting and in concert with the surrounding  buildings. But, going back to the axes on which the existing pathways that lead to and from the library I think the matter of commodity needs to be revisited.

You can see how, out of practice, students and campus visitors have circumvented the intentionally designed form of the pathways to create their own. Out of use and necessity a new, and yet still circular in nature, form has been superimposed on the space demonstrating its limited commodity and detracting from it's inherent delight.


So, I say, don't underestimate a lowly ugly stonework circle on campus. They are there to remind students that they can go in any direction they choose so that when the intention of the designers doesn't connect to the needs of the users they are ready to literally blaze their own trail (while also figuratively doing the same as they pursue their individual futures).


These circles made of paving stones may have use beyond their durable material by contributing to fundamental ideas of learning - students can go anywhere but they must take that first step in the "right" direction. For me they are sacred reminders of education and the opportunities that choice can bring.

Reading Reflection 3 - Circling the Sacred at Sanchi

A thread of sacredness in architecture runs through so many of the places we study, but this one was particularly special to me as I am a practicing Buddhist.

Sanchi represents to me the most fundamental aspects of my faith - meditation and an inseparable connection to all people past and present. The stupa at Sanchi are on my own personal list of places to visit in my lifetime as there are few places in the United States where Buddhism is practiced so actively as it is in Central Asia. Sites like Sanchi, and the Grand Stupa in Kathmandu, remind me that I am connected to a greater community and a rich history through my own daily practice.

Chairs - Hill House by Mackintosh

In researching the Hill House Chair I found a wonderful photograph of the chair as it was in the room that C. R. Mackintosh designed. I love the contrast between the white and the bold black of the chair. Thought it is tucked into a corner the chair makes the surrounding space.

http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/details/677382/