The Architecture of Cathedrals and Great Churches
The nave of Amiens Cathedral
The Amiens cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, its stone-vaulted nave reaching an internal height of 42.30 meters (138.8ft). The lower nave completed by the 1230's under the direction of Robert de Luzarches. Thomas de Cormont completed the upper nave in the 1240's and later the radiating chapels.
The plan of Amiens Cathedral is like that of the other Classical cathedrals at Chartres and Reims, as well as the Notre-Dame in Paris: a three-aisled nave with a twin-towered west facade, a three-aisled transept, a five-aisled choir, an ambulatory, and radiating chapels.
The whole design reflects the builders’ confident use of the complete High Gothic structural vocabulary: the rectangular-bay system, the four-part rib vault, and a buttressing system that permitted almost complete dissolution of heavy masses and thick weight-bearing walls. At Amiens, the concept of a self-sustaining skeletal architecture reached full maturity. The remaining stretches of wall seem to serve no purpose other than to provide a weather screen for the interior. Amiens Cathedral is one of the most impressive examples of the French Gothic obsession with constructing ever taller churches. Using their new skeletal frames of stone, French builders attempted goals almost beyond limit, pushing to new heights with increasingly slender supports.
The tense, strong lines of the Amiens vault ribs converge at the colonnettes and speed down the shell-like walls to the compound piers.
The nave of Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in Florence. The construction started in 1295 by architect Arnolfo di Cambio and completed in 1442. The church is simple basilica style with a nave and two isles. The nave is 19m wide and wooden ceiling is the succession of early christian architecture. Basically the building is modified-Gothic style which has come
The Amiens cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, its stone-vaulted nave reaching an internal height of 42.30 meters (138.8ft). The lower nave completed by the 1230's under the direction of Robert de Luzarches. Thomas de Cormont completed the upper nave in the 1240's and later the radiating chapels.
The plan of Amiens Cathedral is like that of the other Classical cathedrals at Chartres and Reims, as well as the Notre-Dame in Paris: a three-aisled nave with a twin-towered west facade, a three-aisled transept, a five-aisled choir, an ambulatory, and radiating chapels.
The whole design reflects the builders’ confident use of the complete High Gothic structural vocabulary: the rectangular-bay system, the four-part rib vault, and a buttressing system that permitted almost complete dissolution of heavy masses and thick weight-bearing walls. At Amiens, the concept of a self-sustaining skeletal architecture reached full maturity. The remaining stretches of wall seem to serve no purpose other than to provide a weather screen for the interior. Amiens Cathedral is one of the most impressive examples of the French Gothic obsession with constructing ever taller churches. Using their new skeletal frames of stone, French builders attempted goals almost beyond limit, pushing to new heights with increasingly slender supports.
The tense, strong lines of the Amiens vault ribs converge at the colonnettes and speed down the shell-like walls to the compound piers.
The nave of Santa Croce
Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in Florence. The construction started in 1295 by architect Arnolfo di Cambio and completed in 1442. The church is simple basilica style with a nave and two isles. The nave is 19m wide and wooden ceiling is the succession of early christian architecture. Basically the building is modified-Gothic style which has come