A Comparison Of The Great Mosque Of Cordoba And Cathedral Of Santa Maria

Religion has played a huge role in the history of the world of architecture. We can get a deeper look in the minds and attitudes of people when we look at their beliefs – specifically their religion. But even though religion played a huge role in the approach to architecture, the pursuit of beauty and power can also explain to us the approaches and the outlooks of those who built or designed buildings from the ancient world.

The mosque can be identified by its elaborate squinch-supported domes. The Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the finest surviving examples of Umayyad architecture in Spain. The mosque has marble capitals and columns in the hypostyle prayer hall. A person enters the hall through an open courtyard called a sahn. Its famous horseshoe arches have an alternated pattern of pale stone and red brick voussoirs

In addition to the structure's architectural composition, elaborate Quranic inscriptions further elaborate this message of religious superiority. Carole Hillenbrand alludes to such:

The Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City was built between 1573 and 1813 by the architect that designed this building was Claudio de Arciniega. He designed this building from taking inspiration from gothic cathedrals in Spain. The focus of this cathedral was Spanish gothic, with the influence of the renaissance. Claudio de Arciniega was born in 1520 and died in 1593. There was not a lot found on him. Per Jimenez article, he was a carver in Madrid and after a while, moved to New Spain in 1555. He did some work in America like the Viceregal Palace and the Santo Domingo (Jimenez). He also did some work in Mexico till he died. The last building, he was working on was the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City right before he died.

Stability and balance is also achieved through the incorporation of the vertical and horizontal planes. In the southwest facade of the building the vertical slits are balanced with the horizontal planes created by the cubes, cornice and the ornamental horizontal band that runs halfway through the walls. These vertical and horizontal planes further dictate a rhythmic continuity throughout the building. Building's scale is rather modest in comparison to its site and the surrounding landscape and the smooth texture of the facade helps its integration to the environment. (Figure 4)

The first thing that one’s eyes lay on is the amazing trade mark of marble stone from the architect Rafael Guastavino. The façade out of this building shows Spanish Renaissance architecture at its very best. The brick work could not be copied and is no longer done in this day and age. This herringbone pattern is also the trademark that Guastavino uses in all the buildings that he created (Carrasco, Mercè Piqueras). On the top of the church stands the churches Saint; Saint Lawrence. He holds a gridiron; which is the method by which he was martyred (saintlawrencebasilica.org). Saint Lawrence is flanked by Saint Steven, the very first martyr, who holds a stone; which was the method of his martyrdom. On the opposite side, Guastavino’s favorite saint, stands Aloysius Gonzaga. He was a young seminarian at the time of the plague that died assisting other people (Swain, Elisabeth). The inside of this building contains no structure, but yet in the last one hundred years there was never one tile that was lost. Inside the church one can’t help but notice the many banners hanging around the perimeter. The banners on the eastside of the building are the coated coats of arms of all the popes who have reined since

New Cathedral "La Nueva" and the other is the Old Cathedral "La Vieja.” Construction began on

Near the end of the 11th century, we see the style of Romanesque architecture transfigure into what is known as the Gothic era, introduced by Abbot Suger during his rebuilding of the Abbey of St. Denis. Looking at the basilica of St. Sernin de Toulouse (1080-1120), named after the bishop who was apprehended by the former Pagan priest when Christianity was illegal, we can see the basilica is itself in shape of the cross. There are also five aisles, to suggest the five wounds of Christ, five entryways (Soltes, 12, 3:25). The most notable difference between a Romanesque church and a Gothic one can be seen in the arches. Gothic arches, ogives they’re named, are pointed instead of rounded, giving a new criss-cross pattern, as exampled in the Chartres Cathedral (12th century) (Soltes, 12, 10:40). New patterns can also be found in the buttressing, where instead of holding the framework directly through the walls, the Gothic structure works from the roof and down as if flying away, coining the term the flying buttresses (Soltes, 12, 11:15). This sort of buttressing is competent for

Though architecture is something that we see and observe daily, to truly get to know a building we must observe it from all angles and view every detail to understand its beauty and the purpose of why it was created. Many unique buildings have been constructed all over the world, however, the most unique structures and its bold design will catch the eye of bystanders more often, such as The Dome of the Rock. This building, which is located in Jerusalem, caught the eye of many people due the huge golden dome structure that sits on top of the building and the decorative colors and tiles that surround the building. The historical significance of this building is upheld by the religion of its local people, the location site of the building, along with the structure and the design of the building itself.

This Madrasa is especially significant, because it is one of the earliest pieces of Islamic architecture to still be standing today. It was also one of the first Islamic architectural buildings to employ to use of decorated floral mosaic tiles which was uncommon during the Ilkhanid period but later mastered by the Timurids. Earlier mosaic designs were strictly geometric, but this new floral pattern gained popularity as time passed. While walking through the museum I was fascinated by several secular and religious pieces of art from the Islamic region. The reason that I chose to analyze this piece over the other exhibits was a result of my interest in mosque architecture, and because this was as close as I was able to get to an ancient piece of Islamic architecture. I have seen many qibla walls, many qurans, and many mihrabs, but this specific one was unlike the modern prayer niches in the mosques that I visit, it was a spectacular masterpiece of polychrome mosaic and it was unlike any religious architectural exhibit in the western world. It’s impossible to ignore the important role that the east Asian ideas of the Mongol empire played in the religious architecture of the Ilkhanid period, and had the Ilkhanids not been so heavily influenced by Mongol traditions their architecture would have had a completely different look and feel.

Religious rituals hold a very sacred place in the hearts of believers, being able to witness one from an outsider perspective is something that is truly eye opening. Personally, following our unit in class, I had a desire to witness at least one practice associated with the Muslim religion. The Nueces Mosque was perfect for this purpose because of its proximity but is mostly dominated by a younger demographic. I reached out to the president of the mosque, Ammarah Tariq, who very graciously welcomed me to join them for their Friday ritual prayer service, Jumu’ah. Members of the community noticed I was clearly an outsider and did not hesitate to greet me and explain to me procedures to adhere to such as removing my shoes. Following the removal

Next, my mother told me this mosque is the biggest one, and the second religious buildings, also it has the tallest minaret in the world. This mosque has a roof made of light steel, and decorated with cedar wood which opens in 3 minutes for bringing fresh air during the summer. Also, this mosque has many chandeliers made in crystal. The location of this mosque is right by the sea overlooking the Atlantic ocean,

From the observation tower the horizontal building’s three parallel bands can be seen that extend into the lush landscape. The architects’ concept was to immerse the museum in nature by creating a set of three bracketed pavilions under one roof surrounded by gardens. The roof can be seen as

A large pile of ancient stone is no different than a giant stack of old stone, right? To look closely into an argument, sometimes a zoomed-out perspective is needed. In this case, its important to look at every detail to find out if the construction of pyramids and cathedrals were similar or different. On one hand, there are the ancient Egyptian pyramids, construced under the authority of the pharoahs through the use of many laboring workers. On the other, there are gothic cathedrals, built over a long period of time, employing several construction methods. Through the analysis of historical accounts and evidence, it is apparent that the similarities between the Great Pyramids and gothic cathedrals greatly endorse the use of techonological systems as fuel for societies that are constantly improving.

We’re looking at the difference between Romanesque cathedrals and Gothic cathedrals. I know you all are so excited to learn what a flying buttress is because I know I was. Spoiler alert, it is nothing like what it sounds like. It’s much more cool and innovative, which is what these two periods were all about. Taking knowledge from the past and improving it.