St. Paul 's Cathedral

Saint Patrick's Cathedral, one of New York's greatest cathedrals, is located in Manhattan at 14 E. 51st St. The main reason the cathedral was built was to affirm the ascendance of religious freedom and tolerance. Thousands of poor immigrants and one hundred three prominent citizens helped pay contributions toward the church. The prominent citizens paid approximately one thousand dollars each.This cathedral supports the idea that not one single generation builds a cathedral, but rather the past, present, and future generations do.

In this excerpt, von Simson looks at how the writings of intellectuals influenced the development of Gothic architecture. He begins by looking at the writings of St. Augustine and his love for music and how the importance of measurement found in music also applies to architecture. He then goes on to address two important schools of thought that influenced the formation of the Gothic style: The Platonists with their focus on cosmology, and the monks at Clairvaux, including St. Bernard, who focused on spirituality. In this section, von Simson focuses on the former and the connection between the cosmos and the Gothic cathedral. He argues that these medieval scholars saw God as an architect and the cosmos as his cathedral. In his study of both St. Augustine and the Plantonists, von Simson works to identify the ways in which these intellectual schools of thought influenced Gothic architecture.

I enjoyed reading “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver. The story is realistic, relatable, and meaningful. The main protagonist, Bub, is arrogant and superficial. Because of Robert’s intimate relationship with his wife, he does not like the blind man. To cover up the fact that he is jealous, he states that he never had a blind man in his house before and that Robert does not have the characteristics he thought blind people have. Robert does not wear glasses, has a beard and etc. On page 90 he says, “I always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind.” This shows that even before he met Bub, he already had some preconceived picture of Bub that hinders him from really getting to know the real Bub. However, towards the end of the story he seems

The Notre Dame Cathedral is certainly one of the most beautiful locations in the world, as the city of Paris as a whole and the building's surroundings contribute to making visitors acknowledge the importance of this monument. Construction on the cathedral started in 1163 and was largely finished by 1250, with most of its features emphasizing Gothic influences. The building's architecture, the sculptures present in it, and the impressive stained glass all stand as reminders that the French community invested most of its cultural values into the church at the time when it was constructed.

1. Read Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" (pp. 32 - 42) and Sherman Alexie's "Flight Patterns" (pp. 54 - 67).

QUINTUS OCTAVIUS exited his litter, having just traversed the winding streets and narrow avenues of the Aventine, and hurried up the steps of the Basilica Julia. He had just concluded some business for his client Lollius Capito, leasing out some empty warehouses to a Sicilian merchant, whilst selling the deed of another to a vintner from Antium, liquidating some of Capito’s vacant properties. It was late afternoon and the Forum was bustling, for it was business as usual here in the great city of Rome; Octavius scarcely arrived at the proposed hour of his appointment for all the pedestrian hubbub and cart traffic afoot. Rome is ever the center of commerce and trade in the Empire, he thought wryly. Alexandria is but a small-time metropolis compared to our fabulous Eternal City!

Question 1. Choose an architect or practice whose work is covered by or relevant to this course and discuss critically one or more of their design projects or drawings or urban proposals as precedent case-studies. Selectively situate this work in relation to their body of work, and against the practices and concerns of the period. Focus on the architectural qualities of a specific key aspect of the design of the projects. Selectively consider how they might relate to the historical situation, cultural values, theoretical concerns and design practices of the time. This may involve a selective analysis of compositional design practices, material fabrication production and the experiential reception of built outcomes of the projects.

The Washington National Cathedral is a beautiful depiction of Gothic architecture. Because the flying buttresses are associated with Gothic architecture, they can be found in the Washington National Cathedral. There are two important parts to a flying buttress. The first is a very large vertical stone block on the outer side of the building and the second feature, is an arch that can bridge the gap between the wall and the buttress, which demonstrates the name, "flying" buttress. In the east end of the Washington National Cathedral, there are 6 flying buttresses, but the architect did not place any kind of fortification between the stones, themselves, so when the earthquake in 2011 came, the flying buttresses were damaged and cracked,

“Stories about architecture are stories about people,” said David Macaulay, author of Cathedral (4). The intention of cathedrals was to draw people, and in turn inspire those who came to pray, learn, and worship (Macaulay, Cathedral 4). Cathedrals remain inspirational in their enormous scale and overpowering beauty, and that these places of worship are still standing after many centuries show a level of determination and integrity in those that built the edifices (Macaulay, Cathedral 4). Architect Vitruvius wrote, “All the buildings have two components: The building itself and an idea that its architecture tried to express” (McNamara 6). People build churches because they believed in something (McNamara 6). In David Macaulay’s book, Built to Last, he says the mindset behind building cathedrals was that of honor and dedication. Macaulay’s research noted that, “The new cathedral would be built to the glory of God, and it mattered little that it might take more than one hundred years to construct it” (Macaulay, Built to Last 98). However, there is more to cathedrals than just building something grand and beautiful to honor God. Churches and cathedrals were built to be packed with meaning (Taylor 1), and were used to illustrate key points of Christian teaching through the use of imagery (Taylor 5). Cathedrals were a place to immerse individuals in worship. Religious parents encourage their children to pray, take them to church and to religious events (Newberg and

Corresponding to how the Salisbury Cathedral is the epitome of English Gothic Architecture, the Amiens Cathedral is the essence of French Gothic Architecture, the difference however is that with the Amiens Cathedral it is rather uniform in its appearance compared to the contrast of conflicting architectural styles of the Salisbury Cathedral. Amiens Cathedral serves as a testament to the beauty and grace of the French Gothic movement in the 13th century. This stunning cathedral stands in the once thriving and bustling town of Amiens, France, located roughly 140 kilometers north of Paris. The Amiens Cathedral was commissioned by Bishop Evrard de Fouilloy to replace a smaller church dedicated to St. Mary and St. Firmin that had burned down in 1218. The destruction that the fire had wreaked over the city was so disastrous that nothing remained from any of the former churches. Construction of the nave began in 1220 and finished in 1288, a period of sixty eight years. The master of the work was named Robert de Luzarches. Master Thomas de Cormont came after him and eventually his son, Regnault, succeeded him. There were several additions made at the times, and repairs and restorations have been carried out from time to time; but Amiens and its main features stands accurately to that of a thirteenth-century French cathedral. In 1258, another fire broke out that threatened to undo the work that the architectures spent so many years working on. Luckily the building survived, but not

This remarkable improvement in methods indicates the fresh importation of skills from the East and this applies not merely to England but to all Western Europe at that time (“The Flowering” 88). Into three main phases the development of architecture through the period may be divided. The elements of Gothic style and their gradual elaboration over a period of rather more than a century came first at the opening of the 12th century. After the year 1000 there was a fully coordinated Gothic art particularly marked by the invention of windows with baltracy, Jean d’ Orbais probably used it first at Rheims cathedral during the generation following 1211, why the east end was begun. A century followed with classic poise in which an international architecture reached its peak and produce perfect forms of castle and palace, cathedrals enriched with painting patterned tiles, figure sculpture and stained glass (“The Flowering” 92).

In this essay, I will not only be discussing at the connections between Renaissance architecture and cosmology as well as music, but also the what Renaissance architecture is and how it played a key part in architectural design today. The Renaissance period took place during the early 15th century to early 17th century, the age of Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Architects of the time took inspiration from classical Roman architecture. This means it is an analysis of architecture in the ancient world, especially ancient Greece and Rome. What the Renaissance learnt from the Romans has how they used the space, looked at the form and had somewhat accurate measurements. And so, they copied elements and modified it, for example, many columns having a slightly intruded appearance on walls to give decoration to the building. They loved looking at the design and proportions and the mainly thrived in Italy during the early semester. It wasn’t until the latter years where Renaissance architecture started to spread throughout Europe, where many architects were fading from the gothic style previously used. However, large numbers of buildings incorporated a mixture of Renaissance and Gothic styles. A famous building built during the Renaissance period is St Peter’s Basilica, made in Rome, which was designed by many

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Reims, northeast of Paris near Champagne was the coronation church of the kings of France and was an educational and cultural center. Also built of limestone, the architecture of the Reims Cathedral features Gothic style. It symbolizes an Early Gothic, Radiant Gothic and Flamboyant Gothic. The Reims Cathedral depicts a classic harmonic facade containing four levels. Its interior is defined by its towering heights and narrow proportions, and elaborate sculptural works. Because of the high quality of workmanship and materials used, Reims Cathedral features some of the most beautiful gothic art in existence. Five different cathedrals have been on the site on which Reims cathedral now sits since 401 CE. The current cathedral was built in 1211, after the previous cathedral had burned down. The new building was almost entirely finished by the end of the thirteenth century. 88 gargoyles were counted on the Reims Cathedral and are mainly used to drain off rainwater and are exceptional pieces of work, but do show the slight difference between Gothic and Romanesque styles. The stained glass windows are a beautiful part of Reims despite being damaged or ruined several times in the 18th century; the cathedral still has many 13th century stained glass windows, in the upper parts of the nave, choir and transept. On the opposite side of the great western portal, the Great Rose Window, dating from the end of the 13th century, represents “the Crowning

Using the quote by Habermas as a starting point, select up to two buildings designed in the twentieth century and examine what ‘sudden, shocking encounters’ they have encountered, or created. Analyse the building’s meanings as a demonstration of an avant-garde, or potentially arriere-garde, position.

All over the world, people still come to admire the beauty of European cathedrals. Many of the cathedrals are fragile due to age, neglect, pollution, and insufficient funds available to restore these historical and magnificent buildings. Nevertheless, visitors to these architectural masterpieces are fascinated by the design and structure of these churches. The cathedral builders using their own ingenuity, expertise, and limited resources were able to defy the laws of gravity and time. (Icher 30)