The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral
This article presents a geometrical analysis of Bourges Cathedral, based on the application of computer-aided design (CAD) techniques to the results of a recent and highly precise laser survey. This analysis reveals that the cathedral's original designer developed a tightly interlocking and str...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Open Library of Humanities
2014-09-01
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| Series: | Architectural Histories |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.eahn.org/articles/150 |
| _version_ | 1818548461677576192 |
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| author | Robert Bork |
| author_facet | Robert Bork |
| author_sort | Robert Bork |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents a geometrical analysis of Bourges Cathedral, based on the application of computer-aided design (CAD) techniques to the results of a recent and highly precise laser survey. This analysis reveals that the cathedral's original designer developed a tightly interlocking and strikingly unified design, in which the five-fold subdivision of the chevet ground plan set proportions that would be vertically extruded into an elevation that can be inscribed both within a square and within a series of progessively smaller equilaterial triangles. These results contribute to an ongoing debate about the use of ‘ad quadratum’ and ‘ad triangulum’ geometries in Gothic architecture, and they provide new evidence for the geometrical coherence of Gothic cathedral design. In methodological terms, meanwhile, this discussion demonstrates the potential of CAD-based geometrical analysis for the study of precisely surveyed medieval buildings. The sequence of images being analysed can be viewed as supplementary material at: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ah.bz.s1">http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ah.bz.s1</a> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:20:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9ddfa28d8ba749e2baee619d914e49d3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-5833 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:20:15Z |
| publishDate | 2014-09-01 |
| publisher | Open Library of Humanities |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Architectural Histories |
| spelling | doaj.art-9ddfa28d8ba749e2baee619d914e49d32022-12-22T00:31:26ZengOpen Library of HumanitiesArchitectural Histories2050-58332014-09-012110.5334/ah.bz61The Geometry of Bourges CathedralRobert Bork0The University of IowaThis article presents a geometrical analysis of Bourges Cathedral, based on the application of computer-aided design (CAD) techniques to the results of a recent and highly precise laser survey. This analysis reveals that the cathedral's original designer developed a tightly interlocking and strikingly unified design, in which the five-fold subdivision of the chevet ground plan set proportions that would be vertically extruded into an elevation that can be inscribed both within a square and within a series of progessively smaller equilaterial triangles. These results contribute to an ongoing debate about the use of ‘ad quadratum’ and ‘ad triangulum’ geometries in Gothic architecture, and they provide new evidence for the geometrical coherence of Gothic cathedral design. In methodological terms, meanwhile, this discussion demonstrates the potential of CAD-based geometrical analysis for the study of precisely surveyed medieval buildings. The sequence of images being analysed can be viewed as supplementary material at: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ah.bz.s1">http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/ah.bz.s1</a>http://journal.eahn.org/articles/150BourgescathedralGothicarchitecturegeometry"ad quadratum""ad triangulum" |
| spellingShingle | Robert Bork The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral Architectural Histories Bourges cathedral Gothic architecture geometry "ad quadratum" "ad triangulum" |
| title | The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral |
| title_full | The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral |
| title_fullStr | The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral |
| title_short | The Geometry of Bourges Cathedral |
| title_sort | geometry of bourges cathedral |
| topic | Bourges cathedral Gothic architecture geometry "ad quadratum" "ad triangulum" |
| url | http://journal.eahn.org/articles/150 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertbork thegeometryofbourgescathedral AT robertbork geometryofbourgescathedral |