What is the design of a cathedral?

The typical cathedral contains a narthex at the entrance, three aisles with the central being the nave, a transept that gives the church its cross shape, an open choir where the nave and transept meet, and an apse at the far end of the nave, containing the altar.

Which is an effect of Gothic cathedrals built with very tall designs?

Waging a constant battle against gravity, master masons, who both designed and built these cathedrals, wanted to create as much uninterrupted vertical space as possible in their stone structures. These soaring heights provided a dramatic interior which served to reinforce the power of the church.

What do Gothic cathedrals represent?

The Gothic cathedrals literally centralized communities as they required entire villages of laborers and years to complete. The cathedrals became not only places of worship but also meeting places for peasants and farmers for whom the church provided spiritual and charitable services in everyday life.

How Gothic cathedrals were built?

The walls and pillars, timber scaffolding and roof were built first. Once the roof was in place, and the walls were reinforced with buttresses, the construction of the vaults could begin. One of the most complex steps was the construction of the rib vaults, which covered the nave and choir.

What is a cathedral used for?

The cathedral, often being a large building, serves as a meeting place for many people. The cathedral often forms a centre of different activities related to community service, youth activities, study, music and decorative arts.

What does the cathedral represent?

The cathedral that the narrator draws with Robert represents true sight, the ability to see beyond the surface to the true meaning that lies within. Before the narrator draws the cathedral, his world is simple: he can see, and Robert cannot.

What is the role of the architect in a cathedral?

It’s the description of a fundamental figure in the building of cathedrals: the architect. “The architect’s responsibilities, to provide the design and manage the project, required special skills.

What makes a Cathedral Gothic?

I walked in the nave of the cathedral, surrounded by hundreds of different gothic decorations: wooden and stone statues, high-reliefs and altars, carved columns, ribbed vaults, stained-glass windows. I’ve always been passionate about medieval art.

What is the height of the central aisle of the cathedrals?

The height of the central aisle of these cathedrals is striking: thc distance from the floor to the botl’om of the keystones of the vaults is 1 Ui feet at Chartres, 123 feet at Reims and 137 feet at Amiens. And a pcaked wooden roof above the vaults adds as much as 60 feet to the overall height of the build­ ing section.

How were the cathedrals of the Renaissance designed?

The cathedrals were designed without bencfit of any mathe­ matical structural theory; fragmentary evidencc indicates, in fact, that the an:hitccts of the era worked only with roman numerals, so that they probably werc unable even to multiply to calcu­ late simple volumes.