Gothic Taste and Russian Culture of the 18th Century

This project was an experiment in widening the traditional borders of study in the field and looking at the phenomenon of Gothic taste in many genres and kinds of art. The Gothic taste was a major element in the cultural image of the Enlightenment both in western Europe and in Russia. It was an essential component in the world outlook of an educated person and without studying this phenomenon it is impossible to fully understand the thinking of artistic professionals, amateurs and users in Russian society in the 18th century. Mr. Khatchatourov first analysed the reasons for the importance of Gothic taste in the culture of the European Enlightenment and then studied its linguistic and lexicographic evolution in 18th century Russian culture. He sought to determine the semantic context which actively formed the human mind set in the Enlightenment, including potential users and producers of articles in the Gothic taste. He then looked at the process of absorption of this concept by those forms of art which express it most strongly, in particular architecture and the theatre. His study was based on a comprehensive historical and culturological study using a wide range of sources, a formal stylistic method approach considering the interaction of non-classical styles of the Enlightenment with the dominant classicism, and an iconographic approach which revealed the essential aspects in a new image synthesis of the culture of the Enlightenment.

Non-Contact Documentation of Physical Characteristics of Ecstasy Tablets, Hemp Coins, and Imprint Punches by using 3D Optical Surface Scanning

The description of seized illicit ecstasy tablets and other pressed drug products is an important step in casework. The physical and visual analysis and the description of the characteristics can be employed for intelligence purposes. Besides photography and manual measurements of dimensions, some optical instruments are employed for detailed measurements of physical characteristics. In this work, the method of 3D surface digitizing is introduced as a suitable tool for highly accurate documentation of small objects, especially for pressed drug products. The resulting detailed information about the geometry, and the results of an automatic comparison of apparently uniform tablets and coins with punches, can support drug intelligence.

Technical Challenges in the Construction of Gothic Vaults: The Gothic Theory of Structural Design

The construction of a Gothic vault implied the solution of several technical challenges. The literature on Gothic vault construction is quite large and its growth continues steadily. The main challenge of any structure is that, during and after construction, it must be "safe", that is, it must not collapse. Indeed, it must be amply safe, able to support different loads for long periods of time. Masonry architecture has shown its structural safety for centuries or millennia. The Pantheon of Rome stands today after almost 2,000 years without having needed any structural reinforcement (of course, the survival of any building implies continuous maintenance) . Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, finished in the 6th century AD, has withstood not only the dead loads but also many severe earthquakes . Finally, the Gothic cathedrals, with their appearance of weakness, are• more than a half millennium old. The question arises of what the source of this amazing strength is and how the illiterate master masons were able to design such daring and safe structures . This question is usually evaded in manuals of Gothic architecture. This is quite surprising, the structure being a fundamental part of Gothic buildings. The present article aims to give such an explanation, which has been studied in detail elsewhere. In the first part, the Gothic design methods "V ill be discussed. In the second part, the validity of these methods wi11 be verified within the frame of the modern theory of masonry structures . References have been reduced to a minimum to make the text simpler and more direct.

Late Gothic German Vault Design Methods and Its Relationship with Spanish Ribbed Vaults

The arrival of European master masons to Burgos and Toledo during the mid-fifteenth century was essential for the promotion of the late Gothic ribbed vault design techniques in Spain. The Antigua Chapel in Seville Cathedral, designed by the Spanish master mason Simón de Colonia on 1497, provides an outstanding case study on this subject. This vault is characterized by the interlacing of the ribs near the springing, reflecting the influence of German ribbed vault designs. This paper analyses the relationship between German ribbed vaults and their design methods with those of Spanish ribbed vaults; with particular attention to the presence of ribs that cut through one another above the springing, materialized in the work of Simón de Colonia. This characteristic is reflected in some manuscripts in the German area, like the Wiener Sammlungen (15th-16th centuries) and the Codex Miniatus 3 (ca. 1560-1570), but no Spanish documents of the same period make reference to it.

Technological development in Spanish gothic vaults design

The principle of complexity as the evolution vector of the gothic style was an idea largely developed by Paul Frankl. The high complexity reached in the 15th and 16th centuries was possible thanks to the geometrical resources developed in the workshops of the medieval stonemasons. The search for more sophisticated designs was possible also with the higher standardization, so that the most complex ribbed vault could be built with ribs that had all the same curvature and with voussoirs that were therefore identical. Spanish Gothic architecture has been deeply studied from a historical and artistic point of view. The present paper, as a complement to these analyses, aims to point out some of the geometrical methods and technological improvements that late medieval masons were able to develop. In that way, some selected vaults have been measured, in order to study their geometry and design process. Also scale models of some vaults have been built at the Escuela de Arquitectura (Madrid) to validate these geometrical principles. More than just a research method, the scale models allow to understand the medieval construction techniques, and they are a powerful pedagogical tool with which pupils can reach a rewarding experience based on the “medieval-way” praxis.

The Gothic Ribbed vaults in Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón

The Gothic Ribbed vaults in Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón. Second International Congress on Construction History. Construction History Society. Cambridge. Reino Unido. Vol: III. Pags: 2415-2431. ISBN. 0-7017-0205-2

Crossed-arch vaults in late-gothic and early Renaissance vaulting: a problem in building technology transfer

Crossed-arch vaults are a particular type of ribbed vaults. Their main feature is that the ribs that form the vault are intertwined, forming polygons or stars and leaving an empty space in the middle. The firsts appear in Córdoba in the second half of the 10th Century. Afterwards, the type diffused through Spain and North Africa, 11th_13th Centuries. These vaults reappear in Armenia in the 13th Century. In the 14th and 15th Century a few examples are found both in England (Durham, Raby) and Central Europe (Prague, Landshut, Vienna). At about the same time, Leonardo da Vinci produced designs for the Tiburio (Ciborium) of Milan cathedral with a cross-arched structure and proposed tests to assess the strength; he also, made use of the same pattern of vault for Renaissance centralized churches. Eventually, the type can be tracked through the 17th (Guarini) and 18th (Vittone) Centuries, until Spanish post war architecture in the 1940-60s (Moya). Some questions arose, which so far, have not been answered. How was it possible that a particular type of vault had such enormous geographical spread? How was it transmitted from Córdoba to the Caucasus? The matter is one of transfer of knowledge, ideas, and technology; it relates both aesthetics and construction.

Desarrollo de modelos 3D de los edificios de contención de la Central Nuclear de Almaraz y de la Central Nuclear de Trillo con el código GOTHIC 8.0

El análisis de los accidentes tipo LOCA o MSLB en una contención PWR-W normalmente se simulan con la opción de volúmenes de control con parámetros agrupados en GOTHIC, ya que es lo que hasta ahora se ha considerado adecuado para el análisis de licencia. Sin embargo, para el estudio de detalle del comportamiento termo-hidráulico de cada recinto de la contención, podría ser más adecuado contar con un modelo tridimensional que representase más fielmente la geometría de la contención. El objetivo de la primera fase del proyecto de investigación de CNAT y la UPM es la construcción de varios modelos tridimensionales detallados con el código GOTHIC 8.0 de los edificios de contención de una planta tipo PWR-W y KWU, correspondientes a la Central Nuclear de Almaraz (CNA) y Trillo (CNT) respectivamente.

Las teorías del gótico y su representación gráfica en España el último tercio del siglo XIX. Un estudio sobre: Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain, de George Edmund Street

La tesis se centra en el estudio, descripción y análisis del libro publicado por el arquitecto británico George Edmund Street en 1865, bajo el título Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain. El libro dio a conocer una de la colecciones más importantes de dibujos realizada en el siglo XIX sobre la arquitectura gótica española, y por lo tanto fue una primera referencia para su estudio, hasta bien entrado el siglo veinte. El volumen incluyó 107 grabados de diversos tipos de edificios con perspectivas y detalles, y 25 láminas con 45 planos de plantas de iglesias y claustros, muchos de ellos publicados por primera vez. Gracias a varias campañas de verano por la mitad norte del país, la casi inexplorada -desde un punto de vista académico- arquitectura española medieval fue finalmente descubierta. Este hecho conduce a una pregunta intrigante que está en el origen de esta investigación ¿cómo pudo Street en pocos viajes sentar las bases de la historia del gótico español que hasta entonces los estudiosos españoles no habían sido capaces de definir? Esta tesis comienza describiendo la obra de Street en su contexto cultural con un breve repaso a su biografía y a su posición profesional y teórica. También su relación con las personas más representativas que participaron en el estudio de la arquitectura gótica, como Robert Willis, William Whewell, Augustus Pugin, o George G. Scott. Se ha prestado especial atención, en explicar su papel relevante en el Gothic Revival, para entender el significado de su interés en la arquitectura gótica continental. Estos capítulos preliminares son seguidos por una revisión del papel del dibujo como herramienta para la arquitectura de los viajeros en sus rutas en busca de la arquitectura gótica. También se trata la influencia de la Royal Academy y sus académicos, (entre los cuales estuvo Street) y su formación académica. Finalmente la tesis entra en el estudio de los planos arquitectónicos que Street hizo durante sus viajes continentales de arquitectura, seguido por una descripción detallada de sus dibujos de España, analizando su método, su técnica, y las nuevas características aportadas, que fueron una novedad en el contexto español. También se lleva a cabo algunos estudios comparativos de los dibujos de España, gracias a una recopilación exhaustiva de bocetos y dibujos originales de Street, que en su gran mayoría se conservan en los archivos del RIBA, cotejándolos con sus versiones finales, con dibujos de la época de otros autores sobre los mismos edificios, y con fotos recientes. La tesis deja claro por qué y cómo Street, gracias a su soporte teórico y habilidades para el dibujo, pudo realizar algo que había pasado desapercibido para los estudiosos españoles de la época (construcción, historia de los estilos, señalamiento de períodos constructivos), lo que le permitió encontrar el lugar adecuado de la arquitectura gótica española en la historia y en el mapa de la arquitectura gótica europea. ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on the study, description and analysis of the book published by the British architect George Edmund Street in 1865, under the title Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain. The book displayed one of the most significant collections of drawings on Spanish Gothic Architecture made in the nineteenth century, and therefore was a first reference for its study, until well into the twentieth century. The book included 107 engravings, the surveying of various types of buildings with perspectives and details, and 25 sheets containing 45 ground plans of churches and cloisters, many of them new and published for the first time. Thanks to several summer campaigns in the north half of the country, the almost unexplored -from a scholar point of view- medieval Spanish architecture was eventually revealed. This fact lead to an intriguing question that is at the origin of this research: how could Street in a few trips lay the foundations of the history of Spanish Gothic that until then Spanish scholars had not been able to define? This thesis begins inscribing this Street's work in his cultural context. A brief review of his biography and professional and theoretical positions has been seen as necessary. Also his debts and relationship with the most representative people involved in the study of Gothic architecture, like Robert Willis, William Whewell, Augustus Pugin, or George G. Scott are discussed. Special attention has been paid, taken into account his relevant role in the Gothic Revival, to understand the significance of his interest in continental Gothic architecture. These preliminary chapters are followed by a review of role of drawing as a tool for Architectural travellers in their Tours in search of the Gothic architecture. The influence of the Royal Academy and its academicians, (among which was Street) and his educational background are here tackled. Eventually this thesis enters into the study of the architectural drawings Street made during his continental architectural journeys, which is followed by a detailed description and analysis of the Spanish ones: his methods, his technique, and the new features which were a novelty in the Spanish context are explored. Also in this thesis is carried out some comparative studies thanks to a previous exhaustive gathering of Street's sketches and original drawings, most of which are preserved in the RIBA archives. Their final versions, drawings of the same buildings from other contemporary draughtsman and pictures of their current state are compared with them. This thesis makes clear why and how Street thanks to his theoretical back-ground and portraying skills could realize what have passed unnoticed by contemporary Spanish scholars (construction, genealogy of forms, dating of periods) allowing him to find the proper place of the Spanish architecture in the history and the map of European Gothic architecture.

Clarity, Light, and Logic : Parallels between Olafur Eliasson’s The weather project and the Gothic Cathedral

This Master’s Research Paper investigates Olafur Eliasson’s The weather project as a case study for the dialogue between Gothic artistic principles and prominent elements of contemporary art. A product of a post-modern mindset, weakened historicity allows us to examine these connections anew; past, present, and future blur and artists (and viewers) have the whole of time from which to gain inspiration and meaning in works of art. I demonstrate similarities through theories on phenomenology; the spatiotemporal relationship between viewer and artwork; the convergence of art and science; and the communal, quasi-liminal experience of pilgrimage. I embrace Eliasson’s belief in the self-reflexive potential of art and the importance of the viewer’s own values, memories, and methods of seeing. This new interpretive layer will hopefully offer a richer experience for future participants of both Gothic cathedrals and environments produced by Studio Olafur Eliasson.

Subsidence damage assessment of a Gothic church using differential interferometry and field data

The Santas Justa and Rufina Gothic church (fourteenth century) has suffered several physical, mechanical, chemical, and biochemical types of pathologies along its history: rock alveolization, efflorescence, biological activity, and capillary ascent of groundwater. However, during the last two decades, a new phenomenon has seriously affected the church: ground subsidence caused by aquifer overexploitation. Subsidence is a process that affects the whole Vega Baja of the Segura River basin and consists of gradual sinking in the ground surface caused by soil consolidation due to a pore pressure decrease. This phenomenon has been studied by differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry techniques, which illustrate settlements up to 100 mm for the 1993–2009 period for the whole Orihuela city. Although no differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry information is available for the church due to the loss of interferometric coherence, the spatial analysis of nearby deformation combined with fieldwork has advanced the current understanding on the mechanisms that affect the Santas Justa and Rufina church. These results show the potential interest and the limitations of using this remote sensing technique as a complementary tool for the forensic analysis of building structures.