Gothic architecture

-Gothic/Revival Architecture sketches, drawn by me (Camron Lam)

Gothic Architecture

Gothic is a term that has been linked to many different things since it's initial creation. The word has been used to describe:

  • An Architectural and Artistic style
  • A genre of literature
  • And as of recent a fashion aesthetic, typically featuring dark clothing and makeup
Gothic architecture was an architectural style developed in medieval Europe in the mid-twelfth century. A trait of this style of architecture is that none of it was really drawn since they couldn't really draw in that time period which meant that a lot of Gothic architecture was built through trial and error. It typically featured tall buildings with cavernous spaces, tall ceilings and intricate ornamental façades.

Lot's of Gothic architecture involved vaults, which were a good solution for the need to span large areas with masonry.
These included:
  • Barrel Vaults
  • Groin Vaults
  • Rib Vaults
  • Fan Vaults



Barrel vaults were largely used in the roman period but went out of fashion in the Gothic period where they much preferred using rib vaults due to pointed arches being able to span wider areas more easily but then returned to fashion in the renaissance era due to their association with classical antiquity.

Groin vaults were variations of barrel vaults which allowed for openings in the vaults, Rib vaults were then developed because they realised that groin vaults could be made stronger by adding ribs to the tops.
Fan vaults were a later development and were based off of the much more ornamental net vaults, the fan vaults carried the tracery patterns along the walls and ceilings which helped to unify a building's interior. Fan Vaults were mainly supported by the large ribs and the cone shaped fans pushing against one another.

Vaults were constructed using a method called centring which involved using a wooden form to model the interior if the finished vault and then the vault was then constructed around it.

Gothic architecture also featured lots of flying buttresses which were cleverly used to support the large amounts of weight that were caused by the ribbed vaults, these came in the forms of flying buttresses and arched flyers. Another thing they did in Gothic architecture was by adding pinnacles to flying buttress towers which anchored the buttresses in position as they were heavy ornate cones that applied a larger downwards force onto the buttress towers. On the other hand, Roman and Romanesque architecture did not need flying buttresses as the barrel and groin vaults didn't apply as much force than ribbed vaults did and could thus be supported by pilaster buttresses.

Early Gothic:
  • Europe (1120-1200)

High Gothic:
  • Europe (1200-1280)
  • England (1300-1375
Late Gothic:
  • Europe (1280-1500)
  • England (1375-1500)


Gothic architecture is one of my favourite styles of architecture, it features lots of extravagant and ornamental structures which double as structural systems which benefit towards the overall structural stability of the building. The connotations of the gothic style of architecture and it's history are also very intriguing to me, I find the story of how it was very much considered barbaric and monstrous and rejected as an architectural style at the time very captivating. This is because at that time it was considered outlandish do create something that didn't conform to antiquity and the classical ideals, it was very "different" to what people were used to and the people obviously didn't like that. Gothic architecture has a beautiful story about being different, beautiful and functional, in a time where creating large scale buildings was almost impossible due to the lack of technology.

Medieval Domestic Architecture
Domestic homes in medieval times mostly featured flint walls and thatched roofs, the interiors of buildings were separated by screens that often separated the sleeping areas from the eating/ cooking area. Slightly upper class buildings were made of timber frame construction and mud and lime plaster.
(Examples can be found at the Weald and Downland living museum.)

https://www.seeingthepast.com/blog/weald-and-downland-museum




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