Where is the Gothic?

 

Gothic architecture was the predominant style of buildings in Europe from the 12th century to the 16th century. Pushed aside by the neoclassical, Baroque, and Rococo styles, it made a comeback in the 17th century where, as an interpretive style incorporating neoclassical elements, it was seen in a wider range of building types. 19th century Victorian Gothic was applied in halls, universities, railway stations, and public buildings. The Gothic, which had begun as a medium of religious gestures, developed into a more encompassing system of building design. Using the strong sense of verticality, ribs, and pointed arches the Victorian Gothic, in some cases even tried to push against the rise of the machine and industrialization.

In this paper, I will try to explain the underlying structural and spatial principles of Non-Religious Victorian gothic revival buildings of the 19th and 20th century, not referring to superficial visual elements, but Ideas. This piece springs from the extensive research I did on Gothic buildings in Mumbai and worldwide while working on my undergraduate degree thesis two years ago. There, the incorporation of the gothic in into my design, did not make it any less modern, but definitely improved the end result. As a result of my research I realized that there is an inevitable paradigm shift ocurring in the Architectural scene now. I will also look at some examples of these buildings that are far apart, both in distance and time.

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Gothic architecture was developed in the 10th century as an efficient building system for large buildings, besides primarily being a religious idea. The crusaders returning from the Islamic world brought with them the pointed arch. At this point the only advanced structures builders at the time knew of were masonry buildings. A line representing the force transfered through any arch that spans a distance is a catenary. This was demonstrated by Robert Hooke’s chain in the 17th century, and later by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona with the more practical approach of attaching weights to string, leading to the superb arches in the Casa Mila (La Pedrera), Casa Batlo, and Sagrada Familia.

Spatially, Gothic buildings were churches. Religious buildings were the only large enclosed structures built by people of the 11th Century, but soon there came a need for public halls, parliament houses, factories, mansions, etc. The Gothic came to the rescue. With applied ornamental additions, Gothic could be efficient and grand at the same time. The architects in the 19th century realized the salient features of the Gothic, efficiency of structure, built-in ornament, good light qualities, and adaptability. The architects used these to their advantage. Hence I contend Gothic to be the precursor to modern architecture

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The English architects were the first to interpret Gothic to fit with the sensibilities of the Baroque and Rococo styles, hence it is known as Victorian Gothic. The houses of parliament in London were built by Sir Robert Smirke in 1835 using the Victorian Gothic style. The trend spread to India with the Queen’s rule; within a few decades Indian architects were designing and building the beautiful University of Bombay buildings. They had not only designed in a style outside of the local building type, but they had understood and reinterpreted it to fit into the climate, planning, aspirations, and sensibilities of the Indian people. This type of style is known as the “Bombay Gothic”. Curiously, none of the buildings built at the time in Bombay need air-conditioning, extensions, or changes even to this day.

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The 20th century architect Antoni Gaudi, was an architect far ahead of his time designing and building catenary systems with the same masonry blocks used by the neoclassical architects. He used string with weights, and by flipping the model upside-down, the finished shapes of the arches which result would lead to the most efficient structure. There were elements that came prefinished – either precast or finely chiselled stone – that would fit into each other. His arches had a very thin profile, with brick catenaries being made only one brick thick. He had truly understood the underlying principles of the Gothic, and applied them in designing modern buildings. A few decades later, there were architects who were looking back at history to find the essence of structure, and style. One example of such a structure is Pier Luigi Nervi’s Palazzetto dello sport, (Rome, 1958), which uses precast structure and ribbed domes, and borrows visually from classical architecture. Eero Saarinen’s St. Louis Arch, is a catenary, albeit in the form of a composite structure. Even Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style was sometimes referred to as “Horizontal Gothic” at a time when a lot of rich architecture referring to important buildings of the past was being overshadowed by the “International style.”

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Now, one could ask, “What do all these buildings have in common?”- Very finely designed building elements that give their occupants a sense of place, at the same time being supported by an efficient structure. Simply put, the catenary is the most efficient way to span a distance because it follows the exact line of thrust. The designers of Gothic pointed arches knew that, but did not have the materials, technology, or computational power to make it possible or viable; hence they used the more slender profile pointed arch. Gaudi had the technology to construct such arches, but not the computational power or materials. Nervi had them all, which freed him of the necessity to adhere to the look of any particular style. The “International style” architects also had them all, but chose to disregard them, and rely on a more austere system of implied purity, leading to a stark and cold appearance, devoid of human qualities. Today, Santiago Calatrava is building structures with very similar techniques, as he has the materials, computational power, construction methods, and skills at hand. I point to Calatrava because his buildings are prominent to a general audience. Now we can understand the Gothic as any structure with a precast system, computational architecture, or organic ideology uses simplicity and efficacy of structure, as well as implied, applied, or inherent ornament.

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As architects of the 21st century, we have the resources, skills, and materials necessary to take the structures we design beyond the systems that our predecessors worked with. Just like them, we have an obligation to go forth and break the barriers of technology, materials, and structure, and to make radical shifts in the way buildings are built. The past should not be shunned; rather, it should be used as a stepping stone to the future. I am not implying another Gothic revival, here, but a reason to look back and fully understand the implications of the buildings we design, and the way we go about designing them. Gothic architecture is an important example to follow as the issues of cost efficiency, construction method, and structural stability were all answered long ago. Why not use them to our benefit today?