Issue 30 / May

COMMUNITY NEWS

N OTRE DAME C ATHEDRAL

GOTHIC A RCHITECTURE

H ISTORY
Construction of the Notre Dame Cahtedral began
in 1163 after Pope Alexander III laid the corner-
stone for the new cathedral. By the time of Bishop
Maurice de Sully’s death in 1196, the apse, choir
and the new High Altar were all finished, while
the nave itself was nearing completion. In 1200,
work began on the western facade, including the
west rose window and the towers, all of which
were completed around 1250, along with a new
north rose window. Also during the 1250s, the
transepts were remodeled in the latest style of
Rayonnant Gothic architecture by architects
Jean de Chelles and Pierre de Montreuil, and
the clerestory windows were enlarged. The last
remaining elements were gradually completed
during the following century. (See also Flamboy-
ant Gothic architecture: 1375-1500.).

A RCHITECTURE Notre Dame Cathedral

The cathedral is roughly 128 metres (420 ft) in
length, and 12 metres (39 ft) wide in the nave. Its supports and drainage pipes. As Gothic building
cruciform plan, elevated nave, transept and tower designers hoped, the additional reinforcement Notre-Dame’s stern facade is decorated with a
were borrowed from 11th-century Romanesque provided by the buttresses, piers and other stone mass of stone sculpture, notably around the cen-
architecture, but its pointed arches and rib vault- supports enabled the main walls of the cathedral tral portal, which is flanked by statues depicting
ing were strictly Gothic. Indeed, it was one of the to become non-structural, and thus a greater wall The Last Judgment. The facade design balances
first Gothic cathedrals to have arched exterior area was available for stained glass, in order to the verticality of the twin towers (69 metres
supports known as “flying buttresses”. These inspire worshippers and illuminate the cathe- in height) with the horizontal banding of the
were not incorporated into the initial architecture dral’s interior. Indeed, Notre-Dame Cathedral decorated galleries. This produces a simple but
of the building, but were included when stress exemplifies the main contributions of Gothic art powerful western elevation, which dominates the
fractures began to appear in the thin upper walls to Christian architecture: churches soared higher square in front.
as they cracked under the weight of the vault. In and were more awe-inspiring, while their stained
addition to the flying buttresses, over a dozen glass windows let in more light and provided The cathedral’s transept portals are also richly
supporting piers were constructed to support the additional Biblical art for the congregation. Thus decorated with architectural relief sculpture; the
exterior walls and counteract the lateral thrust the clerestory windows of Notre-Dame’s original south door features scenes from the lives of Saint
of the nave vaulting. Notre-Dame is also famous nave were enlarged in the 13th century, filling the Stephen along with other local saints, while the
for its external statues and gargoyles arranged interior with light, thanks to the improvements decorations around the north door depict the
around the outside to serve as extra column achieved in structural support. infancy of Christ and the tale of Theophilus.
COMMUNITY NEWS

FALLINGWATER
A RCHITECTURE

H ISTORY
Fallingwater is Wright’s crowning achieve-
ment in organic architecture and the American
Institute of Architects’ “best all-time work of
American architecture.” Its owners, Edgar and
Liliane Kaufmann, were a prominent Pittsburgh
couple, reputed for their distinctive sense of style
and taste.

They met Wright in 1934, when their son, Edgar

Jr. spent six months in the Taliesin Fellowship.
Knowing that Wright shared their love of nature,
they commissioned him to build a summer home
for the family’s weekend retreat in Bear Run,
PA. Wright recognized that his clients wanted
something that would celebrate the landscape of
their favorite country hideaway in an innovative
way. Determined to build over the stream that
punctuated the property, Wright remarked that Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright
rather than simply look out at it, he wanted the
Kaufmanns “to live with the waterfall…as an beloved weekend home for 26 years. In 1963 the The epitome of “organic architecture,” Falling-
integral part of [their] lives.” Kaufmanns donated the property to the Western water’s design symbolizes the harmony between
Pennsylvania Conservancy, together with 1,543 people and nature. Through thoughtful design
A RCHITECTURE acres of surrounding land. It opened its door as a that is seamlessly integrated with its natural
In Fallingwater, Wright anchored a series of museum in 1964 and has since hosted more than setting, the building, its furnishings, and the
reinforced concrete “trays” to the natural rock. five million visitors. surroundings become cohesive parts of one
Cantilevered terraces of local sandstone blend unified, interrelated composition. This, Wright
harmoniously with the rock formations, appear- “Great architecture, like any great art, ultimately described, was “Where the whole is [to] the part
ing to float above the stream below. The first takes you somewhere that words cannot take you as the part is to the whole and where the nature
floor entry, living room and dining room merge at all. Fallingwater does that the way Chartres of the materials, the nature of the purpose, the
to create one continuous space, while a hatch Cathedral does that. There’s some experience nature of the entire performance” are all equally
door in the living room opens to a suspended that gets you in your gut and you just feel it, and important to the resulting building.
stairway that descends to the stream below. Glass you can’t quite even say it. My whole life is deal-
walls further open the rooms to the surrounding ing with architecture and words, and at the end
landscape. In 1938, Wright designed addition- of the day, there is something that I can’t entirely
al guest quarters set into the hillside directly say when it comes to what Fallingwater feels
above the main house and linked by a covered like.” — Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize-winning
walkway. Fallingwater remained the family’s architectural critic
COMMUNITY NEWS

ONE ANGEL SQUARE GREEN

A RCHITECTURE

A BOUT ONE A NGEL SQUARE

One Angel Square in Manchester is the Co-oper-
ative Group’s new headquarters building, where
more than 3,000 Co-op employees are co-locat-
ed in one office for the first time.

The 15-storey building is a three-sided struc-

ture, with a fully glazed double skin façade that
curves both horizontally and vertically around the
building. There is a full-height atrium at the heart
of the triangular building, its three sides formed
from white-painted concrete balconies at each
floor level. Behind the balconies there are large,
column-free open-plan office floors.

THE CO-OPERATIVE GROUP WEBSITE

SAYS ‘By designing to the BREEAM standards
we aim to save 40-60% of our current energy
costs in the head office complex. Our new home Notre Dame Cathedral
will create a benchmark for every other UK busi-
ness and showcase what can be achieved through The building has its own source of heat and The sustainable features incorporated into One
a socially responsible approach to design and power generation through a CHP (combined heat Angel Square help in achieving an 80% reduction
construction.’ and power) plant. in carbon emissions and a 50% reduction in
energy consumption.
A RCHITECTURE Other features include:
The double-skinned facade and soaring open atri- Energy requirements of the building are fulfilled
um are key to creating natural heating, cooling - heat recovery from the IT systems that will also by a combined heat and power (CHP) system,
and lighting. The atrium, for example, floods the help to heat the building which is fuelled by waste cooking oil and rape-
building’s interior with light, and the facade helps seed oil. The rapeseed oil is produced at The
to minimise heating and cooling loads. - low energy LED lighting and IT equipment and Co-operative’s own farms. The CHP units also
systems provide cooling through an absorption chiller.
In summer louvres at the top of the facade will
open to allow the warmed air trapped between - greywater and rainwater recycling systems for The building features 300,000ft² of exposed
its inner and outer skins to rise up and out of the toilet flushing and irrigation concrete, which acts as a thermal sponge. The
building. In winter these louvres will close so the concrete absorbs the heat in the building,
facade can form an insulated blanket around the - high-efficiency passenger and service lifts reducing the amount of energy needed to cool
building. the building.
COMMUNITY NEWS

COLOSSEUM A RCHITECTURE
GREATEST ROMAN CREATION

H ISTORY
The Colosseum was built between 70 AD and
80 AD under Emperors Vespasian, Titus, and
Domitian, the Flavian Emperors. Hence its
original name, the Amphitheatrum Flavium – the
Flavian Amphitheater.

The Colosseum can be viewed as a populist

undertaking by Vespasian who, at least in part,
commissioned it as a means to regain the favor of
a citizenry that was restless and unhappy with the
imperial institution after Nero’s reign. Planning
began in 70 AD and construction in 72, on the
site of the artificial lake Nero had constructed as
part of the Domus Aurea.

Most of the labor for the construction of the

building was provided by Jewish slaves, who
had been taken as prisoners following the first Notre Dame Cathedral
Jewish-Roman war.
ancient Roman viewing it for the first time would shorter, 6.45 meter tall.
The building was oval-shaped and set on a north- have been the same as standing at the foot of the Unlike the first three, the fourth floor wall was
west to south-east axis, with its main axis mea- Empire State building today. not made of arches and columns, but rather of flat
suring 189 meters and its shorter one 156 meters. The ground floor columns were done in the panels, which thanks to recent cleaning efforts we
For reference, that is almost twice as long and 1.5 Tuscan style, a Roman variation on the austere know were decorated with carvings and insets of
times as wide as a modern football field. Greek Doric style. azurite and bronze.
The second floor featured slightly more elaborate The Colosseum had two main entrances: the
A RCHITECTURE Ionic columns. northwestern Porta Triumphalis, which as its
The Colosseum was conceived as a testament to The third floor employed the more intricate and name suggests was the gate used for triumphal
Rome’s might. At the time of its completion, it decorated Corinthian style. processions and through which gladiators
was the most complex man-made structure in the Therefore, from bottom to top, the Colosseum entered the arena, and the southeastern Porta
world and one of the largest. went from lesser to greater stylistic complexity. Libitinaria, named for the Roman goddess of
The travertine stone used as the primary material Each half-column was the centerpiece of an arch, funerals and burial Libitina. This gate was used
in its construction was white, and at nearly 50 of which there were a total of 80 forming the ex- to removed the bodies of those who perished on
meters in height (at a time when most buildings ternal perimeter of the building on the first three the sands.
were single-story) and with a footprint of 6 acres floors. These were largest on the ground floor, at
it would have gleamed in the sun and inspired awe 4.2 meters wide and 7.05 meters tall. On the two
in anyone who laid eyes upon it. Its effect on an upper floors they were the same width but slightly