Research - Gargoyles & Grotesques

No, I'm not talking about those Tyranid nor Dark Eldar units. And if you came here hoping to read about Susan Boyle then you are going to be sorely dissapointed... and are probably a little ill. This is a little post to educate you all in the difference between Gothic Gargoyles and Grotesques in the next installment of my Research Series! The two are constantly mis-represented and the distinction is one which is easily confused. Being both architecturally trained and immensely anal, I feel like I have a duty to point out the difference. After all, the Research Series is supposed to bring some architectural knowledge to terrain builders!

Research - Gothic Architecture

Gothic Architecture is the name of the style of architecture most often associated with buildings of the 40K universe. It is one thing to know this, but another to understand what this means. Unfortunatley, there is no quick and easy answer, not least of all because (historically) Gothic Architecture is subject to many regional variations and "sub-types", such as English Gothic Architecture. I don't want to bore you all with the history of Gothic Architecture, because if you are interested you can find out more for yourselves. It is interesting to know that the term "Gothic" was traditionally used to describe architecture which was originally considered barbaric, or rude (from the root "Goth" which were seen as a vandalistic tribe of Northern Europe). It is probbaly enough to know that prior to the "Gothic" style, was the clean, simple and geometric lines of Romanesque Architecture, and this may give you some idea why the highly decorated "Gothic" style was termed as such.

However, for our purposes it is good to start to understand some of the features associated with Gothic Architecture. This can help us to identify suitable kits to use for our buildings, and importantly can help guide us when building from scratch in order to ensure that our creations convincingly match the theme and style of our other buildings!

The Pointed Arch

Without a doubt, the most defining characteristic of Gothic Architecture is the pointed arch. Aside from its appearance, the pointed arch is structurally much more flexible than the semi circular Romanesque arch. This is because there was not the geometric restriction of a fixed radius or diameter. As such, pointed arches can be used to vault irregular shapes, and importantly junctions between different shapes too. Pointed arches also provided great structural stability (due to the angle of transferance) so that the result is that building features could be much taller.


There are many different types and styles of the pointed arch, such as the Lancet, Equitorial and Depressed arches. Though to be fair, they are probably beyond the confines of this post and the requirements of our building needs.

Height
As a direct result of the benefits of the pointed arch, Gothic buildings are often characterised by great height, and this leads to another characteristic of an emphasis for verticality. This is enhanced by the inherent features of the pointed arch, and further suggested through the use of structural and decorative elements. For instance, vertical columns will often travel from the floor up to the roof, where they may sweep around to form the ribs of the roof vault. Repetition of these details also helps to increase this emphasis.

Light
The pointed arch, used for vaulting, allows for weight to be transferred much more directly to the vertical columns. This means that less vertical structure is required in order to carry the weight, and the result is that more wall space can be given over to window openings! This can further be exagerrated through the use of external features such as flying buttresses (see below). The overall result is that Gothic buildings allow for a lot of light to be let in, much more than in the very solid buildings before.

You can see these internal features and its effects through these 360 interactive views of Notre Dame (Paris). They are definately worth a look!

Flying Buttress
A buttress is a structural element of a wall which is used to support or reinforce it. This will project from the wall in order to support against any lateral forces applied to the wall by the roof (or other structures).

Externally, this often gives the appearance of ribs, and at corners, buttresses can be used in a nnumber of different ways; Angled, Clasping, "French" or Setback. Whilst these buttresses are fully vertically attached to the building, the Flying Buttress is set away from the building, and contains a "flyer" which bridges between the main building and the buttress.

In the image above, you can see the rear of Notre Dame (Paris) with flying buttresses arounf the apse and down the length of the building. The efficiency with which a flying buttress transfers loads means that openings in the main walls can be much larger than in those that use traditional buttresses. Further increasing the emphasis of light within Gothic buildings.

Externally, the Flying Buttress is a feature most commonly associated with the Gothic style, although it should be recognised that not all gothic buildings have flying buttresses.

Ornamentation
Many people associated ostentatius decoration with the Gothic Style, and whilst this can be true in part, it is not a defining feature as Gothic Architecture can be very simple. As in the Basilica of Mary Magdalene in Saint-Maximin.

Many of the most lavish and existing examples of Gothic Architecture are religious buildings, and this is probably with good reason. The Gothic style lends itself ideally to the religious themes of light and heaven. It is also a celebration of, and testament to the people and organisations which worship within them. Though the Doges Palace in Venice is a good example of non-religious "Venetian" Gothic. You do have to say, Gothic Architecture is certainly a sight to behold!

Research - Functional Religious Buildings

As has been pointed out, there are often a number of functional buildings that are attached to religious buildings. These would be where members of the Ecclesiarch live, eat and sleep as well as go about their daily lives. The type, size and number of different rooms varies hugely from place to place for all manner of reasons, but for the pruposes of this it is enough to know that there are often functional rooms or buildings attached to large religious structures such as churches (and synagogues and mosques of course!)

Again, sticking with the familiar (for me) Christian church model we touched on in the previous Research on Religious Architecture lets take a look at some spaces.

Cloister
Cloisters are a necessary part of the Claustral life of monks (or nuns) as it allows them to live within the enclosure and apart from others. As such, cloisters attached to churches or cathedrals show that the building is (or was) part of a monastic foundation, acting as places for quiet meditation or study.

A cloister is an open space surrounded by an arcade of covered walk ways. The picture shows a fine example from Salisbury Cathedral (UK) where you can clearly see the series of arches. Cloisters will have access to a number of surrounding buildings or rooms, such as a dormitory (sleeping room(s)) or refectory (dining hall) etc.


Vestry
The Vestry is a small room which is part of, or attached to the main religious building. Not only is this a place where vestments are kept and donned for services, but it is also a place where records, books and vessels etc. can be kept.

Historically, the churches administrative committee (also called a vestry) would have held closed or private meetings in the same room.

A vestry is not to be confused with a Chapter House.

Chapter House

Although a Chapter House is also used to hold meetings, this is a building or room which is attached to a larger religious building such as a cathedral that also has a monastic foundation. As such it is sized so that all of the monks (or nuns) can meet inside. The image shows the chapter house of Lincoln Cathedral with its distinctive shape and notable flying buttresses.

In Summary
Other rooms or buildings in large establishments can include places such as a School, Library or Treasury. However, even after a quick look at this, you can see that a fully functioning "Imperial Shrine" or cathedral-like building, is likely to have a number of accompanying buildings associated with it. This means I'm going to need to plan some appropriate buildings!

...Thanks Annakata...

Research - Religious Architecture

Religious architecture has historically been a catalyst for the creation of communities, places and new and innovative construction. It encompasses a huge array of architectural styles and themes because, unlike most other architecture, is fed from the beliefs, motives and religious faiths of those that worhip within them. Each place of worship will as such vary according to the particular practices and nuances of the religion in question, and we can even see that different branches of the same religion will also show variation.

It would to too exhaustive to go through a complete set of examples, but many of us will be familiar with the concept of a "traditional" christian church or cathedral. And this is as good an example as any of how beliefs and symbols are used. For instance, the structure was historically aligned in order that the congregation face eastwards - towards the rising sun, and the floor plan mimics the shape of a cross. However, both of these things are generally a result of the religious beliefs of christians, and developed a period of time.

So, lets take a little time to describe and identify the plan of a Christian church. You can see from the plan here (of Florence Cathedral, Italy) the distinctive cross shape. In this case, it is a "Latin Cross" (as opposed to a "Greek Cross") because one part is longer than the rest, this one is called the Nave. Columns (otherwise known as an Arcade) will separate the Nave from the Aisles either side of it which are usually not as tall. Where the Aisles are as tall the church is known as a Hall Church, a style more common in Germany. The Nave and Aisles lead up to the Crossing.

This forms the apex of the church, the focal point and it is usually topped with a spire, or dome. Internally this area is marked out by large columns required to bear the weight of the tall structure. The shorter arms either side of this are known as Transepts and form the symbolism of the cross. These are often dedicated to particular saints with separate chapels or dedicated to particular aspects of the life of Christ - such as the Nativity (as can be seen in the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona). The Florence Cathedral does not have a Choir behind the Crossing, instead just terminating in an Apse. This is a semi circular ending, and in this case both Transepts also terminate in Apses.

Of course, when we are making terrain in the 40K universe we have to know what symbols or features are present due to religious reasons and what exists due to necessary construction etc. For instance, we can see that other forms of religious architecture do not take up this cross shaped plan. A prime example would be the Pantheon in Rome, which has a large circular plan with a number of areas of dedication - perfect for the polytheism of ancient Rome. Once you have made this distinction, you can understand that prior to Christ, the ideas and symbols which we now recognise in Christian Churches were not developed... they came as a result of Christian beliefs, as opposed to being adopted from previous architecture.

We do know that plans of many religious buildings contain within them combinations of simple geometry. Often referred to as sacred geometry, the more complex the interaction and layering of such geometry, the more complex the overall building. Indeed, golden and geometric ratios were often employed in Greek and Roman architecture. This combination of ratios helps to give buildings such as the Florence Cathedral a sense of proportion - even though stands as the biggest building for miles! Whilst we can identify that a cross shape would not be part of a 40K ecclesiarchal building, other structural elements such as the Nave and Aisles can be quite at home, as can a number of chapels, each dedicated to different saints. This is because we know that although worship is centred on the Emperor, we also know that there are a number of saints which may also be revered!

Using information such as this we can not only be guided as to how a shrine or church might look in the 40K universe, but also get some understanding of what might be inside of it. For me, this is important in order to help create a believable piece of terrain. Anyway, I'm sure that this is quite enough jabbering from me.

If you are still interested, and I doubt by now you are, then some further and more detailed information can be found by reading here and other plans of churches can be found here.