Experiments in Gothic Structure - Hardcover

Mark PhD, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0262131706 ISBN 13: 9780262131704

Publisher: MIT Press, 1982

Synopsis

This fascinating study of the structural elements of Gothic cathedrals is written by an engineer who has spent the last 15 years applying analytical techniques of structural mechanics to Gothic buildings.

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Review

" This is a work that will rank with the major modern scholarly inquiries into Gothic architecture... Mark is not a victim, as so many pure aestheticians are, of the fallacy of seeing Gothic cathedrals as physical objects only. For him, they are the product of complex social, economic, and cultural forces, from the growth of liquid capital as a result of the Crusades to the increasing technical abilities of masons and craftsmen. Neither is he swayed by their mystique. He explains cathedrals as a teacher might explain a fact of mathematics, and yet he makes one comprehend how remarkable was the achievement of their builders." - Paul Goldberger, "Discover" & quot; This is a work that will rank with the major modern scholarly inquiries into Gothic architecture... Mark is not a victim, as so many pure aestheticians are, of the fallacy of seeing Gothic cathedrals as physical objects only. For him, they are the product of complex social, economic, and cultural forces, from the growth of liquid capital as a result of the Crusades to the increasing technical abilities of masons and craftsmen. Neither is he swayed by their mystique. He explains cathedrals as a teacher might explain a fact of mathematics, and yet he makes one comprehend how remarkable was the achievement of their builders.& quot; - Paul Goldberger, Discover "This is a work that will rank with the major modern scholarly inquiries into Gothic architecture... Mark is not a victim, as so many pure aestheticians are, of the fallacy of seeing Gothic cathedrals as physical objects only. For him, they are the product of complex social, economic, and cultural forces, from the growth of liquid capital as a result of the Crusades to the increasing technical abilities of masons and craftsmen. Neither is he swayed by their mystique. He explains cathedrals as a teacher might explain a fact of mathematics, and yet he makes one comprehend how remarkable was the achievement of their builders."--Paul Goldberger, "Discover"

Edition details

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262131706
• ISBN 13: 9780262131704
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 176