I have updated the pictures to a new texture pack I am using, JohnSmith. I have also replaced all of the timber framework with stone, and I have added more and bigger windows all around the place.
Hey guys,
So last night, I was trying to do more with Gothic architecture, and really bring it to life; as per request, I decided to try building a church. Now as a forewarning, I am not very religious (but I'm not an atheist! I just don't go to church), so this church is really basic: pews, a lectern, and a stage. So let's go through this:
Exterior
First, we have the front of the church. The way the front fans out past the door is called a "vault." it was common in Gothic architecture. I also added the vault and door sticking out from the rest of the building in order to take up space and make it not look so flat and dull. You'll notice the high, tapered roof. When we go inside, you'll be able to see that the second floor does not block the view of the roof from the first floor.
Secondly, we have a side view. Flying buttresses were a very common thing to see (they're the tall pillars that stick up from the roof) in Gothic architecture, and they could vary greatly in height, from the kind you may have seen in my Gothic house tutorial, to these which stick way up past the roofline, and extend all the way down to the ground. Windows were also a big thing, and you'll notice floor to ceiling windows in between the buttresses. Inside, this creates a nice lighting effect.
Here, we have the back. You see a large window on the back face, which was another common thing; besides having tall, eloquent windows, the early renaissance folk (because "Gothic Architecture" is not actually associated with the original "Goth," who were akin to Old Norsefolk, way before the 1200s) also wanted large windows that they could stand next to and see everything from, all the while being in the shelter of an enclosed building. Now might be a good time to mention the belltower: it actually does connect with the inside of the church, although I hadn't made a way to get up into the tower unless you were daring and scaled the outside of the building (which I do not recommend doing in a real church; vertigo sucks). I didn't take any pictures of me standing up there, but I like to imagine that I'm Altair when I'm up there; it's pretty fun.
Interior
Here is the front entrance, which leads to a whole line of pews towards the center of the church. In total, the pews hold 73 people. These front pews hold 24 people. In the center (distant) you can see the lectern, the stage, and behind that is the large window on the back face.
This is a view of one of the side corridors, which hold 15 people each (for a total of 30 on the sides). You can clearly see one of the ceiling-to-floor windows here. It also may be hard to tell, but you'll notice that the ceiling of the church is actually the roofline.
This is the stage, where the choir would sing, and they might have a large version of their book to follow along with (I have seen a large bible in the front of a Catholic church before).
This is the view you would see from the lectern; just as well, it would be the view of the priest when he gives his sermons or speeches, or whatever else he does at the lectern.
This is a view of the second floor, which only extends to the end of the front pews. This section is like reserved seating, for more important people; it holds 19 people in its pews.
This is basically just an interior overview.
And here's a shot showing part of what I was intending in the design of the structure, which is that you can see the sunrise through the large window of the back facade.
And that's pretty much all there is on this church! It's a concept I worked with, and I may include it in my next town, which I will confirm now to be an early renaissance, gothic-style town. Please tell me what you think, leave comments, ideas, critique, praise, and show me pictures of things you built with inspiration from this; I'd love to see them!
Finally, if you're interested in seeing more of my work, please don't hesitate to visit my hub by clicking my signature! Explore; hang out; have fun, and have a good day!
Oh boy; I knew someone would ask for that. If I do make a tutorial, it will be a while. While the church is easy to actually build, it's not easy to instruct other people in its construction. I'll try to make a tutorial, but don't expect it for a while! Instead, expect a gothic town starting up!
It looks quite nice for a cathedral and you definitely have an understanding of gothic architectural elements. My only issues are that the roofs were generally not half of the structure itself. Sometimes they had split level roofs, with the wider sides ending and a taller middle section rising higher, kinda like this: nHn
There's also a noticeable lack of windows. Judging by the interior, there's only a few windows. Gothic cathedrals were almost like an early attempt at a green house in how they wanted to let in as much light as possible. In the end, the stone walls became very skeleton-like. To point out a specific instance, I could count four brick sections on the side between the buttresses that could or should have windows there. There's only two windows from the side view that I can see. I'd almost say you could replace the wood with bricks and replace the old bricks with glass, but that depends on the area.
In a way, it reminds me of a cathedral in transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic period. It's got elements of both but not quite reaching the full gothic style. This isn't a problem really at all. What I'm thinking instead is that you could keep your current structure, turn it more wooden in spots, and it could easily resemble more Scandinavian churches. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church
Notice how more closely the examples resemble your design.
Granted, I'm not super well read on any of this stuff. I just have what I learned in college, but you've definitely got a nice design going. I'm just thinking with a few material adaptions (keep some stone for contrast!) you could totally have a more unique and special design rather than the style most people know and recognize. Sure, stave churches aren't -that- obscure, but your design could have it's materials tweaked just a little to have a nice combination between the two styles. (Though, the examples given do go as gothic in style as possible with just wood materials.)
And, of course, more windows!
Still, keep up the great work! :smile.gif:
It looks quite nice for a cathedral and you definitely have an understanding of gothic architectural elements. My only issues are that the roofs were generally not half of the structure itself. Sometimes they had split level roofs, with the wider sides ending and a taller middle section rising higher, kinda like this: nHn
There's also a noticeable lack of windows. Judging by the interior, there's only a few windows. Gothic cathedrals were almost like an early attempt at a green house in how they wanted to let in as much light as possible. In the end, the stone walls became very skeleton-like. To point out a specific instance, I could count four brick sections on the side between the buttresses that could or should have windows there. There's only two windows from the side view that I can see. I'd almost say you could replace the wood with bricks and replace the old bricks with glass, but that depends on the area.
In a way, it reminds me of a cathedral in transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic period. It's got elements of both but not quite reaching the full gothic style. This isn't a problem really at all. What I'm thinking instead is that you could keep your current structure, turn it more wooden in spots, and it could easily resemble more Scandinavian churches. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church
Notice how more closely the examples resemble your design.
Granted, I'm not super well read on any of this stuff. I just have what I learned in college, but you've definitely got a nice design going. I'm just thinking with a few material adaptions (keep some stone for contrast!) you could totally have a more unique and special design rather than the style most people know and recognize. Sure, stave churches aren't -that- obscure, but your design could have it's materials tweaked just a little to have a nice combination between the two styles. (Though, the examples given do go as gothic in style as possible with just wood materials.)
And, of course, more windows!
Still, keep up the great work! :smile.gif:
im from norway.
and yeah it do look kinoff like a stave church
That's the main contributing factor. A google image search brought up one, maybe two or three buildings that were 50% roof. Almost every other one was 1/3rd or less on roofing. You could either double everything under the roof in height, or shorten up the roof (I don't recommend that one, higher is better).
It also has a medieval -house- roof shape, but that can be forgiven if the base were taller. Out of all the cathedrals and churches I've seen, the traditional stone and brick variety rarely if ever have that roof design (I've yet to see a single one with that).
As said, it resembles a stave church more closely, which is not a bad thing it is just a different architectural style. It's like trying to build classical but ending up with neo-classical. They're similar in aspects but very different. Both are still pleasant to look at styles.
That's the main contributing factor. A google image search brought up one, maybe two or three buildings that were 50% roof. Almost every other one was 1/3rd or less on roofing. You could either double everything under the roof in height, or shorten up the roof (I don't recommend that one, higher is better).
It also has a medieval -house- roof shape, but that can be forgiven if the base were taller. Out of all the cathedrals and churches I've seen, the traditional stone and brick variety rarely if ever have that roof design (I've yet to see a single one with that).
As said, it resembles a stave church more closely, which is not a bad thing it is just a different architectural style. It's like trying to build classical but ending up with neo-classical. They're similar in aspects but very different. Both are still pleasant to look at styles.
Hm... I was sure I got it pretty spot-on. Well, I'm trying another church that's almost exactly the same but with a smaller roof and a larger tower (because I noticed Gothic cathedrals also had larger towers than what I have above). When I"m finished, please stick around and tell me what you think!
Also, are stave churches allowed to be made of stone? Or should they be made mostly of wood?
There's no rule against it. They're a product of location (and history with Nordic cultures, but that's super sketchy information for me. Dark ages are generally sketchy anyway.). Scandinavia probably has plenty of stone around, but it's a very cold material that isn't comfortable in colder climates. It won't heat up fast, so wood was used more I would think. Plus, wood is abundant and easy to get up there. (I'm not an expert on stave churches though!)
There's no reason not to use stone if you want to. But the mixed materials you had before was great so definitely don't throw out all wood!
Also, looking at the floor plans they look to be inspired by both western catholic churches and eastern orthodox churches. I forgot the details, but there was something about pilgrimage and needing a lot of space encourage a flow of people through the church in the west. In the east, if I remember right, this was less important and a general circular flow of people was fine, so they had more square or circular shaped churches. Probably not that useful, but it's something I'm noticing in their design. It wouldn't surprise me given their proximity to the Russians and the western trade in Northern Germany, Northern France, and England.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your work! It's quite good! :smile.gif:
Hey guys,
So last night, I was trying to do more with Gothic architecture, and really bring it to life; as per request, I decided to try building a church. Now as a forewarning, I am not very religious (but I'm not an atheist! I just don't go to church), so this church is really basic: pews, a lectern, and a stage. So let's go through this:
Exterior
First, we have the front of the church. The way the front fans out past the door is called a "vault." it was common in Gothic architecture. I also added the vault and door sticking out from the rest of the building in order to take up space and make it not look so flat and dull. You'll notice the high, tapered roof. When we go inside, you'll be able to see that the second floor does not block the view of the roof from the first floor.
Secondly, we have a side view. Flying buttresses were a very common thing to see (they're the tall pillars that stick up from the roof) in Gothic architecture, and they could vary greatly in height, from the kind you may have seen in my Gothic house tutorial, to these which stick way up past the roofline, and extend all the way down to the ground. Windows were also a big thing, and you'll notice floor to ceiling windows in between the buttresses. Inside, this creates a nice lighting effect.
Here, we have the back. You see a large window on the back face, which was another common thing; besides having tall, eloquent windows, the early renaissance folk (because "Gothic Architecture" is not actually associated with the original "Goth," who were akin to Old Norsefolk, way before the 1200s) also wanted large windows that they could stand next to and see everything from, all the while being in the shelter of an enclosed building. Now might be a good time to mention the belltower: it actually does connect with the inside of the church, although I hadn't made a way to get up into the tower unless you were daring and scaled the outside of the building (which I do not recommend doing in a real church; vertigo sucks). I didn't take any pictures of me standing up there, but I like to imagine that I'm Altair when I'm up there; it's pretty fun.
Interior
Here is the front entrance, which leads to a whole line of pews towards the center of the church. In total, the pews hold 73 people. These front pews hold 24 people. In the center (distant) you can see the lectern, the stage, and behind that is the large window on the back face.
This is a view of one of the side corridors, which hold 15 people each (for a total of 30 on the sides). You can clearly see one of the ceiling-to-floor windows here. It also may be hard to tell, but you'll notice that the ceiling of the church is actually the roofline.
This is the stage, where the choir would sing, and they might have a large version of their book to follow along with (I have seen a large bible in the front of a Catholic church before).
This is the view you would see from the lectern; just as well, it would be the view of the priest when he gives his sermons or speeches, or whatever else he does at the lectern.
This is a view of the second floor, which only extends to the end of the front pews. This section is like reserved seating, for more important people; it holds 19 people in its pews.
This is basically just an interior overview.
And here's a shot showing part of what I was intending in the design of the structure, which is that you can see the sunrise through the large window of the back facade.
And that's pretty much all there is on this church! It's a concept I worked with, and I may include it in my next town, which I will confirm now to be an early renaissance, gothic-style town. Please tell me what you think, leave comments, ideas, critique, praise, and show me pictures of things you built with inspiration from this; I'd love to see them!
Finally, if you're interested in seeing more of my work, please don't hesitate to visit my hub by clicking my signature! Explore; hang out; have fun, and have a good day!
Take these ;]
Oh boy; I knew someone would ask for that. If I do make a tutorial, it will be a while. While the church is easy to actually build, it's not easy to instruct other people in its construction. I'll try to make a tutorial, but don't expect it for a while! Instead, expect a gothic town starting up!
There's also a noticeable lack of windows. Judging by the interior, there's only a few windows. Gothic cathedrals were almost like an early attempt at a green house in how they wanted to let in as much light as possible. In the end, the stone walls became very skeleton-like. To point out a specific instance, I could count four brick sections on the side between the buttresses that could or should have windows there. There's only two windows from the side view that I can see. I'd almost say you could replace the wood with bricks and replace the old bricks with glass, but that depends on the area.
In a way, it reminds me of a cathedral in transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic period. It's got elements of both but not quite reaching the full gothic style. This isn't a problem really at all. What I'm thinking instead is that you could keep your current structure, turn it more wooden in spots, and it could easily resemble more Scandinavian churches.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stave_church
Notice how more closely the examples resemble your design.
Granted, I'm not super well read on any of this stuff. I just have what I learned in college, but you've definitely got a nice design going. I'm just thinking with a few material adaptions (keep some stone for contrast!) you could totally have a more unique and special design rather than the style most people know and recognize. Sure, stave churches aren't -that- obscure, but your design could have it's materials tweaked just a little to have a nice combination between the two styles. (Though, the examples given do go as gothic in style as possible with just wood materials.)
And, of course, more windows!
Still, keep up the great work! :smile.gif:
"Stay classy, my friends"
The texture pack is Grimpack by Croco15.
Always willing to help. Message me.
Well, I guess you're right. Gothic architecture does look a bit grim.
im from norway.
and yeah it do look kinoff like a stave church
Is it because of the roofline?
That's the main contributing factor. A google image search brought up one, maybe two or three buildings that were 50% roof. Almost every other one was 1/3rd or less on roofing. You could either double everything under the roof in height, or shorten up the roof (I don't recommend that one, higher is better).
It also has a medieval -house- roof shape, but that can be forgiven if the base were taller. Out of all the cathedrals and churches I've seen, the traditional stone and brick variety rarely if ever have that roof design (I've yet to see a single one with that).
As said, it resembles a stave church more closely, which is not a bad thing it is just a different architectural style. It's like trying to build classical but ending up with neo-classical. They're similar in aspects but very different. Both are still pleasant to look at styles.
Hm... I was sure I got it pretty spot-on. Well, I'm trying another church that's almost exactly the same but with a smaller roof and a larger tower (because I noticed Gothic cathedrals also had larger towers than what I have above). When I"m finished, please stick around and tell me what you think!
There's no rule against it. They're a product of location (and history with Nordic cultures, but that's super sketchy information for me. Dark ages are generally sketchy anyway.). Scandinavia probably has plenty of stone around, but it's a very cold material that isn't comfortable in colder climates. It won't heat up fast, so wood was used more I would think. Plus, wood is abundant and easy to get up there. (I'm not an expert on stave churches though!)
There's no reason not to use stone if you want to. But the mixed materials you had before was great so definitely don't throw out all wood!
Also, looking at the floor plans they look to be inspired by both western catholic churches and eastern orthodox churches. I forgot the details, but there was something about pilgrimage and needing a lot of space encourage a flow of people through the church in the west. In the east, if I remember right, this was less important and a general circular flow of people was fine, so they had more square or circular shaped churches. Probably not that useful, but it's something I'm noticing in their design. It wouldn't surprise me given their proximity to the Russians and the western trade in Northern Germany, Northern France, and England.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing more of your work! It's quite good! :smile.gif: