Why Gothic Architecture is AWESOME
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What's the difference between castles and cathedrals? What are the classic design features of Gothic style architecture? Watch to find out.
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We really need an architectural revolution. Modern architecture is so soulless and boring. It’s just cold steel and sterile glass with silly swoops and curves. It looks like melting styrofoam.
Agree lmao but that’s doesn’t mean we look down on modern architecture lol,they do hard work tho! And not all people like detailed and hard design like gothic design hehe
But curves, steel and glass are elements of modernism, not postmodernism. They are two very distinct architectural styles. Postmodernism is defined by playfulness (even some would say humour), bold colours (pastels and neons) and variety of materials used – a deliberate rejection of the strictly rational “function first and only” dogma of modernism and its elimination of ornament.
In fact, postmodern architecture is more than variety of material but variety of style as well, including taking cues from classical styles like gothic occasionally. The Espaces d’Abraxas housing in Marne-la-Vallie, for instance.
So agree
agreed
@Joseph a‘ Christian Well it was named that way due to the Italians thinking that the Germans were barbarians, and wanting to trace the ancient Goths and modern Germans of their time together, effectively a massive insult.
There aren’t any real castles because they were completely ineffective against the kangaroos. However, Gothic architecture confused and intimidated the roos too much for them to figure out an attack.
@James Gorey I think it’s more about how he missed the joke entirely lol
@J Lord Ever been to Canberra? and you’re 9 months late dont ya think?
@James Gorey no emus in the city.
Their are no roos in the city.
Emus were scared off too
Seeing this Cathedral makes me wish that architects would stop trying to make those Le Corbusier abominations.
Different strokes for different folks ?♂️
Agreed. Frank Gehry is another architect who makes rubbish. He will literally take a piece of scrunched up paper and try to “draw it” in the form of a building. Absolutely meaningless trite!
It’s incredible how ingenious the architecture from Gothic buildings is on both an aesthetic and a functional perspective. just beautiful.
The Gothic architecture have so little (nothing actually) to do with the Goths that I still wonder why the Renaissance people chose them to rename what was called in the middle-age “Opus Francigenum”. Chosing the Goths made as much sense (=0 sense) as calling it Viking architecture or the Huns architecture. But maybe I missed something.
Functionality IS beautiful (meaning that it might be beautiful to us BECAUSE it’s functional).
You think atheism lives in internet comments? What about Darwin, Hume, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Bertrand Russell or many of the other great atheist philosophers? God is dead you know. He died in the 19th century, or probably before that. The cause of death was the scientific revolution.
Byron Hamilton That’s more Savage than when the Clans Pillaged Rome.
The term gotico became associated with savagery and barbarians in italy because the Goths were one of the germanic tribes that sacked Rome. The Renaissance architects sought to revive the classical Roman/Greek architecture of antiquity and tried to discredit the medieval styles by calling them ugly, chaotic and savage. Especially the Gothic style wich never really gained a foothold in Italy, but was especially popular in northern Europe and Germany.
This video is good people need to understand buttresses.
its basically a pyramid.
without steel you can only biuld a building of any real hight if you biuld a pyramid .
Thats why there is pyramid type structures all over the world .
Not because of aliens people lol.
@Steve L I mean… Art to me is about what you want to make, not what others want you to make.
You’re an idiot. It’s the method required to build certain structures that make people think Aliens are involved. It’s not what the buildings are built for that make people think such things….cuz that’s attributed to religion more than science & sometimes science by certain types of people who understand the utility of getting a bigger “Measuring Stick”.
+Shadiversity absolutely I adore gothic architecture .
Though I prefer perpendicularly to high.
That cathedral you showed is gorgeous for neo .
Many neo buildings cut corners with the construction and the materials sneaking in castings here and there but thats the real deal.
My art and design tutor once shouted at me NOBODY CARES ABOUT GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE USE MORE CONTEMPORARY REFERENCES! !
I was like no the baby boomers that pulled it down in the 70s and rote this bullshit syllabus don’t care about gothic.
fortunately humanity has rediscovered the value of the artisans .
Thanks mate! Yeah, Buttresses really were an amazing innovation.
Dude, Shad, no matter how bad my day seems, your possitive enthusiasm for what you are talking about is infectous and uplifting.
thanks for the great content!
Thank you so much for saying so, it means a lot that my videos could have such an effect and makes it all worthwhile. All the best friend.
And people ask themselves “how the pyramids were built” LOL.
I had started reading about Gothic architecture about 4 years ago and attempted to sketch the buildings and stuff and even now that I’m studying architecture in university and I’ve read about a lot more styles this one is still one of my favourites 😀 I would never understand how someone could find it unappealing
@xenotypos Vasari believed the Goths destroyed Roman Empire and replaced Classical Architecture with Barbaric one.
“The whole notion of it being”gothic” is due to the Renaissance which exaggerated everything about the classical world and despised this extraordinary architecture.”
The most funny thing being that it didn’t have anything to do with the Goths or even their ancestors (Gothic architecture first originated from around today France). I really wonder, why the hell did they decide to suddenly call it “Gothic” in the Renaissance, there were other barbarians available.
The whole notion of it being”gothic” is due to the Renaissance which exaggerated everything about the classical world and despised this extraordinary architecture. Of course, there is also a theological meaning to these cathedrals. In Catholic theology, heaven and earth are interrelated, especially in the celebration of the liturgy, so that the Gothic Cathedral is an attempt to make heaven even more present due to the height of the cathedral and the pointed arches going upward, the effect of the light through the stain glass windows, not to mention the music of the organ, Medieval man was interested in achieving eternal happiness in union with Jesus, God the Father and the HOly Spirit, plus the angels and the saints, firstly the Virgin Mary to whom most of the Gothic Cathedrals are dedicated. The sculpture and paintings were pedagogical intended to teach the faith to those who went to worship at the Cathedral.
It never appealed to me, they look too… gothic (xD) to me.
I think it’s a matter.of taste, I really prefer standard and even modern architecture over gothic.
+Ruarscampbell Ideas of dark and scary come from 19th century (romanticism) art, mostly literature and paintings. Medieval gothic scenery, often castles, churches and graveyards, were settings for depressing moods and characters, foggy landscape etc.
Take a shot every time Shad says Buttress.
Huh huh, buttress.
Ok XD
I somehow missed this video when it came out and I’m really glad that I came back and found it, this is so well presented and it’s just made so much better by your genuine enthusiasm for the subject. The architecture is literally awe inspiring. Walking into a structure like this is always a truly moving experience.
You really should come to Europe. That cathedral is NOTHING compared to european cathedrals !
Keep in mind that Australian cathedrals were built during the Gothic Revival, which began in 1740, and are not the traditional Opus Francigenum Gothic style from C12 – C16, which is what you mainly see in Europe, and some parts of the Middle East which had European influence.
arokh72 Australia was only discovered by captain cook in 1788 lmao so a long way after the start of the gothic revival.
A Plate of Hot Dogs-> I think on the contrary that being older made it more difficult to be magnificent (except for 19th century European cathedrals of course, such as Cologne). I really respect a lot cathedrals from the medieval period, because it’s amazing it was even possible to be built.
That being said, that Australian cathedral was still very beautiful imho. I’m glad there are beautiful gothic buildings outside of Europe as well, they seem very well preserved.
Ive been to the vatican and that main building is awe inspiring
Well that’s not fair, Europeans had a over 1000 years head start in cathedral building.
I am amazed, that there are Gothic cathedrals in Australia, as in Europe Gothic cathedrals were usually built (or at least designed and started to build) between the 12th and 16th century, while Australia wasn’t really colonized until the 18th to 19th (?) century.
I guess the Australian cathedrals were built in the wave of Gothic revival in the 19th century?
@Chris Mass it’s from the 19th century.
Victorian Gothic Revival m8. Britain had very few Romanesque cathedrals (thanks to medieval rebuilding programmes) and only limited cathedral-building after the Reformation. So when the Victorians wanted to build new cathedrals overseas they harkened back to what they thought a ‘proper’ cathedral should look like: specifically English Perpendicular.
There were a lot of Cathedrals built in Europe in the 19th century (Cologne in Germany is probably the most famous, since it’s the biggest ever). Hey, even if it’s not exactly Gothic, there is Sagrada in Barcelona that isn’t even finished today.
From the 12th to the 19th century, cathedrals were the highest buildings in the world.
xenotypos the cologne cathedral was finished in the 19th century it’s construction was actually started in the Middle Ages but through delays it wasn’t finished until 19th century as evidenced by the fact that one of the first German photographs is the cologne cathedral without its tower roofs
Why didn’t Shad tell us this?
it’s interesting, that you use the contrast ‘gothic vs. castle architecture’ instead of ‘gothic vs. romanesque architecture’. unfortunately this means you missed (or at least didn’t mention) one of the ‘core features’ of gothic architecture: the arches aren’t semi-circular anymore, but pointed.
Yeah and the castles were thicker for one main reason: security. Imagine one giant rock being thrown against one buttress of this cathedral, itd just blow down the entire wall section basically
You should really come to France and Germany once
@yamiyomizuki Dumb answer: it’s already a crime to cross another country’s borders without authorization.
artix548
The homicide rate in the US is around 607% higher than in Germany.
Even with all the migrants here its still one of the safest countries in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
I don’t know if going to Germany is a good idea right now. I really don’t want to be murdered and/or molested by the unvetted migrants.
PlastiqueOrgane oh yes, and Czech republic, specifically Prague.
Warhammer 40k
fan9775 Moment granted.
@Rafael Llaban Not here. Not here.
the emperor protects :^)
We serve the word of the Anarch, who’s voice drowns out all others.
Crazeddude1000 Moment of silence for Warhammer Fantasy?
Hey Shad, if you like this style check out the hungarian parliment. It will blow your mind. :3
One of my favourite buildings and one of the best in the world ?
I binged a couple of your videos. Your passion just spills through the screen and onto the keyboard. Super interesting. I originally come from a city centred around a gorgeous monastery. Every time I visit the city, I always go there, hoping to take some awesome photos, but the people there never fail to give that unpleasant gaze of disapproval. Last time I’ve been there, my neck literally hurt from all the staring up. Fascinating how all the beauty has its roots in practicality. That’s the leading idea behind modern architecture, simple and practical. But I can’t help but doubt that in a century people will be in awe of our designs. I think they’ll disregard them and keep appreciating the Gothic style.
This is a wonderfully informative video; I love this channel!
And to think that this style got called “Gothic” to imply it’s absolutely barbaric compared to refined, sophisticated Renaissance era work…
@Guns & Roses ” you have no aesthetics ”
No, i had value judgement when i wrote that crappy comment.
I was not aware that Art Historians reject value judgement when it comes to architectural history.
Sorry for that comment
@Vitruvius i changed my mind
I was not objective when it comes to architectural history a year ago. Art Historians reject ” value judgement” when it comes to architectural history.
I changed my mind after i read awesome book about Medieval Science by David C. Lindberg.
@rosieanox You are right
I changed my mind after i read Medieval Science by David C. Lindberg. Middle Ages is bright ages
Architectural Historian is objective when it comes to architectural style.
@nanda erdhani You have no aesthetics. Gothic architecture is significantly more complex and more aesthetically pleasing.
@nanda erdhani I disagree, Gothic architecture is usually larger and reaches much greater heights compared to Renaissance buildings. This alone means gothic architects were more ambitious and faced and overcame greater challenges to support that weight in such heights. Gothic architects invented ingenious new structural elements like the pointed arch, the ribbed vaults and flying buttresses that supported the mass of the buildings and added a unique aesthetic at the same time. Through this approach they managed to relieve the wall from its carrying function and were able to implement the huge stained glass windows and create fantastical lighting inside the cathedrals.
While I also love and appreciate the aesthetic value of ancient greek and roman architecture their buildings are far simpler and the engineering is less advanced and complicated. Also the Renaissance and Baroque mainly rediscovered and reinterpreted ancient styles and forms, it didn’t come up with radically new concepts, and forms like gothic architecture. The gothic style was the last truly creative, inventive style.
Very good video, but I am not completely convinced by your explanation of the stone colors. Yes it looks good, but the primary reason is that different stones have different properties. The black stone is probably a schist or a granite, a very hard stone, probably local/cheap, but impossible to carve: schiste is anisotropic and granite is non homogeneous at a milimetric scale. Therefore they used limestone for windows and interior decoration because that is perfect for art.
In Brittany we have a lot of old churches made completely in granite, and statues are very rough, almost like modern art. On the other hand, near the Loire/Seine rivers, cathedrals are made completely out of limestone, and you can’t say they don’t look badass 😉
That’s almost right, the dark stone is bluestone, also known as basalt and it is very hard. There is a lot of it around Melbourne and it was also used to pave the streets. The lighter stone is sandstone and while it was easily carved, the quarries were 200 km from Melbourne, so getting it delivered was quite expensive.