Order, Procedure, and Configuration in Gothic Architecture: A Case Study of the Avas Church, Miskolc, Hungary

Abstract

The geometric determination of Gothic architecture together with contemporary design methods is an important question in the history of arts. The Gothic style is unique in the history of European architecture: it is the only period when Antique models were barely used. The design methods were different than those used in Classical (and so Renaissance, Baroque, and Neo-Classicist) architecture: the design involved subsequent geometrical steps. These steps, and thus the procedure are at least as important as the resulting geometry itself. Using recent technology (laser scanning, algorithmic modelling), the procedure can be modelled. In this new approach for the research of Gothic architecture, not only the geometries themselves are the subject of examination but also the underlying generative processes. Contemporary written sources on design rules together with the fabric of the buildings themselves serve as source for this kind of research. In this case study, the late Gothic Avas church in Miskolc, Hungary served as a base for testing the extent of the use of surviving rules; generative, procedural algorithms were created based on the surviving parts and fragments to illustrate the demolished parts. Finally, a configurational analysis was conducted to compare the late medieval and early modern approach to design.

Keywords

• architecture
• geometry
• procedural design
• middle ages
• Gothic
• Hungary