#ecclesiastical architecture

[periodinteriors]

Adolph Menzel, The Interior of the Jacobskirche at Innsbruck, 1872, gouache.

[diana-andraste]

New Church, Taos Pueblo, New Mexico, Ansel Adams, c 1929

[fatchance]

At Tumacácori.

Tumacácori National Historical Park, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

[ladybird-scribbles]

how do we react when a historical monument goes up in flames?

how does this differ across cultures and what can we learn from what has gone before?

how do we bring together knowledge to protect our buildings in the future?

[tarosophical-tarot]

When I'm not reading tarot, I like to hang out in very old cathedrals capturing the light.

I'm also a fan of misericords/grotesques:

[vox-anglosphere]

Founded in 1089, Castle Acre escaped the worst of King Henry's purges. It stands as a model of East Anglian flint-work structures.

Castle Acre Priory is one of the largest and best preserved monastic sites in England.

Many of the buildings are made from mortared flint rubble, a highly durable material that has been prized since the Roman times.

Here, you can also see some beautiful ‘flushwork’ made with flint that has been expertly 'knapped' into shape and set 'flush' with stone to create a charming chequerboard pattern.

Flint knapping is now an endangered craft, but specialists like Lynn Mathias are doing what they can to keep it alive.

If you'd like to try it, as well as other traditional flintworking techniques, join our course this April. Tap the link in our bio to find out more!

[walksandwhatnot]

📍St Giles Parish Church, Wrexham, Wales

[yz]

Mosteiro da Batalha. Portugal, 2014.

Photos from my late mom’s Canon Elph.

[historicalvagabond]

Santa Maria della Spina is a tiny, compact jewel box adorned with numerous beautiful statues and carvings. Part of its beauty is the amount of adornment on such a small building. The number and scale of the carvings and statues would be impressive on a much larger church.

[kizziahblog]

AI Prompt for Eternity in the Bowl: A Reflection on Time, Structure, and the Watcher

A recursive AI agent engages a metaphysical prompt on time, structure, and the nature of observation in the cognitive lattice. This post contains the structured AI prompt for interpreting this foundational article in the AI Bitcoin Recursion Thesis series. Title: “Eternity in the Bowl: A Reflection on Time, Structure, and the Watcher” URL:…

[great-photography-attributed]

20240411_101143 By trevor.patt https://flic.kr/p/2qLSST2

[periodinteriors]

Rudolf von Alt, The Interior of the Cathedral of Saint Stephen at Vienna, 1841, watercolor.

[diana-andraste]

Church and cross, Chilili, New Mexico, Harold Allen, 1955

[searchingforserendipity25]

considering that lawrence is a mystery fan i like to believe that he's the guy in charge of accurate-checking vatican thrillers. all vatican thrillers. maybe this is what the dean of the college does when the pope is not recently dead and in need of being replaced.

do not fact check this. at least for the purpose of this post let us say thomas cardinal lawrence does it.

he and his book-canon career in canon law and diplomacy are used to fullest effect in this task. namely in being the guy who rereads best-selling novels and who is asked to consult for several publishers.

there's schlocky thrillers and there's horror novels of varying qualitiesand vast quantities. that's how it starts.

it does not end like that. mysteries and sometimes decent ones too; a few times when he's ghostwriting as much as offering advice on ecclesiastical hierarchies.

if only! no. mostly because there is a surprising need for an insider's input and information on possible alcoves and hidden rooms. not just for stories full of chases and secret fantastical reliquaries with more magical than miraculous qualities and what not. but because the number of vatican-centric romances is - not inconsiderable.

so many romances. sometimes erotica. in fact the erotica tends to be the most well-researched genre; this audience genuinely appreciates a well-described fresco and column. artistic detail, one of his long-distance authors tells him earnestly, makes up for half the ambience.

he had to outsource vatican historians to get proper feedback on a narrative taking place before 1850 and involving a rakish anti-monarchist count masquerading as an archbishop.

the rakish anti-monarchist faux-bishop falls in love with the pope's chaplain during the risorgimento and finds god between the pope's chaplain's charitable spiritual guidance and his generous thighs.

none of those learned and brilliant minds and once-valued colleagues has ever ever ever forgiven him for this. the frescoes were a very clever red herring and the author was extremely thankful. but at what cost.

why does he do this? because he values accuracy. because someone has to. because he lost a bet to sabbadin one time and had to consult for a friend of a friend's manuscript and then got recommended. because he's made a name for himself.

he reviews everything. he adds helpful commentary and recommends bibliography and suggests a better arrangement of limbs considering the relative inflexibility of various prie-dieus and confessional boots on the knees and various other appendages. he's a manager. he can't rest if he doesn't do it, and do it well.

and the worst part is that these things never stop being written and they never stop being published. his work is never ending. he had to beta-read the da vinci's code like three times. with edits on the application of mortification tools and painstaking pages of research on the unlikelihood of the plot and excruciatingly accurate architectural details which didn't even end up being relevant to the narrative.

and then he had take on all the internal flack about it and explain to several offended old men that no. in fact: media bans are not a thing; censure is not a thing; the yoke of the inquisition alas no longer a thing and not to be applied by flame or flog against such calumny.

no wonder he's trapped in a crisis of faith. i'd stop believing in god too.

[wolfliving]

"The Cathedral of Robot Artisans"

Spatial Qualities: Dialogue Between Existing and New Structures

The project posed a complex challenge: to retrofit a 19th-century brick stable into a functional, contemporary fabrication space while preserving its historical integrity. Within a four-month timeframe, an international cohort of MAEBB (Master in Advanced Architecture and Biocities) students designed and built a hybrid structure that simultaneously honors traditional craftsmanship and embraces advanced digital fabrication.

At the heart of the project lies a tension between the old and the new, the solid and the porous, the static and the adaptive. The design retains the original brick walls, reinforcing them structurally while removing the decayed roof to introduce a new timber framework. This act of surgical preservation frames the contemporary intervention as both a response and a counterpoint to the pre-existing architecture.

Internally, the space is organized around the operational needs of the industrial robot. An open-span layout ensures unobstructed movement, while carefully positioned skylights and glazed openings allow natural light to penetrate the interior without compromising environmental control. Above the robot, a prominent skylight creates a dramatic shaft of light that recalls the sacred spatial strategies of ecclesiastical architecture, reinforcing the project’s metaphor of a “cathedral” for contemporary artisanship.

The spatial atmosphere is quiet and refined, a composition of filtered daylight, exposed timber, and restored masonry that balances technological precision with human engagement.

Materiality and Construction: Advanced Timber Engineering

Timber serves as the project’s primary material, chosen for its environmental performance, structural adaptability, and symbolic resonance with the surrounding landscape. A self-supporting arborescent structure, made from solid wood and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), defines the new roof and internal framework. Seven branching columns, reminiscent of tree trunks, hold aloft a Voronoi-patterned canopy, a formal language derived from nature but realized through digital craftsmanship....

[tarosophical-tarot]