already stuck. "Gothic" remains the accepted name of this type of architecture.
Gothic Style Characteristics.
In every book I've read, the designs of the gothic architecture mention specific.
characteristics of this style. Some of them include the flying buttress, the rose window,.
piers and pointed arches. Buttresses are external reinforcements situated on the roof of.
the structure and lead to the end of it. This allows the churches to have support, so they.
don't crumble from all the weight. The rose windows are the stained glass windows in.
the form of a circle. They are usually very colorful and are made up of thousands of glass.
pieces. Piers are internal clusters of support beams that vertically support arched.
structures. Pointed arches can be considered as the intersection of two arcs. Unlike.
regular round arches, pointed arches can be raised to any height regardless of the distance.
between its two points. They are also more flexible when working with large structures. .
Beginning the Cathedral.
Although the concept of the Cathedral was first formulated around 1828, it only.
gained official recognition when Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Bishop of New York, proposed.
the idea at the Diocesan Convention of 1872. The proposal received undisputed support.
The New York State legislature granted a charter for the Cathedral in 1873 and 14 years.
later, Bishop Potter and the Cathedral Trustees approved the purchase of the land where.
the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum had formerly been. With the charter granted and the.
location of the cathedral decided, Potter began the search for an architectural design that.
would do justice to the mission of the cathedral project. In 1888, the Trustees sponsored.
a contest for the design of the Cathedral. The chosen design was submitted by the firm of.
Heins and LaFarge of New York. The design, which called for a church 520 feet in.
length, emphasized features of both Romanesque and Byzantine architecture.
