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Lines + Surfaces

 

Analyzing the vaults of the Laon Cathedral in France to create new forms

Introduction Design Studio with Professor Steven Christensen

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In addressing the problem of proportion and geometry of the shafts in one and a half bays of Laon Cathedral, the twisting of the existing diagonal ribs, as well as a kink at the springing point of the tas-de-charge, illustrates two value systems that are incompatible. By using Greg Lynn’s Alessi Flatware and Teapot/Tea cup set as a source of inspiration, a series of iterations have been produced resulting in completely new surfaces in both plan and elevation. I generated a ‘family of forms’ exhibiting biomorphic qualities that relate to the original vault-- each one varying in surface qualities.

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Contrary to the Gothic style in which webs play a secondary structural and ornamental role to the ribs, here the surfaces become primary, their exuberantly billowing and puckered geometries becoming inherently ornamental to the extent that ribs become superfluous. While this form retains a familiar link to the original vault, its supple surface geometries transcend the qualities of the precedent, extending the Gothic’s obsession with perceptual lightness along a new, contemporary vector. 

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The fluidity of the surfaces resulting from the 30-deg. shift most exemplifies the biomorphic qualities of the “family of forms” designed by  Greg Lynn in the Alessi Flatware.  The 30-deg ree vault form is similar in a way that a simple change in a curve is able to yield ornament-like qualities upon surface.​

Design Concept

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