SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND GEOMETRICAL ANALYSIS OF LATE GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IN SARDINIA

Claudia Pisu

Abstract: The work proposes a new approach to study the Sardinian late gothic architecture, so far limited mainly to the historical aspects. The intent is to study such architectures from different points of view, starting with historical known data, enriching them with information concerning the shape and the geometry that generated it. I believe that any construction that shows continuity encloses a project design and a geometric construction, then the detailed knowledge of dimensional and material aspects allows a comparison between similar elements to highlight relationships and differences between buildings and construction elements. The relation of proportion in the design of constructive elements such as doorways, windows, etc., can supply important information on the design choices of the builders, who certainly drew from a vocabulary of coded shapes and pre-established sizes, well known within the Gothic builders. The study takes as examples the late Gothic portals of the Sardinian churches. I intend to assess whether there are pre-established rules, which go beyond the stylistic comparisons and extend the cognitive framework on the architecture they belong.

Keywords: Late-gothic architecture, Surveying, Design analyses, Geometric analysis, Proportional analysis, Representations of architecture.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2013.0212068