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Aisle & Apse Read the building

Drawn for this guide

Three drawings

Schematic line drawings of a typical arrangement, not of any real building. Every label opens its feature.

Cross-section of a vaulted building with a nave, two aisles and flying buttresses. Each label links to its feature. NAVE AISLE AISLE RoofPinnacleFlying buttressButtressAisleRib vaultClerestoryTriforiumArcadePierNave
Plate I. Cross-sectionA vaulted nave with an aisle on each side and flying buttresses outside.
Plan of a cross-shaped building from the west front (left) to the apse (right). Each label links to its feature. W E NarthexAisleTranseptAmbulatoryWest frontNaveArcade (piers)CrossingChoirApseChapels
Plate II. PlanA cross-shaped plan from the west front (left) to the apse with its ambulatory and chapels (right).
Front of a building with a central tower and spire, a rose window, a pointed doorway, lancet windows and buttresses. Each label links to its feature. FinialSpireBelfryRose windowPinnacleButtressLouvreTowerGableTympanumLancet windowsPortal
Plate III. FrontA Gothic Revival front with a central tower and spire.

Reading a front

Start at the top and work down: what crowns the tower, what the openings are shaped like, how the doorway is framed, and what holds the walls up. The shapes of the arches alone narrow the style a long way.

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