Developing the Extensions

This is how the extension will be supporting the existing flying buttress while also providing circulation to the triforium level.

Back to Two Centers

Flying Buttress Extensions

Endless Survey

The accuracy of the digital model is very important for the proposal. It feels almost an endless process but I've just updated the openings (gray colored). My aim is to understand the daylight entering the cathedral properly after this accurate openings study.

Flying Buttresses

It has been very busy two weeks with Technical Studies submissions for AA fifth years, therefore the project blog has not been updated. From now on, you can see more updates for the next few weeks.

The resolution for the existing flying buttresses is becoming clearer, sharper with my third visit to the site.

Instead of seeing the arches, horizontal connections as the flying buttresses, focusing on the towers forming the flying buttresses is more valid. They have a potential of becoming spaces themselves since some are 4 x 2 metres sized.

Spatial Tests

More Precision

For the TS submission I am focusing on these first four flying buttress extensions in detail.

Even though I've been avoiding to have arches in this extension of the cathedral not to be imitating the old building, For the large spans I would prefer to have arches instead of diagonal crossing steel which makes the building very much look wild / out of context.

More like a spider-web, every perpendicular plane can be stabilized with the use of these arches also across the flying buttresses.

Flying Buttress Design

Straight flying buttresses vs chapel extensions.

Designing the Frame

Frame has to allow maximum level of light to go through.

Studying the Buffer Zone

Space in-between can be seen as a 3D masterplan base for my micro city  - the flying buttress becomes the plots / city blocks. These are only the potential locations - grid for the space in between. Only a few of them might be used for occupation out of hundreds you see here.

Flying Buttress Development

After having very helpful tutorials with Matt and Paul Lau (Technical Studies) on friday. I am working on a deeper analysis by also recording the process. So far, the project has been a design from large/overall design towards smaller scale details, now I will try a reverse approach by starting very small systems developing into a larger system.

Building up a system

Horizontal Connections

This is the first test for connecting the extensions with each other.

Columns

This flying buttress type is built by using only 600mm square profile columns. only the extensions for the existing flying buttresses are added to the vertical columns. This version allows an addition of pinnacle like element to the flying buttress extensions.

Also in this version, the distance between the columns are changing in every single extension. For the longest extensions the distance between the columns is 8m while in the narrow extensions the distance between the columns are 1.2m.

Rendering with the afternoon sun.

Moving away from the slab

Instead of a straight extrusion of 2m wide flying buttress all the way until the end of the city block, gradually the buttress extension gets thinner until it becomes 200mm wide in 10 steps.

Carving openings functioning as arches can be a way of moving away from the solid walls.

This is the D-O northern extension

8m distance between each of the vertical structure of this extension. Frame gets narrow by 200mm, starting with 2000mm width, ending with 100mm.

Flying Buttress Extensions

An updated plan for the cathedral and the Beauvais block around it. Finally everything is under control.