Post #4- Lecture Native American- Gothic Architecture

Native Americans were the foundation for most of the world as we see it today. Their beliefs in God and love for the Earth are what the Christian and Catholic faiths are based on today, which translates into their architecture we see every day. When speaking to their people, the Natives didn’t need a large space to connect with the audience as they were only speaking to their villages. Contrastingly, European architecture was designed to hold thousands of people. Buildings such as the Colosseum, Greek Amphitheater, Circus Maximus, were used for entertainment such as operas and gladiator fights. The structure of these buildings were made to hold thousands of spectators and remain some of the largest ancient buildings today. On the flip side there's the Pantheon, where this building is known for its large concrete dome on top. This was the first instance of this type of design and although the Romans failed to perfect this technique of using pendentives, it set up the builders of the Hagia Sophia for success. The Hagia Sophia, a place of worship for the parishioners in Istanbul, is the largest cathedral ever built as it still stands today. This building brought forth a new wave of architecture design called Byzantine Art, where pendentives and squinches were used to hold up a massive dome on top of a square building perfectly. Something the Romans tried to accomplish, yet didn't quite make it perfect. This design set up the foundation for Gothic Architecture where Cathedrals implemented it as a way to make parishioners feel closer to heaven. The tall spires towered over buildings and dominated the skyline making them easy to spot. The design of the Hagia Sophia and the Gothic Cathedrals were used to enhance the message and story that the church was trying to tell. The church wanted to be the center of everyone’s lifestyles so making these Cathedrals these tall, elaborate buildings made sure the public knew where they could go to worship.