7,882 research outputs found
The Watchman in the Vineyard: Historical Traces of Judicial and Punitive Practices in Lincoln
No full textThe theme and content of this edited book first took shape at an international conference I co-organised at the University of Lincoln in November 2009. Bringing together eminent architects, philosophers, criminologists, judges, lawyers, urban designers and geographers, the conference provided a unique platform for debating some of the key issues about the role of architecture in the deliberations of justice in both a contemporary and historical contexts. The significance of the conference, and subsequent publication of selected papers, was underlined by Baroness Vivien Stern (international authority on criminal justice and author of the Forward to this book) who recognized the uniqueness of the initiative in bringing together for the first time both academics and practitioners with diverse interests in the field of justice. The setting of Lincoln for the conference was not without significance. Famous for its majestic cathedral, the city is also noted for its medieval castle which was used as a prison, containing one of the last remaining chapels used under the so-called ‘Pentonville’ (or isolation) system. A special visit to the castle was organised as part of the two day event. My chapter in this volume draws upon this aspect of Lincoln’s history, by examining the topographical and political relationships between castle and cathedral in Lincoln. It develops from an ongoing research project on Lincoln Cathedral and its symbolic and topographical significance (originally published as a chapter in my book, Disclosing Horizons: Architecture, Perspective and Redemptive Space – Routledge 2007). In this paper, however, I examine the judicial and punitive practices in the ‘upper town’ of the city from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century. The study highlights how these practices were closely allied to jurisdictional claims of both castle (bailey) and cathedral (minster close), that variously defined territorially the implementation of canon and civil law
Rites of Intent: The Participatory Dimension of the City
No full textThis paper disseminates from a keynote lecture I delivered at an international conference, Cityscapes in History: Creating the Urban Experience, held at the Centre for Advanced Studies at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich in July 2010. The theme of the paper, on architecture and ritual, was in response to a specific request by the conference organisers, and is based on my earlier research interests, particularly relating to pilgrimage and conversion during the period of Early Christianity. This chapter, however, brings this background historical knowledge of architecture and ritual to the contemporary situation, arguing that we have much to learn from the ancient and medieval worlds. Highlighting particular contemporary examples, I argue that the absence of conspicuous ritualized spaces in our cities is largely the result of architects no longer being able to understand certain kinds of spatial language that can facilitate mediation between built form and modes of corporate participation – whether formal or informal. At the same time, the chapter highlights how the use of such terms as ‘ritualised space’ in contemporary architectural discourse is problematic, given that ritual – as an ‘obligatory’ form of participation - is assumed by many to conflict with the expectations of unhindered freedom that has become the mantra of much contemporary architecture. This chapter challenges this preconception by arguing that notions of ritual space in the contemporary world are at one level materially different from those of the past, given the absence of systems of politico/religious hierarchy and authority. At the same time, however, implicit in the everyday events of contemporary urban life is the raw material of richer forms of repeated action than those simply of routine. The cases presented here reveal how a hermeneutical perspective of the historic past provides a productive and creative channel for reinterpreting ritual in the contemporary city
“Temples fit for Thee”: The Interplay of Holy Space, Time, Actions, and People in George Herbert’s \u3ci\u3eThe Temple\u3c/i\u3e
No full textIn contrast to previous academic work that focuses on one aspect of the temple image, this study will demonstrate that an understanding of Herbert’s worldview, specifically his theology with particular attention to the biblical image of temple, illuminates the interplay of temple images in The Temple in a way that embraces the beauty and intricacy of the work as a whole. The study begins by examining Herbert’s religious and literary milieu, continues by exploring the various biblical images of temple that include the tabernacle, Old Testament temple, Jesus as temple, Christians as temples both individually and corporately, and the fulfillment of the temple at the end of time, and concludes by demonstrating the continuity within these images as shown in Herbert’s poetry through the use of four categories common to all these temple images: space, time, actions, and peopl
Introduction: Lincoln Cathedral and its Bishop
No full textThe papers presented in this book originate from an international symposium, “Architecture as Cosmology: Lincoln Cathedral and Bishop Robert Grosseteste (1235–53),” hosted by Lincoln Cathedral on the 21st and 22nd January 2012, and funded by the Paul Mellon Education Programme and the Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design at the University of Lincoln. Supported by the Bishop and Chancellor of Lincoln Cathedral, the symposium (and subsequent published work) constitute the culmination of a more extended research project begun by Nicholas Temple in 2003 and published in his Disclosing Horizons: Architecture, Perspective and Redemptive Space (Routledge, 2007), and further developed by John Hendrix in his two books, Robert Grosseteste: Philosophy of Intellect and Vision (Academia Verlag, 2010) and Architecture as Cosmology: Lincoln Cathedral and English Gothic Architecture (Peter Lang Publishing, 2011)
Plotting the Centre: Bramante’s Drawings for the New St. Peter’s Basilica
No full textThis paper examines the concept of 'centre' in the design and symbolism of the new St Peter's Basilica, executed by Donato Bramante in the early 16th century. Drawing upon theological and philosophical notions of centre in late Medieval and Renaissance culture (specifically Nicolas Cusanus), the study argues that Bramante's drawings for the project reveal a particular understanding of centre, and its constellations of sub-centres, that broadly follow Platonic cosmological principles highlighted in the Timaeus. The paper considers how this understanding of space was also communicated in the iconography of the frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace, executed by Raphael at the same time as Bramante's design for the new basilica, in which Bramante is also credited as the author of the perspective construction
China East-West:The Alternative Face of Globalisation in Urban and Rural Transformations
No full textCurated by Professor Nicholas Temple, Dr Ioanni Delsante and Dr Yun Gao 30 January - 23 April 2016This exhibition explores architecture, design and urban development in contemporary China. Photographs, drawings and architectural models illustrate the differences between the eastern part of China and the western regions of the country. Two case studies have been selected in the Yangtze Delta region (Shanghai) and in the south-west region of Yunnan Province (Kunming). The exhibition explores regional differences through contrasting development strategies and cultural practices.In addition to providing a ‘window’ into the dramatic changes taking place in Chinese urban and rural life, this exhibition also aims to engage discussion and public interest in present and future transformations in West Yorkshire and the UK in general
Light and Procession: Bishop Grosseteste and the Ceremony of the Visitation
No full textThe chapters contained in this forthcoming volume disseminate from an international symposium funded by the Paul Mellon Education Programme and the University of Lincoln, and held at Lincoln Cathedral in January 2012. The event provided an opportunity for leading experts in Medieval theology/scholasticism, Medieval science, Church history and Gothic architecture to debate relationships between the design and symbolism of Lincoln Cathedral and the ideas of its early 13th century bishop, Robert Grosseteste, leading scientist and theologian of his age. My paper focuses on the two rose windows in the Great Transept of Lincoln Cathedral (the Dean’s Eye and the Bishop’s Eye), and the Galilee Porch off the south transept in relation to the Bishop’s Palace. The chapter argues that the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the cathedral, the role of the bishop, and the worshipper’s participation in the church liturgy, are made manifest in the architecture of the crossing, through symbolism and spatial organization. Research for this chapter forms part of an on-going (partly collaborative) project on Lincoln Cathedral and its bishop, first highlighted in a chapter in my book, Disclosing Horizons: Architecture, Perspective and Redemptive Space (Routledge, 2007), and subsequently developed in two substantial works by a colleague, Professor John Hendix, at Lincoln University
(Re)invoking humanism in modernity:Architecture and spectacle in Fascist Italy<sup>1</sup>
No full textThe influence of Fascism on intellectual, artistic and architectural developments in interwar Italy has been the subject of intense debate. This has given rise to contested views about the combined impact of modernism and historical precedents on Fascist ideology, the arguments often clouded by disputes concerning the patrimony of art in Italy and whether Fascism should cultivate its own distinctive aesthetic. 2 However, many of the leading voices of Italian cultural life during the Fascist regime refused to discriminate between different aesthetic choices, believing that “Italian cultural traditions precluded aesthetic regulation.” 3 The debate becomes most revealing when considered in the context of the origins of Fascism. The eminent Italian philosopher and historian Benedetto Croce believed, for example, that Fascism could be traced back almost exclusively to the futurist movement, both in its artistic aspirations and in political activism … in the resolution to go down to the piazza, to impose one’s own feelings, to shut the mouths of those who are dissenting, to be unafraid of commotions and riots; in the eagerness of the new, in the desire to break every tradition, in the exaltation of youth, which was proper to futurism.” 4</sup
Interview with Nicholas Christopher, author of Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American City
No full textInterview with Nicholas Christopher, author of Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir and the American Cit
Envisioning Geometry: Architecture in the Grip of Perspective
No full textThis book chapter examines the early developments of perspective in 15th century Florence, arguing that the conception of pictorial space in the Early Renaissance both drew upon late Medieval notions of luminary space and anticipated the 'geometrisation' of space in Modernity. The paper demonstrates this intermediate position (at once reflective and anticipatory) through an examination of the ideas of Nicolas Cusanus, Filippo Brunelleschi, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Leon Battista Alberti, all of whom presented different 'models' of perspective in the light of their own artistic predilections and architectural interests. A shared view however of the role and significance of perspective at this time concerns its capacity to redefine pictorially the civic and religious dimensions of the actual city. This is demonstrated in both Brunelleschi's perspective 'experiments' and Ghiberti's composition and spatial articulation of the 'Gates of Paradise' for Florence Baptistery. In the final section of the paper, I examine a photograph by Le Corbusier in which I demonstrate how his visual recording of his studio (articulated in a drawing by Peter Carl) applies similar methods of luminary and geometric relationships found in Renaissance pictorial space
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