The Geometric System of the Nave Vault of the Church on the Hill of Sighişoara

Abstract

The Geometric System of the Nave Vault of the Church on the Hill of Sighişoara. The literature on the methods of late Gothic net vault constructions mainly accentuates ideas, which presume that the initial conditions of the design are orderly. However, in the case of buildings of multiple building periods, this is rarely the case. In the present article, we present the point cloud-based geometric analysis of the net vault system of the Church on the Hill of Sighişoara. Our results highlight that contrary to the generally accepted theories, the construction of a net vault is not necessarily initiated with the plan of the rib system, and that the underlying principle organising the whole system’s geometry is not always the plan pattern. Our case study also exemplifies how the Gothic principles of unity and division still blend with the ideas of separation and addition, even in a late Gothic hall church with direct connections to the guild of Landshut. Keywords: masonry ribbed net vault; late Gothic vault construction; geometric analysis; Church on the Hill of Sighişoara; Gothic construction principles