Beauvais Cathedral Construction Sequence

Directed by Stephen Murray
Produced by Myles Zhang

Of all the stories of the greatest Gothic cathedrals, the tale of Beauvais is the most exciting. Construction of the Gothic cathedral began in 1225 at a time of bitter turmoil when France was establishing itself as a nation within its familiar modern geographical bounds. Beauvais, the tallest cathedral in France, was never completed, having endured two major collapses and a series of structural crises that continues to this day. Our Sketchup animation follows this dramatic narrative, allowing the viewer to experience and understand the famous collapse that brought down the upper choir in 1284 as well as the underlying design features that led to that disaster. Particularly intriguing is the visualization of the short-lived crossing tower constructed in the mid-sixteenth century and the rivalry between S-Pierre of Beauvais and Saint Peter’s in Rome.

It is hoped that besides appealing to a general audience of cathedral fans, this movie will be useful in the context of the classroom at high-school and university levels. The production was the result of the most rewarding spontaneous collaboration between an Emeritus Columbia professor who is a leading figure in the field of Gothic architectural studies, and a former student who is now pursuing his graduate degree in architecture and on his way to making his own mark in the field of architectural scholarship.

[borromine]

Simply superb. I’m an architect. Visited Beauvais in 1962. This is brilliant. Informative. And sad too.

[Ominous]

Finally, there it is! What a story this is. Makes sense why it took ages to build a cathedral. Spectacular details and excellent story telling. What a work this must have been to put this all together. Both the video AND the cathedral in real life. Awesome.

[dargordtq]

What a terrific video. I visited the cathedral of Beauvais last year and read about the highly unfortunate history, but this video made it all more clear than ever before. Still the cathedral, despite being unfinished, is an amazing piece of gothic architecture.

[themusiclovers]

Thank you for this remarkable video! What you don't mention is that the iron tie rods have existed between the buttresses since they were built in the Middle Age, and that it was the thoughtless intervention of an architect of historic monuments in the 1960s that led to their removal, on the grounds of presumed "historical inauthenticity". It didn't take thirty years for worrying structural disorders to be observed in the building and for attempts to be made to stabilise it using these wooden supports, before installing new tie rods that were less effective than those used in the Middle Age, some of which acted as tension rods while others acted as compression springs in a complex assembly designed to absorb the vibrations resulting from the violent winds blowing over the hill on which the cathedral is built.

[saintleger]

Merveilleuse explication concernant la construction de cette superbe cathédrale, la nef la plus haute de France et qui a résisté aux bombardements anglais et allemands en 1940. Longue vie à la cathédrale de Beauvais ! Merci !

[yxx_chris_xxy]

This is such a nice video, I loved it. I'd like to add that there is a third culprit to the two collapses, in addition to design flaws and strong winds: The low quality/strength of the "local" stone used.

[ChristianJiang]

Omg this video is amazing!! Great visuals and super interesting story… I hope you’ll make more!!

[ThomasSchutt]

As always, I very much enjoy your animations and historical accounts. I had a general idea of how far construction went as well as a few collapses, but this has solidified my understanding of them much more extensively. I would love to pick your brain sometime over your research with French Gothic. ;-)

[MrJojitown]

Awesome animation! A story well-told and illustrated. Bravo

[voodoosix-centdix-neuf]

Great vidéo, I just visited this cathedral yesterday and had so much questions about it. Your work allowed me to understand the chronology of succès and fails leading to such a strange cathedral.
Thanks a lot 👍

[Lemma]

What a marvellous resource- exquisitely rendered, immaculately narrated. A gold standard for those aiming to be educative, informative and entertaining. Bravo All.

[kenboydart]

Thank you for this outstanding presentation. I wish more people could appreciate it.

[orlandoa]

Thank you, for the fantastic insight into the mind-boggling complexities that constitute the constructional aspirations of a cathedral like Beauvais. I believe there are issues with the pier design, that do not help with the preservation of this gorgeous building.

[stevevice]

Well done! Thank you for such a detailed presentation. The graphics are excent and beautifully drawn. I visited this cathedral 25 years ago and it is still impressive even though it was never finished. One small suggestion...The background music had a tendency to drown out your narration. I don't think the music is necessary, or at least make it as quiet as possible.

[valentinrabus]

Merci pour cette vidéo ! Super travail, Habitant à Beauvais, j'avais déjà lu l'histoire de la construction mais cette vidéo permet de beaucoup mieux comprendre cette longue histoire de construction 🙌

[christopherstephenjenksbsg]

As always, an excellent video Myles. Despite its multiple collapses and continuing structural problems, and its incomplete condition, this has always been one of my favorite Gothic cathedrals. I love it not only for its great height, impressive as that might be, but also for its design. The Rayonnant clerestory of the hemicycle is magnificent. I only wish the original straight bays of the choir, with their wide arcades, allowing dramatic views into the aisles, had been preserved. I also love the much later transept facades --perhaps the <ahem> *pinnacle* of Flamboyant Gothic design.

I do wonder what you and Professor Murray think of Robert Mark's structural analysis of the choir collapse. I don't have the reference immediately available, but if I remember correctly he thought that the immense height of the exterior buttress piers and the nearly horizontal slope of the flyers may have contributed to the collapse, and you touch on that in the video. Do you think more steeply sloped flyers, perhaps vaulting over both aisles in the manner of Notre Dame, Paris, might have stiffened the structure enough to prevent the collapse? As for the central tower, the church authorities were foolish to even consider a tower of such height on such slender piers. I can't help but feel their ambition outweighed their common sense. I am surprised that any mason would have even considered building it.

As an aside, I absolutely love the Flamboyant design for the west front. I know it's conjectural, but it lives up to the promise of the transept facades.

[RollaArtis]

Went there in the 70s and the architecture does indeed defy gravity. Saw the amazing astronomical clock by Verite..

[Ultramesh]

Good video. Interesting history. I heard that it was the pumping out of the constantly flooded underground parking garage on the other side of town, near the Mairie, that had caused the wet sub-structure around the cathedral foundations to dry out and to cause movement resulting in the wooden buttresses to be added for protection in the 90s.

[matthewmcdonnell]

wonderful presentation!! Thank you for all this hard work.

[Johannes_Brahms]

I was at that place years ago and found the remains of the older church fascinating. It was built with old roman square stones.