Open Access Symposium/Publication: Masons at Work

Masons at Work

Robert Ousterhout, Renata Holod, and Lothar Haselberger, editors

Arthur Thourson Jones, associate editor

Publication date: October 2012

University of Pennsylvania, Phialdelphia, PA

This symposium (original Program of Speakers and poster) assembled specialists in various fields to examine building practices in the pre-modern world, with an emphasis on aspects of construction and structure in ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, medieval, and early-to-middle period Islamic architecture. While some technologies and built forms may be shared across pre-modern cultures (such as vault construction or the use of centering), other may be specific to a single period or region (such as the use of concrete or structural ribs in vaulting). Papers examined the problems pre-modern masons commonly encountered—and the solutions they developed—in the process of design and construction.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Opening Papers
  • Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt, "Still Higher and More Audacious: the Architecture of the Imperial Palaces on the Palatine in Rome" Abstract | Paper
• Technology in Conext
  • Katja Schröck, "A Comparative Look at Stone Setting Techniques" Abstract | Paper
  • María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo, "Building Churches in the 8th–10th Centuries in the Iberian Peninsula. Technology and Context"Abstract
  • Peter I. Schneider, "Detecting Ideas of Rationalization in Medieval Islamic Building Design: The Case of the Rizk Camii in Hasankeyf, Turkey" Abstract | Paper
• Workshop Practices
  • David Khoshtaria, "Medieval Architectural Design and Building Process According to the Sculptural Images in Korogo Church" Abstract
  • Chris Henige, "The Contractors of Chartres Revisited" Abstract |  Paper
• Large-Scale Experiments
  • Marco G. Brambilla, "Large Scale Building Techniques in Ilkhanid Iran" Abstract
  • Michael Davis, "Plans and Revisions: The Terrace Drawings at the Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand" Abstract
• Urban Buildings
  • Allyson McDavid, "Renovation and Redesign in Late Antiquity: The Hadrianic Baths of Aphrodisias" Abstract
  • Bernhard Flüge, "Construction and Conception Techniques of Residential Buildings and Urbanism in Medieval Europe around 1100 AD: The Example of Cluny, France" Abstract | Paper
  • Judith Ley, "Building Construction at the Turn from Antiquity to the Middle Ages: The Carolingian Palace in Aachen" Abstract
• Building in Time
  • Karin Uetz, "A Close Look at the 11th Century Cross-Domed Church of St. Mark's, Venice" Abstract
  • Oleg Ioannissian and Gleb Ivakin, "Construction Materials and Building Constructions in the Architecture of Medieval Rus, from the 10th to the Beginning of the 12th Centuries" Abstract | Paper
• God is in the Details
  • Seth Bernard, "The Two-Piece Corinthian Capital and the Strategies of the Roman Builder" Abstract | Paper
  • Stavros Mamaloukos, "Observations on Doorways and Windows in Byzantine Architecture" Abstract | Paper
  • Ahmed E. Wahby and Dina Montasser, "The Ornamented Domes of Cairo: The Mamluk
    Mason's Challenge" Abstract | Paper
  • Gionata Rizzi, "Masons, Masonry, and the Mysteries in the Façade of the Parma Cathedral"Abstract
• Logistics and Materials
  • Brian Sahotsky, "Masons, Materials, and Machinery: Logistical Challenges in Roman Building" Abstract | Paper
  • Jordan Pickett, "The Energetics of Monumental Construction in the 13th Century: Four Cross-Cultural Case Studies" Abstract
• Arches, Vaults, and Domes
  • Bernard O'Kane, "The Carved Stone Domes of Cairo" Abstract | Paper
  • Stefan Bürger, "Irregularity as a Stimulus for Order or an Impetus toward Chaos: The Virtuoso Art of Stone Masonry in the Marienkirche in Pirna" Abstract
  • Stefania Petralla, "Arches and Ribbed Vaults of the Iranian Tradition" Abstract | Paper
  • David Wendland, "Analytical and Experimental Studies on Geometric Design and Construction of Late-Gothic Vaults" Abstract
• Architectural Transmission
  • Heather Grossman, "On Transmission and the Practice of Building in the Crusader Mediterranean" Abstract
  • Pushkar Sohoni, "Exploiting Slippage: Patronage, Building Technology, and Guilds" Abstract
• Structure and Construction
  • Nikolaos Karydis, "Limiting the Use of Centering in Vault Construction: The Early Byzantine Churches of West Asia Minor" Abstract | Paper
  • Matthew Savage,   "Observations on a Vault Construction Technique in 9th and 10th Century Constantinople"   Abstract
  • Charles Anthony Stewart, "Flying Buttresses and Pointed Arches in Byzantine Cyprus" Abstract | Paper