-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Virtually mapped French Gothic buildings allow complete
immersion through computer models
Date:   Thu, 21 Apr 2011 01:54:48 -0700 (PDT)
From:   MARZIO VENEMAN <[log in to unmask]>
To:     Angie Cope <[log in to unmask]>



http://www.mappinggothicfrance.org/
<http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=F_x0l&m=J7h99j1E9bmEyW&b=sBKWbKZrIJGu.n7I57EX4g>

**

*Taking architecture to new dimensions*

*Virtually mapped French Gothic buildings allow complete immersion
through computer models***

By James Barragan
<http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=F_x0l&m=J7h99j1E9bmEyW&b=8HEyE9v5zyCb6lTHyx0IQw>
Published April 12, 2011

A smile spreads across Stephen Murray’s face as he answers a question
about the building Royce Hall was modeled after.

“The Basilica of Saint Ambrogio,” he says confidently.

He knows. Of course he knows – he is an expert in Romanesque and Gothic art.

The Columbia University professor presented only the second public
showing of his new project “Mapping Gothic France” Monday night as a
part of the 12th annual Hammer Foundation Lecture at UCLA.

His project is to virtually map France’s most famous Gothic buildings.
He posts the results as three-dimensional models on the website
http://www.mappinggothicfrance.org/
<http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=F_x0l&m=J7h99j1E9bmEyW&b=sBKWbKZrIJGu.n7I57EX4g>.

Previously, students would have to travel to Europe to fully appreciate
the grandeur of Gothic architecture. Murray’s project gives students a
different way to become immersed in their field of study.

“The whole idea of the project comes from the John Ruskin idea of
looking at buildings from many different ways: from the back, from the
front and from many different entrances,” Murray said, referring to
Ruskin, an English art critic and social thinker of the 19th century
whose essays are influential in the fields of art and architecture.

The site presents visitors with visual representations of more than 160
cathedrals through high-tech photography called QuickTime Virtual Reality.

It also immerses them in the “time, space and narrative” of the
building, Murray said. QuickTime Virtual Reality pictures stitch
together different sequences of photographs.

The result: a cohesive amalgamation of pictures that gives a fully
three-dimensional view of a specified building.

Through controls on the computer, the viewer gets the sensation of being
inside a building, Murray said.

Visitors click left, right, up and down to get different views of a
cathedral. They can also zoom in and out of a picture to get different
views of specific details.

“Gothic cathedrals are huge buildings which are extremely difficult to
bring into classrooms,” said Meredith Cohen, an assistant professor of
art history at UCLA who worked under Murray during her doctoral studies
at Columbia. “Now (with Murray’s new project) you get a sense of being
right there in Europe. It brings the buildings to life.”

Cohen added that looking at two-dimensional pictures – the current way
of studying Gothic architecture – does not allow the viewer to fully
appreciate Gothic architecture, which is what makes the project so
thrilling.

“(Murray’s) work spans research and physical qualities. It allows people
to get immersed in places they may never get to go,” said Brett
Landenberger, webmaster of the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance
Studies.

Beyond the visual component of the project, Murray also incorporated
details of narrative and time into the site. In distinct features of his
project, site visitors can choose a specific time period to look at
buildings from that era.

For example, by highlighting the small fragments of land that were under
a French ruler’s dominion at a certain time period, Murray aims to show
that not all of France was under the same dominion at the same time.

As an accompaniment to the visual and chronological aspects of the
website, the narrative aspect of the project gives a concise description
of each building.

But because the website has more than 160 buildings, and Murray is busy
with research and his duties as chair of his department at Columbia, not
all of the buildings have accompanying descriptions yet.

Cohen described Murray as a “pioneer of the digital classroom” and said
his innovative ideas of looking at art history are leading a change in
the field. Because students have media at their fingertips, this type of
approach to research makes it more accessible to students, said Cohen,
who required her class to attend Murray’s lecture.