Origins of the West:
Basilica Ground Plan

DUE: Monday, November 19, 2007

We have been looking at a lot of images of buildings: interiors, exteriors, plans and elevations. But it’s hard to get a sense of 3-D space from looking at a flat image—it doesn’t become part of you until you’ve gone inside and experienced the space first-hand.

In class, we look at ground plans and try to imagine the space. This assignment asks you to do the reverse: experience the space and construct a ground plan.

The Mount’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception is a basilica. This term refers to a particular layout often used for Christian churches. In class, we will study examples of Early Christian basilicas, Romanesque basilicas, and Gothic basilicas. Be aware that whether or not a church is a basilica is independent of whether or not it is a cathedral. A basilica is a church of a particular shape; a cathedral is the bishop’s church, the headquarters of a diocese. It may be of any shape (although it often is a basilica). By the same token, a basilica may or may not be a cathedral—our chapel is a basilica, but not a cathedral. Cathedral doesn’t mean “really big church”; basilica doesn’t mean “really important church."  (At least, not when referring to architecture.  The Roman Catholic church also uses the term "basilica" to refer to certain important churches, but the primary meaning of the term is a building with a nave, side aisles, and an apse.)

Assignment: Draw a ground plan of the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. Walk around the outside of the building as well as exploring the inside. Remember that a ground plan is like an aerial view of the building. Include only the structure of the building, not the furniture (i.e. piers, not pews). Use figures 7.8, 9.13, 9.23, 9.24, and 9.32 in Matthews and Platt as models of what a ground plan should look like.

On your diagram, label the following features:

1. tower
2. nave
3. side aisles
4. transept
5. crossing
6. dome
7. choir
8. apse

For explanations of these terms as they relate to architecture, see Matthews and Platt, pages 193-94, (on the basilica), 267-71 (on Romanesque) and 271-79 (on Gothic).  Please note that as architectural terms, "aisle" doesn't refer to the space between the seats, and "choir" does not necessarily refer to the place where the singing group stands or to the choir loft.  Architecturally speaking, the choir is the area between the transept and the apse.  Sometimes the term "choir" is used loosely to refer to the entire east end of the church (it is so labeled on figs. 9.23, 9.24, and 9.32), but I want you to use the strict definition.

The drawing need not be perfectly to scale. You should, however, at least use a ruler to draw straight lines. Graph paper might make your job easier. You might also consider pacing off the major dimensions of the building, then converting your paces to the graph paper.

Note: The chapel is not a museum; it is a working house of worship. Be respectful. Don’t work inside while a service is going on.

Do not cheat or plagiarize. It's OK to visit the chapel with a partner, but I expect everyone to produce their own drawing independently. I am aware that the maintenance department has a version of this plan; do not use it. Follow the procedure outlined above.