Computer Analysis of the Church of Notre-Dame de Lamourguier

For more than a hundred years, art and architectural historians, architects, and engineers interested in structure have attempted to interpret Gothic architecture, one of the most technologically complex and sophisticated structural systems in history. Indigenous Gothic, however, such as non-vaulted Gothic in the Lower Languedoc region of southern France, has been largely ignored. This study intends to analyze the Gothic non-vaulted nef unique (aisleless) structures of Lower Languedoc which have never been scientifically tested, and to provide as comprehensive an explanation as possible of the way in which these non-vaulted buildings work. In order to achieve this goal, this paper is to examine, by means of finite element computer analysis, a selected example of an existing building. The church of Notre-Dame de Lamourguier, the earliest surviving example of a Gothic nef unique with wide-span diaphragm arches in Lower Languedoc, is selected. Thus, hypothetical models of diaphragm arch buildings and an existing building as a complete structural system were scientifically analyzed in order to provide a comprehensive explanation of how the non-vaulted nef unique system works. The result of the analysis, allows us better to understand the structural behavior of this type of masonry arcuated system and the processes involved in the design and construction of medieval buildings.