St Pauls London

-Rasiq Mohamed Uzair,ANRVSA

St Pauls London

St Pauls
The Cathedral is one of the most famous
and most recognizable sights of LONDON,
with its dome, framed by the spires of
Wren's City Churches, dominating the
skyline for 300 years. At 365 feet (111m)
high, it was the tallest building in LONDON
from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also
among the highest in the world. In terms of
area, St Paul's is thesecond largest church
buildingin
theUNITED
KINGDOMafterLIVERPOOL Cathedral.

Architect
Sir Christopher Wren was the Architect Who
RebuiltLondon.
After the Great Fire of London, Sir
Christopher Wren designed new churches and
supervised the reconstruction of some of
London's most important buildings.
Born:
October 20, 1632 at East Knoyle in Wiltshire,
England
Died:
February 25, 1723 in London, at age 91.

 The St. Paul is constructed in BAROQUE STYLE.

Astyleof architecture and art originating in ITALY in the
early 17th century and variously prevalent in EUROPE and the
New World for a century and a half, characterized by free
and sculptural use of the classical orders and ornament, by
forms in elevation and plan suggesting movement, and by
dramatic effect in which architecture, painting, sculpture,
and the decorative arts often worked to combined effect.

Old St Pauls Cathedral

Details
Length
555ft (160m)
Navewidth
121ft (37m)
Width across transepts
(75m)

246ft

Architectural features
Saint Paul's in the form of an
ancientbasilica, a type of building used by
the Romans for judicial purposes before it
was adopted by early Christians as a church.
St Paul's is long for its width, and has
strongly projecting transepts. It has much
emphasis on its facade, which has been
designed to define rather than conceal the
form of the building behind it.

 The basilica design really shows up

inside. Saint Paul's is deliberately
shaped like a cross. The nave is
progressed through thenave, which
is the main gathering area for
worshipers.
There are side aisles set off by
arches on each side of the nave.
little chapels on each side too.
The transept of the cathedral, the
part that stretches out like the arms
of a cross. There are semi-circular
entrances at the tip of each arm of

TheWHISPERING GALLERYruns around the inside of the dome 99 feet (30.2

m) above the cathedral floor. It is reached by 259 steps from ground level. It
gets its name because of the acoustic effects peculiar to domes; a whisper
against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the
wall at any other point around the gallery. A low murmur is equally audible.

In section St Paul's also maintains a

medieval form, having the aisles much lower
than the nave, and a defined clearstory.

Specifications
Height
365ft (111m)
Dome height (outer)
278ft (85m)
Dome height (inner)
225ft (68m)
Dome diameter (outer)
112ft (34m)
Dome diameter (inner)
102ft (31m)

The most notable exterior feature is the dome,

which rises 365 feet (111m) to the cross at its
summitand dominates views of the City. The height
of 365 feet is explained by Wren's interest in
astronomy. Until the late 20th century St Paul's was
the tallest building on the City skyline.

Structural Features

Deep recesses in the

Thick walls are provided
Buttress given for extra
walls for windows.
internally.
strength for screen walls.
The large crossing dome is composed of three layers: the
first triple dome ever to be constructed. The inner and
outer layers arecatenarycurves, but the structural
integrity to support the heavy stone structure atop the
dome is provided by a intermediary layer which is much
steeper and moreconicalin shape. The dome is restrained
round its base by a wrought iron chain to prevent it
spreading and cracking.

The Dome
Wren favoured a continuous colonnade (peristyle) around the drum of the dome,
rather than the arrangement of alternating windows and projecting columns. The
finished structure, Wren creates a diversity and appearance of strength by placing
niches between the columns in every fourth opening.The peristyle serves to buttress
both the inner dome and the brick cone which rises internally to support the lantern.
Above the peristyle rises the second stage surrounded by a balustraded balcony
called the "Stone Gallery". This attic stage is ornamented with alternating pilasters
and rectangular windows which are set just below the cornice, creating a sense of
lightness. Above this attic rises the dome, covered with lead, and ribbed in
accordance with the spacing of the pilasters. It is pierced by eight light wells just
below the lantern, but these are barely visible. They allow light to penetrate through
openings in the brick cone, which illuminates the interior apex of this shell, partly
visible from within the cathedral through the ocular opening of the lower dome.
The lantern, like the visible masonry of the dome, rises in stages. The most unusual
characteristic of this structure is that it is of square plan, rather than circular or
octagonal. The tallest stage takes the form of atempiettowith four columned
porticos facing the cardinal points. Its lowest level is surrounded by the "Golden
Gallery" and its upper level supports a small dome from which rises a cross on a
golden ball. The total weight of the lantern is about 850 tons.

Structural Features

Vault

The Interior
The nave is 91 feet (28m) in height and is
separated from the aisles by an arcade of
piers with attached Corinthian pilasters rising
to an entablature.
The bays, and therefore the vault
compartments, are rectangular, but Wren has
ingeniously roofed these spaces with saucershaped domes and surrounded the clearstorey
windows with lunettes.(an arched aperture or
window, especially one in a domed ceiling)

 The vaults of the choir have been lavishly

decorated with mosaics. The dome and the
apse of the choir are all approached
through wide arches with coffered vaults
which contrast with the smooth surface of
the domes and punctuate the division
between the main spaces.
The transept extend to the north and south
of the dome and are called (in this instance)
the North Choir and the South Choir.

The Towers

Details of the towers at the

west end (illustration, left)
and their dark voids are
boldly scaled, in order to
read well from the street
below and from a distance,
for the towers have always
stood out in the urban
skyline. They are composed
of
two
complementary
elements, a central cylinder
rising through the tiers in a
series of stacked drums, and
pairedCORINTHIAN
COLUMNSat the corners,
withBUTTRESSESabove
them, which serve to unify
the drum shape with the
square
block
plinth
containing the clock.

Number oftowers
height
(67m)

Tower
221ft

Corinthian columns

The base of the inner dome is 173 feet (53.4 m) above the
floor. Its top is about 65 m above the floor, making this the
greatest height of the enclosed space. The cathedral is
some 574 feet (175m) in length (including the portico of
the Great West Door), of which 223 feet (68m) is the nave
and 167 feet (51m) is the choir. The width of the nave is
121 feet (37m) and across the transepts is 246 feet
(75m). The cathedral is thus slightly shorter but somewhat
wider than Old St Paul's.

The cathedral is built of

Portland Stone in a late
Renaissance Style (English
Baroque), something similar
to the style of St. Peter's
Basilica or Mansart church of
the Val. de Grce, which the
architect Wren had visited.

> Portland
Stone

St. Peter's Basilica, Mansart Church Val. de Grce, and

St. Paul's cathedral

 The clock mechanism was

built in 1893 bySmith of
Derbyincorporating a design
of
escapement.
clock
mechanism is 5.8 meters
long and is the most recent of
the clocks introduced to ST
PAUL'S CATHEDRAL over the
centuries.

Different views of
the Cathedral

Western view

Western Facade

The towers stand outside the width of the aisles, but screen two
chapels located immediately behind them. The lower parts of the
towers continue the theme of the outer walls, but are differentiated
from them in order to create an appearance of strength. The windows
of the lower storey are smaller than those of the side walls and are
deeply recessed, a visual indication of the thickness of the wall. The
paired pilasters at each corner project boldly .

Southern View

Southern Facade

Eastern View

Helicopter View

View from the Dome