Ressler - Stave Churches of Norway.pptx

The Stave Churches
of Norway
Seeing Structure in Architecture
Stephen Ressler, P.E., Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
U.S. Military Academy at West Point
“On the way, we visited the old stave
church at Borgund. It was the most
fantastic sight you could imagine, like the
whim of some brilliant child—a house for
beetles carved by a simple giant with his
sheath-knife, with simple crosses and
arrogant dragon heads, all twists and
twirls, twig upon twig.
The inside is like a smokehouse dedicated
to some mystic cult, where the darkness
of the Saga overwhelms the flickering
candles of Catholicism, whose shadows
fall on the iron-clad axes of peasants and
the flowing beards of Viking kings—a
sinister experience, quite honestly.”
Holger Drachmann
Danish Poet
1886
Goals for this Lecture
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Understand the Norwegian
stave church as:
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An architectural icon
A reflection of Norwegian
history and culture
An elegantly engineered
structural system
Apply our “Great Structures
Toolkit” to analyze and
understand a complex threedimensional structural system.
Historical Context
The Christianization of Norway
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10th Century:
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Anglo-Saxon missionaries experience little success in
converting the populace.
Hakon the Good (reigned 934-961) attempts to introduce
Christianity but fails to gain the support of landowners.
Olaf Tryggvason (reigned 995-1000) builds the first church in
Norway.
11th Century:
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Olaf Haraldsson (reigned 1015 to 1028) is credited with
Christianizing Norway.
Permanent Episcopal Sees not established until late 11th
century.
Architectural Context
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11th-12th Century - Norman Romanesque
Late 12th-14th Century - Gothic
Traditional Scandinavian Timber Construction
Norman Architecture:
Monreale Cathedral (1174-1182)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monreale#/media/File:MonrealeCathedral-pjt1.jpg
Durham Cathedral (1093-1135)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Durham_Cathedral._Interior.jpg#/media/File:Durham_Cathedral._Interior.jpg
W
Column or Wall
Subject to Horizontal Force
H
Overturning Moment:
Mo = Hh
Stabilizing Moment:
h
Ms = Ww
2
How to prevent
overturning?
w
The Structural Solution
Flying Buttresses
Reims Cathedral (1211-1275)
The
Gothic
Stone
Skeleton
Stone Construction in Norway
Nidaros Cathedral,Trondheim (1070-1300)
Traditional
Laft Construction
Stav Construction
Stav Construction
Early Palisade Method
Stave Construction
Early Palisade Method
Stave Construction
Post-and-Sill Method
Stave Construction
Post-and-Sill Method
Stave Construction
Post-and-Sill Method
Stave Churches (Stavkirker)
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A unique synthesis:
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Traditional stave construction
Norman Romanesque basilica
Gothic adaptations
The Viking shipbuilding tradition
A rural phenomenon reflecting:
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Pride in traditional methods
Resistance to “modern” stone construction
Approximately 1,000 built between late 11th and mid-14th
century.
}  Only 28 remain today.
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Surviving
Stave
Churches
Fantoft Church
(reconstructed)
Architectural Form
Oye Church
(mid 12th century)
Torpo Church
(c. 1200)
Urnes Church (1130-1150)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhqtPWqKutk/UhFMUNokddI/AAAAAAAAG3g/W5-lvsgev6A/s1600/Urnes+Stave+Church.jpg
Borgund (c. 1200)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wxZ662gOmcY/UhFA0tu_3eI/AAAAAAAAG1o/4lgfRngosmE/s1600/Borgund+Stave+Church.jpg
Heddal (c. 1250)
https://foaminglattes.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/norwegian-stave-church.jpg
"Stave Church In Snow,"
Theodor Kittelsen, 1907
https://mikinordic.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/vinter-borgund-ok.png?w=640&h=868
Hopperstad Church (c. 1190)
Norman
Influence
Urnes Church
(1130-1150)
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2594/3735740330_07d915b493_z.jpg
Decorative Elements
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Urnes_animals.jpg
To what extent does
the architectural
form of the stave
church derive from
functional and
structural
demands?
Unique Functional &
Structural Demands
Christian worship
}  Permanence
}  Protection from the
elements
}  High snow loads
}  Very high wind loads
}  Relatively light weight
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The Stave Church
as an Engineered Structure
http://www.jon-nelson.com/wp-content/gallery/norwegian-stave-churches/inside-Borgand-Stave-Church-HDR.jpg
Understanding a
3-D Structural System
Build it, one element at a time.
}  Follow the load paths
from top to bottom.
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How does the
structure
carry load?
Gravity Load
How does the
structure
carry load?
Wind Load
Effect of Brackets
Effect of Belt Truss
Modern Braced Frame
http://0.tqn.com/d/geology/1/S/2/k/1/bracedframe.jpg
How well did it work?
“In the Afternoon, the Weather changed, and suddenly an entire
Storm raged outside. The old Church Walls creaked, as if they
were going to fall apart; it was as if each and every plank in the
Stave construction would slide out of its Placement, break its
very Framework of Masts and Sills and bury everything
beneath the vacillating Columns…but little by little, although
the Storm increased rather than declined, soon no sound was
heard in the Church Walls, wherein the entire Structure had
settled and was now steeled and strengthened in the midst of
the Storm.”
Lorentz Dietrichson
Virtuosity in Timber Construction
Keelson of the Roskilde 6 ship
Modern Stave Church
Modern Stave Church
Modern Stave Churches
Moorehead, MN
Minot, ND
Why is the Stave Church a
Great Structure?
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Vitruvius, de Architectura, c. 15 B.C.
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Venustas
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Utilitas
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Firmitas
Questions?