The Mathurins

Maia Magill, Aaron Lipp, Ranya Halbouni, and Allison Picchini

 

The construction of the Mathurins Church began in Paris in 1219, and was named after Saint John Matha, the founder of the Mathurins order. During the building phase of the church, King Louis IX was the current monarch. This is a significant point because despite the support given by Louis IX towards the Mathurins religious order, there was hardly any financial support. This was factored in during the digital reconstruction as it was clear that the church displayed less extravagant aesthetics compared to churches that had greater financial support. Before the 3D modeling process, extensive research was done on the floor plan of the Mathurins.

It was discovered after looking through Google maps, contacts in Paris, books, and other internet sources that unlike most churches, this particular church was asymmetrical. Due to this configuration, a group decision had to be made when it came to what angle the building should be set to. From an excerpt from the Bible, it was found that the altar should be located on the eastern side of the church, which corresponds to the church’s orientation which faced east as well. This also explained the rather irregular layout of the site.

Both the floor planning and 3D rendering process of the project forced the team members to visually deliberate by combining their research with their imagination to recreate the Mathurins church which only leaves a piece of its existence today. Read more about this subject by the Digital Gothic Team here.