‘New’ Windows from 13th Century Fragments

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The Cathedral Studios, Water jet cutting, Westminster Abbey

While preparing new galleries at Westminster Abbey, a treasure trove of medieval glass fragments was discovered under the floor boards.  The Cathedral Studio at Canterbury was entrusted with the task of cleaning and cataloguing all the fragments before designing the stunning ‘new’ work that has now become the centrepiece of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

The conservators, designers and makers respected the medieval glass while employing state-of the art techniques to ensure an elegant solution to the display of such remarkable fragments from the Abbey’s past.     It is worth taking a few moments to watch this short explanation: https://www.facebook.com/495935407128723/posts/1824562190932698/

Glass “Bridge of Courageous Hearts”

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China, Structural glass

Designer of the world’s longest glass bridge, Israeli architect, Haim  Dotan, named his remarkable feat of engineered glass and steel – the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China – the Bridge of Courageous Hearts.   It is not hard to see why!

Figure 1: A bird’s eye view of the Bridge of Courageous Hearts, Zhangjiajie national Forest Park, Hunan Province, China

At first glance it appears to be a fairly standard suspension bridge, although it is almost 300 metres above the canyon and 430 metres long.  It is only when you realise that the entire floor is made from sheets of glass that it becomes something way out of the ordinary.   it is worth looking at this short video on The Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2016/aug/22/worlds-longest-glass-bottomed-bridge-opens-in-china-zhangjiajie-park-video

It was designed to carry 800 people at any one time and 8000 per day, but huge numbers of visitors – reportedly  closer to 80,000 per day – have closed the bridge only 13 days after its  opening on 20 August 2016.

It seems that China has a passion for such terrifying glass-bottomed staircases.  Elsewhere in the same Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is the Coiling Dragon skywalk.  It  overlooks Tongtian Avenue, a road that snakes up the mountain through 99 hairpin bends.

Figure 2: Yuntai Mountain skywalk in Henan province, China.

Figure 3: Popular Yuntai Mountain skywalk in Henan province, China.  Photograph: China Photo Press

The Yuntai Mountain Geological Park skyway is 1000 metres high and snakes around the face of the mountain, but in September 2015 when a visitor dropped a stainless steel cup a panel of glass broke (like a windscreen) with a loud bang  that sent people running.  As the walkway has several layers of 2.7 cm thick glass, no-one was in any danger and everyone was evacuated without incident, but the popular attraction was immediately closed for repairs.

For those who love adventure at great heights and gut-churning thrills without the real dangers that come with abseiling or mountain-climbing, this could be the best use of glass on the the planet.   Just not for this scaredy-cat.

 

 

Klaus Zimmer at Parramatta Cathedral

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Derix Glasstudio, Klaus Zimmer, New South Wales, Parramatta

In March 2012, on the good advice of Sydney glass artist, Jeff Hamilton, I took the opportunity to visit St. Patrick’s Catholic Cathedral at Parramatta  to see the last significant commission of Klaus Zimmer (1928-2007) – a superb example of contemporary architectural glass.

When fire destroyed a large portion of St. Patrick’s in 1996, the community of Parramatta vowed to rebuild.  Romaldo Giurgola (1920-2016), best known in Australia for MGT Architects new Parliament House in Canberra, designed a light, ethereal sandstone building that has the atmosphere and ambience required of a spiritual centre for the twenty-first century.[1]  He incorporated the remnants of the old building, a Gothic Revival shell, as a re-ordered Chapel that leads one into the nave of the new Cathedral.  The completed building was dedicated on 29 November 2003.

Romaldo Giurgola and Klaus Zimmer had collaborated previously when Zimmer produced windows for the stairwell and private dining room at Parliament House in 1986.  The same energy and rapport is evident in the seventy-eight windows that Zimmer designed for the new Cathedral.  Each design is an individual work of art, but also clearly part of a carefully orchestrated suite that has a strong dynamic presence totally in harmony with the surrounding architecture.  These are not traditional ‘stained glass’ windows as lead has not been used and, as a result, the abstract shapes and patterns appear to float in the window openings, reflecting the lightness of the building itself.

Not in good health, Zimmer, who had previously undertaken much of his work independently or with a small team, worked in partnership with Derix Glasstudio, Taunusstein, Germany to produce his magnum opus.[2]  The last window to seen as one leaves by the old ‘west’ door, is the Eternity Window, a joyous finale to the completed cycle.

If you live in Sydney, or have an opportunity to visit, it is well worth the ferry ride to Parramatta to see a contemporary religious building that responds to the needs of those who worship there now and future generations will appreciate its glory well into the future.

[1] The firm GMB Architects evolved from the former MGT Architects. See http://www.gmbarchitects.com/

[2] See www.derix.com/

See also, Romaldo Giurgola, Luminous Simplicity: the architecture and art of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, Macmillan Art Publishing, South Yarra, 2006.