Some Sandy Buildings!

[JP1976]

Hello! Recently I have toying with the idea of a sand city in the upcoming world Faradeen. I have always loved sandstone cities, so I thought it would be a fun to try to build a couple "test" buildings as proof of concept. So far I have made a few buildings (Their use I don't really know ). What I want to know is if you guys think it is a cool style, and would visit it if I built it in massivecraft? ( All criticism is welcome, please just tell me what I could do to fix it )Anyone would be alowed to live there if I did build it. Without further addoo:

Spoiler: The potential Walls

Spoiler: Possible Tavern/Inn

The small courtyard:

Spoiler: A House/Office/Embassy

The back:

Spoiler: A smaller House

and another view:

Spoiler: A Townhouse/shop

Spoiler: Last, but not least: An arena

A view of the side:

The unfinished Interior:

Thanks for giving my buildings a look, and I await your responses eagerly.

-edit- Shameless plug http://forums.massivecraft.com/threads/merchant-jp-construction-inc.7178/

 

[HydraLana]

I find them quite perdy!

 

[Malocchio]

I really like them! Though, they do look quite up date, like non-medieval. But they are swell!

 

[JP1976]

Really, what about them wouldn't be medieval? Should I replace the glass with fences? ( I honestly would love to improve these, so please could you guys tell me how/what about them is modern?)

 

[yendor46]

The best way i've found to get an idea of the style for the period is to look at pictures. Do a search on look at some picts. Glass was exorbitantly expensive in the middle ages, so only the richest had windows and they were small, in comparison to the wall they were on. The open construction, thou quite appealing today, was not typical of the medieval time. If you look at German medieval towns, for instance, the houses/shops would run together, so only the fronts were visible. This was because space inside the walls was at a premium.

 

[shetlandj]

Wow, really nice work. I love the walls there.
Tagging on to what Yendor said, I would reduce the amount of window space, are switch to fences. Possibly both. Other than that, really nice.

 

[BulbousDevourer]

Yes, not quite medieval enough. If you could fix this I'd come see it.

 

[JP1976]

The best way i've found to get an idea of the style for the period is to look at pictures. Do a search on look at some picts. Glass medieval towns, for instance, the houses/shops would run together, so only the fronts were visible. This waswas exorbitantly expensive in the middle ages, so only the richest had windows and they were small, in comparison to the wall they were on. The open construction, thou quite appealing today, was not typical of the medieval time. If you look at German because space inside the walls was at a premium.

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Thanks for the help! I will try to reduce the amount of glass I use, as I see the argument there. The city I am working on, however, is a desert city, not a German one. The buildings would contain high ceilings and arches as well as be fairly spaced out to help cool down the city. One of my inspirations for this was topkapi palace which is very spread out.

Perhaps I will just remove the windows entirely and leave them open, I might try to experiment with some canvas shades using carpets, who knows! Thanks a bunch for the help.

-edit-

I have been doing some reasserch on medieval homes, and found this wonderful site (I can pm anyone interested the link). The source seems to be more than reliable. Also, this is a medieval fantasy universe, so I do not feel that large windows would be too far a stretch.

From the site:

About 1180 for the first time since the Romans rich people had panes of glass in the windows. At first glass was very expensive and only rich people could afford it but by the late 13th and early 14th centuries the middle classes began to have glass in some of their windows. Those people who could not afford glass could use thin strips of horn or pieces of linen soaked in tallow or resin which were translucent.

Click to shrink...

If middle class people could afford some of it, than I feel a wealthy fantasy city would be more than capable of having glass in its architecture.

 

[yendor46]

Living in a desert myself, one thing I note is that even with the high tech coatings we have now, blowing sand etches glass, turning it translucent instead of transparent. This makes it less appealing for use in desert environments. I also want to point out that I didn't say that you couldn't use glass, but that your use of glass followed a modern style, with apparent walls of glass surrounded by high tech structural members.

 

[Cielian]

They're a bit top heavy! Add a nice, thick feeling base to the homes.

 

[Cielian]

Living in a desert myself, one thing I note is that even with the high tech coatings we have now, blowing sand etches glass, turning it translucent instead of transparent. This makes it less appealing for use in desert environments. I also want to point out that I didn't say that you couldn't use glass, but that your use of glass followed a modern style, with apparent walls of glass surrounded by high tech structural members.

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Logs of wood aren't exactly "high tech structural members".

 

[JP1976]

They're a bit top heavy! Add a nice, thick feeling base to the homes.

Click to shrink...

Hehe, a lot of homes from the time period were top heavy as the tax would be applied to the ground floor, so building out as you built up was considered economically saavy

 

[Cielian]

Oh and flat roof tops are very common in desert style homes. People would sleep on them at night to stay cool at times.

 

[JP1976]

Logs of wood aren't exactly "high tech structural members".

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I don't believe he was stating the materials were high tech, but the way they supported the walls could be. If you look a lot of the glass is set directly into the wood, which does not usually happen in older buildings.

 

[Cielian]

Hehe, a lot of homes from the time period were top heavy as the tax would be applied to the ground floor, so building out as you built up was considered economically saavy

Click to shrink...

You used a lot of wood on the bottom and stone on top.

 

[JP1976]

You used a lot of wood on the bottom and stone on top.

Click to shrink...

If you are referring to the stone arches, those would be held in place by mortar, in addition you cannot tell from the pictures, but most of them do have sturdy stone walls located at the base of the builds. Furthermore, The thick logs and support frame would more than support the upper levels of the buildings, given that sandstone is a very light stone.

 

[Togal]

They are pretty, in a modern glass and open space way. Definitely not medieval.

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glass was invented in medieval times... and back then they were windows that were large so your argument is invalid!

 

[Cielian]

glass was invented in medieval times... and back then they were windows that were large so your argument is invalid!

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False. In the medieval era, large windows were uncommon. It wasn't until the renaissance when gothic architecture became prominent that large windows were used. Larger windows were made possible through the use of flying buttresses to relieve weight and allow larger expanses for windows.

 

[AussieDog2012]

Hehe "buttresses" hehe.