Procedural Gothic

Regenerating Wellington’s 19th Century Timber Churches

Samuel McLennan - 2020

This research looks at using the technique of procedural modelling to investigate the characteristic rules present within a loosely defined architectural style. The 19th-century timber Gothic churches built in the city of Wellington, New Zealand are examples of a particular interpretation of the Gothic style. Although they all share common aspects, there are no prescribed rules regulating how these churches were designed. This research explores a methodology for creating a procedural 'timber Gothic church generator' that is generated from an understanding and interpretation of the design of the buildings examined. Once developed, the procedural generator can be used to extrapolate, and produce other church designs as well as create hybrid designs. These outputs can be further refined through the creation of parametric rules. A key result of this methodology is to explicate better otherwise ambiguous design philosophies that are shared between the similar buildings. It shows how a design can be reverse-engineered and converted into procedural logic. The research establishes the process and logic to enable the creation of further rules to be explored.