Manual Recording by Architects Alessandro van de wiele & Sruthi Sitaraman

The building features a picturesque composition due to its harmonious yet diverse volumes. The floor plan includes a tower with a vestibule, a nave with a northern side aisle, a transverse arm, and a choir ending in a five-sided apse. The Romanesque sandstone tower, built in the 12th century, is square with four floors and was altered in the 13th century to include cross-rib vaults, larger window openings, and a spiral staircase. The ornate portal displays transitional style vaulting with enriched foliage capitals and Gothic ribs resting on corbels. The Romanesque nave, constructed simultaneously with the tower, underwent significant changes in the 17th century, including the reduction of the south aisle. The north aisle was rebuilt in the 13th century and modified again in the 17th century with the addition of a second transverse arm. The tall choir from around 1300 features slender columns, buttresses, and ribbed vaults supported by corbels and embellished keystones. The southern sacristy dates to 1786, with a restoration carried out from 1966-1967 by architect R. M. Lemaire.

Source: GENICOT LF, VAN AERSCHOT S., DE CROMBRUGGHE A., SANSEN H. & VANHOVE J. 1971: Inventory of cultural heritage in Flanders, Architecture, Province of Brabant, District of Leuven, Building through the ages 1, Liège

Phases observed: Church as Palimpsest

Phase 1: First half of the 13th Century. The church with a flat roof and a small aisle with choir and tower was built.

TOPIC BUILDING ARCHAEOLOGY: MANUAL RECORDING

Phase 2: Second half of the 13th Century. The more big Choir was built in Gothic style. The roof resembles the half umbrella supported by buttresses outside. The Gothic style at that time was playing with the width of the wall and had more rhythms with geometry.

Phase 4: During this phase, the 17th Century, Boroque wooden furnitures could be found in the Choir and the pulpit. During this time the church is said to have reconquered by the protestants and apparantly would’ve destroyed some of the furniture. The ceiling has a Neoclassical stucco detail.

Phase 3: This phase was during the mid of the 16th century. The tower was rebuilt during this phase. The lower trancept was built in Gothic style and the Architects could’ve tried to increase the height of the Romaneque Left Aisle but stopped the work because it was the time of destruction.

Phase 5: During the 19th Century, the stained Glasss window was designed by the Architects from St. Lucas school. Some of the statues and paintings could’ve been from this period. In 1940s the walls would’ve been painted with stensils in choir.

Phase 6: During this phase, Raymond Leimer would’ve done restoration works where he changed the Altar. The columns on the trancept and choir was cut to provide openings.

PLAN

Triangulation and Orthogonal Projection:

Our survey began by cutting the plan at a height of 1.45 meters. We established three reference points—A, B, and C— on three sides of the staircase entrance. From these fixed points, we marked corresponding points on the walls and steps of the spiral staircase at the same height. Using a measuring tape, we recorded the distances from points A, B, and C to each marked point on the walls and steps. These measurements formed a network of triangles, which we drafted to create an accurate plan of the staircase at the 1.45-meter level. Fig 12 shows how we marked the points.

Grid Method:

The grid method was employed to measure the door’s dimensions by dividing the surface into smaller, manageable sections using a horizontal and vertical grid. We used the grid method to get the points on the door. the grid method was used to accurately measure its dimensions. A reference grid was established over the door surface, dividing it into equal sections. Each grid square was then individually measured, ensuring that all architectural features. By breaking the structure into manageable sections, this method allowed for detailed and consistent measurements of the doorway’s plan and elevation. The grid system facilitated capturing complex curves and details, ensuring a thorough and accurate representation.

Fig 16 show how we measure the arch. We fixed two points on two ends of the Arch and marked different points on two sides of the Arch and measured from the two points A and B to triangulate. Fig 15 shows the details on the door, We measured the door details like the dimensions of the handle and lock from the grid that we drew.

Triangulation:

To measure the heights of the elevation, of the door and arches, we took the ladder as the reference point and drew a new set of reference points on the floor. We fixed points on the heights of the elevation. From the ladder and the points on the ground, we measured the points on the elevation.

DRAWINGS ELEVATION & SECTION

There is a slight tilting of wall observed by surveying the plan. This tilt could be due to the Masondry work during the construction of the staircase Deformation (Natural

Crack observed from the first and second stone step leading to the staircase. This crack could be due to the load transfer of the staircase to the stone step

The original form of the masonry is altered due to constant usage over time. The form of the staircase might also be the reason as people step on the same part of the stone

Crack (Natural Stone)

Stone)

Masonry: Stone

Limestone

Limestone

Binding material: Lime Mortar

Mortar 1

Mortar 2

Mortar 3

Cement

Finishes Components

Plaster remains Wood

Stone Stone Mortars

Mortars Plaster remains Cement

PROFILES

Capital of Arch Frame of Door

Interventions and phases observed in the staircase Legend:

Phase

Phase 2

The church in itself is observed to be a Palimpsest where there are many layers and changes in the construction and building archaeology that happened from 12th Century to 19th Century. The topic studied, access door to the tower also has a several layers of changes.

From some archival sources, like Inventory of cultural heritage in Flanders, Architecture, Province of Brabant, District of Leuven, Building through the ages 1, Liège. : Sturdy Romanesque tower made of sandstone from XII, on square plan and with four floors Noticeably changed in the middle of XIII, due to the reinforcement of the interior walls when applying cross rib vaults on the ground floor by the addition of a spiral staircase in the southwest corner, and through it opening of large deep window openings, equipped with columns decorated with shafts.

From this we know that the entrance would’ve been possibly built during the 13th century with local stone. The staircase however, has several layers of mortar, plasters, and damages. The phases have been marked from our observation in the drawings. In fig 50, the steps has two layers of stones which starts from step 1 and goes up to step 9, after step 9, there are only single stone.

Another observation is that the original arch of the entrance would’ve had a spherical element resting on the capital of the arch. From fig 51 we can see a more newer stone was added later in place of that.