Gothic > Architecture > Intro

The most common feature of Gothic architecture is the pointed arch, as opposed to the rounded arch of Neoclassical architecture. This is the feature of medieval cathedrals such as Notre Dame which give those buildings their high, vaulted ceilings and corresponding sense of reaching to the heavens—or of creating dark, spooky spaces in the ceilings for bats and gargoyles, depending on your point of view. Eighteenth-century Gothic interiors used the arch not only as a structural principle (in doorways and windows or in load-bearing positions), but also as a decorative one, for example to frame bookcases or other elements of interior design. Stained glass windows were another way to say “Gothic” in eighteenth-century architecture.