DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION OF GAUDÍ'S LOST SOUNDING BOARD IN MALLORCA CATHEDRAL Albert Samper Sosa, David Moreno-García, Blas Herrera Gómez Ega Revista De Expresion Grafica Arquitectonica, 2026 In 1901, Antoni Gaudí was commissioned to restore the liturgical elements of Mallorca Cathedral. Among his contributions was the design of a distinctive sounding board for the main pulpit, composed of three paraboliclooking surfaces. Although declared a Historic Monument, the structure was demolished in 1970, leaving only a sketch by Le Corbusier and a few historic photographs as evidence. Based on this limited documentation, this paper presents a digital and geometrical reconstruction of the sounding board using a methodological approach that combines analytical and descriptive geometry with digital modelling tools. The study focuses on reconstructing the geometric logic behind Gaudí’s design, particularly the parabolic surfaces, through a parabolic fitting method. This process enables a better understanding of the original form and proportions, while recovering a lost element of Gaudí’s architectural legacy through a rigorous and systematic reconstruction effort.
Study of the Effects Created by the Sunlight Passing Through the Rose Windows of Mallorca Cathedral Albert Samper, David Moreno-García, Blas Herrera Nexus Network Journal, 2024 This paper shows the light effects and geometric alignments created by the sunlight passing through the stained glasses of the eastern rose window in Mallorca Cathedral and projecting on the inner side of the cathedral's main façade and on the cathedral's floor. As well as providing more accurate information about these already known light effects, this paper makes use of laser scanning techniques and astronomical and geographical concepts in order to graphically display other novel effects which occur in coincidence with certain religious festivities throughout the year.
Study on the Mechanical Capacity and Structural Relevance of a Flying Buttress Through the Analysis of a Particular Case Albert Samper, Rodrigo Martín-Sáiz, David Moreno-García International Journal of Architectural Heritage, 2024 A flying buttress serves an aesthetic purpose and two technical purposes. In particular, it helps to drain rainwater from the roof and also plays a structural role. The aesthetic and drainage functions can be determined visually and with the help of several bibliographical references. On the contrary, in order to assess the structural function a rigorous mechanical study must be carried out. Starting from the mechanical capacity of a flying buttress, this paper presents a method to determine its relevance and influence on the structural behaviour of the cathedral.
Light Effects of the Rose Windows in Mallorca Cathedral Albert Samper, David Moreno, Blas Herrera Nexus Network Journal, 2023 This research shows the light effects and geometric alignments created by the sunlight passing through the stained glasses of the Eastern rose window in Mallorca cathedral and projecting on the inner side of the cathedral’s main façade. Besides, we show other novel effects which occur in coincidence with certain religious festivities.
GRAPHICAL PROJECTION OF THE DAILY ORBIT OF THE STAR SIRIUS ON THE PAVEMENT OF SAINT PETER’S SQUARE European Journal of Science and Theology, 2023
On the Inclination of a Flying Buttress Arch Albert Samper, Rodrigo Martín-Sáiz, Blas Herrera Nexus Network Journal, 2022 Historically in architecture, the inclination of a flying buttress arch is determined as the amplitude of the angle that spans between the horizontal straight line and the straight line connecting the two ends of the arch’s lower edge. Nonetheless, this inclination does not represent the entire flyer, but at most only its lower edge. Therefore, using techniques based on geometrical and mechanical criteria, applied to twenty flyer arches belonging to twelve flying buttresses from several European Gothic cathedrals, we present a new proposal for a definition of inclination which represents the entire arch.
Acoustic simulation of the Central Hall in Palau GÜELL by GAUDÍ , Genaro González, Albert Samper, , Blas Herrera, and Architecture and Engineering, 2021 Introduction: Quadric surfaces are commonly used in buildings due to their geometric ability to distribute and focus sound waves. The Central Hall in Palau Güell — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — is topped by an ellipsoidal dome. Antoni Gaudí envisaged this room as a concert hall where the organ and the dome play a lead role. Methods: The two previously mentioned elements are the main subject of our paper, which serves two purposes: 1) determining the values of the acoustic parameters of the hall through onsite measurement and also through simulation, and 2) using the geometric parameters of the quadric surface, which best fits the dome, in order to check whether it is possible to improve the acoustics of the hall by placing a new emission source at the focus of the dome’s ellipsoid. Results and Discussion: Contrary to the authors’ expectations, due to the focal reflection properties of the quadric surface, some acoustic parameters on the listening plane do not improve significantly. Therefore, we conclude that Gaudí took the acoustical impact into account when designing this hall.
Flow analysis of a set of ornamental chimney caps designed by Antoni Gaudí Albert Samper, Jordi Iglesias, Blas Herrera, Jordi Pallares Heritage Science, 2020 We analyzed theoretically and experimentally the performance of the 19 different ornamental caps of the individual chimneys located on the terrace of Palau Güell (Barcelona, Spain) designed by Antoni Gaudí. This set of chimney caps has wide range of external geometries and different number and shapes of openings. Models of the chimney caps were obtained using photogrammetry and 3D printing. Wind tunnel measurements of the pressure inside the stack pipe connected to the cap were performed for different external and stack flow velocities. Two distinct orientations of the external flow with respect to the chimneys were considered. We derived a simple theoretical model, based on the potential flow theory, to relate the non-dimensional pressure reduction in the stack (chimney draft) with the ratio between the external and stack flow velocities. It has been found that the behavior of the chimneys caps predicted by this model is in agreement with the measurements. It has been found that the performance of the chimneys depends mainly on the number of supports of the conical cover of the cap and it is essentially independent on the shape of the cap and on the number and geometry of the openings located on the cap. These conclusions obtained for this particular set of chimneys can be useful for the design of caps for ornamental or general use.
