This paper proposes a CIDOC CRM–based model for documenting architectural styles and periods as cultural heritage information. It builds on existing work in architectural documentation and addresses the conceptual challenges of representing architectural style within semantic frameworks. Using CIDOC CRM and its extensions, the model captures the historical contexts of architectural styles, their defining elements—illustrated through the example of Gothic architecture—and the complex spatial, temporal, and stylistic relationships among architectural traditions, including sub-styles, regional variations, and cross-influences.

1. Documenting Architectural
Styles using CIDOC- CRM
by
Michail Agathos, Eleftherios Kalogeros,
Manolis Gergatsoulis & Georgios Papaioannou
Laboratory on Digital Libraries and Electronic Publishing,
Department of Archives, Library Science and Museology
Ionian University
ICADL 2022 (online)
November 30 - December 2, 2022

2. Aims and
Objectives
• Documenting Cultural Heritage: Mayor importance in
the emerging world of digital libraries…
• CIDOC CRM ontology and its extensions: A modern
documentation tool to model (among others)
perceptions and notions associated to architecture
• Can CIDOC CRM and CIDOC CRM based models
sufficiently represent architectural styles / Periods;
• There is less on holistic ontological approaches for
architectural styles / little analysis on their entities and
properties
• Our work offers for the first time a model for
documenting architectural styles via CIDOC CRM and its
extensions.
• Providing a framework to support the documentation of
architectural styles and therefore their interpretation.
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3. Presentation Structure
1. Architectural Styles / Periods: Definitions
and Challenges in their documentation
2. The historical context of architectural
styles/periods
3. Representing specific elements that
characterize architectural style
4. The relation between architectural styles
and periods
5. Relating specific buildings (or parts of
buildings) to the architectural styles
affecting their construction
6. Conclusions & Related Work
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4. Architectural Styles – Modelling Challenges
• Numerous architectural styles define architecture all over the world, e.g. the Greek and
Roman architectural style, the Gothic, the Baroque, the neoclassical, et.c.
• Architectural Style is the cultural and artistic production of a given historical period
• Architectural styles are characterized by certain architectural elements which distinguish
them from other styles of architecture (e.g Gothic Architecture characterized by pointed
arches, rib vaults, rose windows and ornate façades )
• Complicated interrelationships between different architectural styles and approaches
(e.g. interpretations and re-interpretations, style revivals, special territorialities)
• Buildings act both as architectural instances and as architectural classification systems.
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5. Architectural Periods – Modelling Challenges
• Periods and styles flow together: Architectural movement grow from ideas and
construction techniques influenced by historical periods
• There are complex and complicated relationships between different
chronological periods and the architectural styles within them:
[subdivisions of styles with the prefixes early, middle, late, neo, proto…]
• Very common for architectural periods to appear consecutively, influencing one
another or an architectural style may be influenced by other styles from different
chronological periods
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E4 Period class: The historical period in which a specific style was developed, flourished and formed

6. 6
The historical context of an
Architectural Period

7. Historical Context of Gothic Period - An Example
The Gothic period (E4 Period) spanned a long period of history between the mid-12th century and
the 16th century (E52 Time-Span). Gothic Architectural Style (E29 Design or Procedure) originated in
the Île-de-France and Picardy regions of northern France (E53 Place). The creation of this style (E65
Creation) is attributed to Abbot Suger (1081-1151 CE) (E21 Person), one of the earliest patrons of Gothic
Architectural Style who built the Basilica Church of Saint-Denis in France, a Gothic Cathedral that acts as a
prime example of Gothic Architectural Style. In its life span, Gothic architectural style found its own name as
International Gothic (E41 Appellation), (Getty AAT (E32 Authority Document), record: 300020786 (E42
Identifier))
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8. 8
Representing Architectural
Style Elements

9. Gothic Architectural Style Elements – An Example:
Gothic Architectural Style (E29 Design or Procedure) is typically associated with achievements in the use of
stone (E57 Material) and glass (E57 Material). In the case of Gothic Architectural Style (E29 Design or
Procedure), techniques (E55 Type) such as the pointed (E29 Design or Procedure) or ogival arch (E29
Design or Procedure), the large stained glass windows (E29 Design or Procedure), the rib vaults (E29
Design or Procedure) and the flying buttresses (E29 Design or Procedure), are fundamental for its
definition. Decoration elements (E29 Design or Procedure) such as Gothic Sculpture (E55 Type), are also
important and notable features for Gothic Architectural Style (E29 Design or Procedure). The plan (E55
Type) of Gothic cathedrals and churches was usually based on the Latin cross (or cruciform) plan (E29
Design or Procedure), taken from the ancient Roman Basilica and from the later Romanesque churches.
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10. Modelling
sub-styles of an
Architectural
Style
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11. Gothic Sub – Typologies
• Early to High Gothic and Early English (E4
Period) from c.1130 to c.1240 (E52 Time-
Span)
• Rayonnant and Decorated Style (E4 Period)
from c.1240 to c.1350 (E52 Time- Span)
• Late Gothic: flamboyant and perpendicular
(E4 Period) from c.1350 to c.1500 (E52
Time-Span)
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12. influences between
Architectural Periods
due to their
temporal correlations
12

13. Temporal Correlations - An Example
The Gothic Period (E4 Period) evolved (E55 Type) from the Romanesque
architecture (E4 Period) by adopting and adapting Romanesque elements (E29
Design or Procedure) to produce a new style (E65 Creation) that featured
exaggerated arches, increased vaulting, and enlarged windows which was then
succeeded by Renaissance architecture (E4 Period). One of the most fundamental
elements of the Gothic Architectural Style, the pointed arch, was likely borrowed
from the Islamic architecture (E4 Period).
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Romanesque Renaissance
Gothic

14. A data model for
spatial Architectural
Periods relations
based on CIDOC CRM
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15. Spatial Architectural Period Relations – An Example
The Gothic Architectural Style (E29 Design or Procedure) was
not just limited to France (E53 Place). This type of ornate
architecture spread across Europe (E53 Place), finding a
foothold in Italy (E53 Place), Germany (E53 Place), Spain (E53
Place), and England (E53 Place). Though each country gave the
style its own twist (E65 Creation), international Gothic still
retains the basic elements found in France (E53 Place). A good
example of a style's revival is the Gothic Revival (E29 Design
or Procedure) (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-
Gothic, or Gothick (E41 Appellation)). It is an architectural
movement that began in the late 1740s (E52 Time-Span) in
England (E53 Place) and influenced (E55 Type) on the
medieval Gothic Architecture (E29 Design or Procedure).
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16. Relating
Buildings to
their
Architectural
Style
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17. Relating buildings to their architectural style - An Example
The Basilica of Saint- Denis (B1 Build Work), a large medieval abbey church, currently the cathedral
of the commune of Saint-Denis in Vienna, is widely considered the first structure to employ all the
elements of Gothic architecture (E29 Design or Procedure), thus a prime example of the Gothic
period (E4 Period). On the other hand, St. Stephen's Cathedral (B1 Build Work) in Vienna is a
combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles (E29 Design or Procedure). The exterior (B2
Morphological Building Section) of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna (B1 Build Work) is an
amalgamation of Romanesque and Gothic Architectural Styles (E29 Design or Procedure) while its
Towers (B2 Morphological Building Section) on the west front of the cathedral are inspired by
Romanesque Style (E29 Design or Procedure).
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© Bwag
Romanesque Style
Gothic Style / Prime Example Gothic + Romanesque Style
© Bwag

18. A Complete
Example
Gothic
Architecture
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19. Conclusions &
Future Work
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• This work has modelled the way that
architectural styles and periods interact,
forming human-built historic environments
• We working towards an automated CRM-based
system for modeling architectural styles
• Addressing further relevant semantics for the
types of relationships in architectural styles
• Ongoing Research: We aim to study specific
architectural style cases: including vernacular
architecture / fortifications

20. Thank you!!
20
and do not hesitate to
contact us!
Michail Agathos, Eleftherios
Kalogeros, Manolis Gergatsoulis &
Georgios Papaioannou
[gpapaioa@ionio.gr]