# Interior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, French]() - Date: 1251-1300 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The choir of the Tournai Cathedral was constructed between 1243 and 1255 by an anonymous architect. Since he was not building a completely new cathedral but was merely extending the old Romanesque building with a new choir, the architect had little space at his disposal for the choir. Therefore he chose the ground plan of the cathedral of Soissons, which requires only a small area for the choir. Thus the straight chapels are situated flat between the buttresses while the radiating chapels, to save space, are drawn together with the ambulatory under one vault. However, the chapels are no longer independent spaces, but instead are parts of an area created by the undulating exterior wall of the ambulatory, an arrangement that creates an unusually spacious impression. The photo shows the choir. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/zzzarchi/13c/2/2/tournai.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">ground plan</a> of Tournai Cathedral. ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Bird's eye view]() - [Burial lantern]() - [Castle]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()