The characteristics of Gothic Architecture attempt to spread the weight of heavy stone walls. One of the characteristics of gothic architecture was its height. Building techniques (such as the flying buttress, detailed below) spread the weight of taller walls and loftier towers. This all meant that gothic buildings could scale heights. It allowed them to reach up to the heavens - perfect for cathedrals and churches. The Gothic style the general of elaborate stone window tracery. The Gothic style the general of elaborate stone window tracery. This style was characterized by the application of increasingly elaborate geometrical decoration to the structural forms that had been established.
Skilled use of buttressing, especially of flying buttresses, made it possible to build taller buildings and to open up the intervening wall spaces to create larger windows.