People, Place, and Spirit: Pursuing the Sacred in the Design of Built Environments
Date
2014-07-11
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Abstract
Architecture, public space and the built environment are born from our desire to make places for ourselves. Places that allow us to”dwell poetically” in the world (Heidegger 1971). There are spaces that do this well . They possess qualities which imbue a sense of belonging, they hold a rich atmosphere, and we intuitively understand them. They facilitate a connection to our inner spirit. In contemporary society, however, more often than not we encounter places that do not address our need for connection, and lack attention to a deeper level of thinking and feeling. Instead they are precipitated on the institutional, monetary, and utilitarian values which are all too common in our North American context. The result: we are surrounded by places that are superficial, are excessive, are spectacles, and our encounters with the beautiful, the poetic, and with places of delight become rarer and rarer. There is a need for meaning, connection, and interpretable design. There is a need for places which offer us an understanding of our world and allow us to connect in meaningful ways to our surroundings and ourselves.
This project argues for the introduction of moments that are impactful, unexpected, and uplifting in the sea of the everyday; moments that provide escape from the banal. Through design of the built environment we are given opportunity to provide ourselves with spaces that facilitate such encounters and create places that encourage contemplation and reflection, places that offer us a chance to connect with ourselves and our landscape, and places that speak poetically to our soul. My objective is to explore the intersection of spirituality and space using two primary research strategies: a theoretical analysis of current thinking on spirituality and space, and a case study evaluation of existing spiritually charged places. The exploration is framed by approaching the topic through a lens that combines nature, myth and sense. This tactic opens the door for an exploratory approach and allows for the intermixing of personal reflection with more open-minded observation. In seeking a precedent for spirituality and space I desired a culture rooted in wisdom traditions, and one where spirituality was deeply embedded in everyday life. Through critical reflection, photography, sketching, evaluation, and analysis this project seeks out aspects of Japanese architecture and design that consider and make room for the spiritual. These learnings are used to put forth considerations that designers, architects, and planners may return to as they seek to imbue their work with moments of beauty, and create spaces that allow for reflection, contemplation and mediation of the commonplace and the poetic.
Description
Keywords
Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts
Citation
Birch, R. A. (2014). People, Place, and Spirit: Pursuing the Sacred in the Design of Built Environments (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27284