Environmental & Architectural
Phenomenology Newsletter
Selected Reviews
|
Phyllis Richardson, 2004. New Spiritual Architecture. New York: Abbeville Press. |
Reviewed by Marc Berghaus
Architectural writer Phyllis Richardson’s New Spiritual Architecture is a beautiful coffee-table book with dozens of wonderfully photographed contemporary religious structures from around the world, all quite innovative in some way. Many of the designs are minimal-modernist or make much use of natural materials, especially wood.
Most examples are churches, mosques, and synagogues, though Richardson also includes Buddhist temples and several multi- or non-denominational spaces. She divides the book into sections based on design approach—urban interventions, rural retreats, and so forth. She provides luscious photographs of each building, along with floor plans and elevations.
I would describe Richardson’s written descriptions of the structures as “handy”—short interpretations highlighting the experience of entering the space or otherwise encountering the structure. Accompanying each design is a brief written text, though I wish there might have been more information about the architects’ intentions. I make this criticism from the standpoint of an artist who wanted to know more about the designers’ spiritual relationships to their creation, not just their professional aims. For example:
¨ Was good or innovative design the only intention (besides satisfying the client)? Or did designers consider an intended spiritual experience for those entering the space?
¨ If designing a spiritual space is creating an environment in which spiritual experience is heightened, what psychological factors did the designer have in mind?
¨ How, exactly, did the designer understand “spiritual” in the first place? Mystical? Meditative? Conducive to receiving “the Word”?
¨ How, in turn, did the designer translate that understanding into material structure and space?
¨ How did the designer relate his or her work to the history of religious architecture, not only in terms of design elements but also in terms of the intended and actual environmental effects for the users of past spaces?
What I like most about the book is its service as a springboard for thought. By providing so many contemporary examples, Richardson suggests the possibilities for spiritual architecture. In alerting us to these possibilities, she gets us to ask important questions, for example:
¨ What other possibilities are there?
¨ What should spiritual architecture be?
¨ What qualities of experience would I, as a user or designer, most want in such a space?
¨ How does a space or place become ‘sacred’ and how does one then define sacredness?
To me, the strength of this book is its breadth. While many of the buildings have been published elsewhere, Richardson’s book is the only visual survey I’ve found of so many examples of contemporary religious structures and spaces in one volume. The book was released in England as New Sacred Architecture (Laurence King Publishing). The title change makes me wonder about marketing considerations among cultures.
Marc Berghaus is a sculptor, photographer, and sound artist living in Meade, Kansas. He has exhibited his work throughout the Midwest and western United States. His art deals with issues of chance, spirituality, nature, and human perception. Examples of his work can be seen at www.marcberghaus.com.
|
|