ABSTRACT

The sacred place was, and still is, an intermediate zone created in the belief that it has the ability to co-join the religious aspirants to their gods. An essential means of understanding this sacred architecture is through the recognition of its role as an ‘in-between’ place. Establishing the contexts, approaches and understandings of architecture through the lens of the mediating roles often performed by sacred architecture, this book offers the reader an extraordinary insight into the forces behind these extraordinary buildings.

Written by a well-known expert in the field, the book draws on a unique range of cases, reflecting on these inspiring places, their continuing ontological significance and the lessons they can offer today. Fascinating reading for anyone interested in sacred architecture.

chapter 1|13 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|15 pages

The Middle Ground of Interpretation

Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, and the Sensory Experience of Architecture

chapter 3|10 pages

Practices of Connection

Applications of Transcendentalist and Buddhist Philosophies

chapter 4|22 pages

Mediating Elements

Symbolism, Religion, and the In-Between

chapter 5|19 pages

Symbolic Engagements

The Media of Architecture

chapter 6|23 pages

Earth and Sky

Place and Primordial Architecture

chapter 7|29 pages

The Sacred Path and Place

Spatial Sequences and Symbolic Narratives

chapter 8|35 pages

Ordering the World

Means and Meanings of Proportion and Geometry

chapter 9|45 pages

Perfected Worlds

Cosmograms and Connections

chapter 10|15 pages

Conclusion

chapter 11|4 pages

Closing Thoughts

Personal Experiences of Place