program first iteration

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As the lightmoves overheadit inuences thespace. However,as this is

a chapel withno specic program the timedoesn’thave any program toengagedwith andinuenceother than thelight. Insteadthe lightanditsrelationshipto time wouldinteract with thematerial andspace.Thi s allows

lightinteracts with thespace andmaterial in a completelyabstractmanner--which thenbegets theissueof a mediating force in the building bywhich to

make decisions.Also as I currentlyseem to be treading a ne line with ab-straction,andit’s notmyinitial intentionto go in thatdirection.I wouldlike it

ifthe lightinteracted with the building in a waythatis relatable for the visitor. Therefo re I th ink i t needs to be put in mo re hu-

m an te rm s a nd u se d i n a l es s a bs tr ac t w ay .

Also if the chapel truly has no program other than a space for light,people wouldhave to v is it it completelyof their own accord. Ide-

ally, theywouldvis it often to studyandmeditate bythe reective andspir itual nature ofthe light. But lets behonest,I absolutelycan’t dic-

tatethat. Thereis very little to go by(exceptmy omagination andna-ivete) that wouldmake it believable thatsomeone would come to the

building multiple times in the year and stay for long periods during theday. There needs to more ofa desirable human draw to the building.

There needsto be apurpose.

In myown preconceptions ofmybuilding as a chapel, the orientation and view ofthatcome withthe siteworkquite well. The overriding issue I’m run-

ning into,though,is why wouldpeople travel upa mountain to getthere?It’s notexactlya placeyou couldfeasiblystumble upon byaccident. In fact,

it is a destination. So with myprogram missing a “draw”,so to speak,itdoesn’tresonablyworkas a destination,andtherebydoesn’tworkin the site.

I’m torn though. I love the idea ofit simply being a destination, a point

of discoverythat a curious visitor could stumble upon. There’s something veryromantic about the idea ofthat. Or perhaps it couldbe

viewedas anabandoned relic. Something thatseems to be forgotten,butyour discoveryof the place makes itimportantandsacredto you.

I don’ t know. I have mo re romant ic and general ly cra-

zy ideas about how I would want the vis itor to v iew the build-ing. Hell, the more ridiculous the better. Goddamnit, I like it.

The program ofthe house doesn’tnecessarilydictate an aspectofti me on

an annual sense. Yes,there commonly are activities (holidays,festivities,etc.),that take place within a house,whose timing is determinedon a cal-

endar year. However,theydon’t particularlyinuence or change the actualprogrammatic use ofthe space. Therefore I feel comfortable asserting that

there is little calendar-basedritual associatedwith the program ofthe house.

However,in the dailyaspectof time,there is a lotof programmatic ritual as-sociatedwith the house,especiallywhen you consider the dailyactivities of

its inhabitants. In this regard,the activities/rituals ofan inhabitantthrough-outa day in their lives can be usedas a mediating force bywhich to judge

andmake decis ions aboutthe movementof lightand how it should/ shouldnot interactwith the space. IfI were to go this route I wouldlike to

developa narrative ofthe inhabitantthat describes his life throughouta day.

I thinkit is safe to state thatthe inhabitants wouldspenda least some partofeach dayattheir house.Therefore, theywould have the opportunitytoobserve the changes ofl ightthroughout the year,on dailyintervals. The

one issue I can forsee with this is thatwhen viewed on such a regular ba-sis,observation can go outthe window. This happens because changes

are particularlyminute from dayto day. Itmay simplybe more effective ifthelightis viewedon a slightlyl ess constantbasis,such as weeklyor monthly.

On the other hand, this daily interaction would provide numer-

ous opportunities to study the light throughout the day, as the likeli-hoodof the inhabitant spending a signicantamount of time atthe

house increases by the fact that they are there everyday. Also,

with the house as a place of relaxation and retreat the inhabit-ant wouldbe a in position to actuallyspend time studying the light.

With regardto the site, with the building as a house,it is a tad outofthe way.But I still think it is v iable. While the topof the mountain

seems to be far from civ ilization,it is in reality less than ten min-utes from the city. Also, as itis a house itprovides a permanentvis-

itor--its inhabitant--so there is no concern for a programmatic “draw.”

In a romantic, poetic sense, I think the house’s interaction with the site could be quite beautiful. The site’s separation from the city could create a sancutary from the everyday.

It wouldprovide a place of personal solitude andreection.

Time is veryimportantin the Catholic Church.Their daily,weekly,monthly,

andannual rituals are basedoffofa strictliturgical calendar thatdictates ev-erything. The greatthing aboutthe liturgical calendar is its close relationship to the solar calendar andthe solstices. With major religious festivals focused

aroundthese importanttimes in the solar year,people wouldbe drawn to thebuilding attimes where theycouldobserve the greatestextremes ofthe l ight.

Also, having weekly Sunday mass would bring people to the space

regularlyto view the light,but notso regularlythat the changes wouldgounnoticed(as I pointedout in mywritings aboutthe program ofa house).

I thinksome research into the aspectof length in the religious ceremonies,masses,feasts,and holidays to see how long I couldpretty much guaran-

tee visitors to stayin the space couldbe important,or at leastinteresting.

I’m particularly drawn to this program because the litugrical

calendarand the daily timing of the massesgivesme a very strict,concrete mediating force by which to judge andutil ize the light.

In terms ofvisitors andtheir length ofstay--the clergyand the more ac- tively involvedmembers will probablyspenda far amountof time each

weekatthe church. Members thatattendregularlywouldgo everySun-daymorning. Finally,those who attendthe leastoften can at leastbegenerallycounted on for Christmas/Easter. The building would have a

steadystream of visitors one wayor anything--particularly on Sundays.

I like the distance and solitude the site I’ve chosen would provide achurch. This separation from civilization wouldgive an opportunityto re-

charge from the hassles ofdaily life andre-heal before stepping outandbeing greetedby the v iew ofall of Ronaoke. I also enjoythe poetic

nature ofentry anddeparture that this site wouldgive. Like the house,it’s not too outof the way, butthere is denitelya journeyof sorts to

get there. Visitors wouldtravel up the mountain andthen approach thechurch bywalking down the hillside. I think this process or journeyreally

adds to the feeling ofseparation andsolitude that the site couldgive.

The fundamental aspectof a sculpture gallerycontaining art is thatis a

thoughtful place where one goes to reect. Therefore itmakes sense thatsomeone wouldspend a far amountof time inside a sculpture

galleryand in doing so have an opportunityto grasp the change of lightthroughout the day.A sculpture galleryalso allows for a relatively

abstractentitythatthe lightcan interactwith. The change oflightcanbe readnot onlyin its interaction with the building,but also through its

interaction with the sculpture. However,there is the worrythat then thebuilding will become specicallyaboutthe sculpture andnotabout the

light.

The other issue with a sculpture galleryis thatI have little expectation that

a visitor wouldcome backmultiple ti mes during the year to studythelight. Perhaps with a basic incentive,like a changing ofsculpture on a

weeklyor monthlybasis itwouldbring backvis itors. ButI still thinkit is a tadunrealistic to expect a visitor to come backenough during the year

thatthey couldgrasp the importantannual changes in light.Nor is there a wayto guarantee thatthey will come backat the important times ofthe

year. As I statedpreviously the visitors wouldneed a draw,l ike a regu-larlychanging exhibition,to come backoften throughoutthe year.But

then I enter into a whole new worldofimplications about whether thereshouldbe a directlydesignedrelationship between the sculpture andits

place ofexhibition. Myinitial instinctis to saythat,yes,there shouldbe.Butof course it’s completelyunreasonable expandmy thesis to include

12,36, or 52 sculptures—I simplywould no have the time to do itany kindof justice,and itseems verywrong to leave something so important

in limbo.

As a sculpture gallery,this site provides the building enough seclusionandseparation to make itspecial anddifferent, andmore ofa journeyor

destination. Also the program ofa sculpture gallery provides the draw the getpeople to come upthe mountain andvis it. Atleastonce,thatis. As obviouslyevidencedabove, I’m running into a problem with bringing

people backto experience the change in light..

I supposethe nextquestion, then,is whatarethose mediating factors thatI mentionedearlier? Whatis thearrangementfound inthe liturgical calen-dar andin thetiming ofmass eachweek? Thenthe obvious nextquestion

is how canI usethem as an opportunityto denotespaceinthechurch?

I’ll beginwiththestructureofmass. WesternCatholictraditionutilizes theRomanRite,whichcanbe foundintwo forms--thepost-1969editionsofthe RomanMissal (Mass ofPaul VI) and the1962 RomanMissal (Tri-

dentineMass). TheTridentineMass currently in useis the mostrecenteditionofthe traditional Latinmass putinuseby PopePius Vin1570. In

2007 PopeBenedict issueda motupropiro stating thatthe Mass ofPaul VI is to be consideredthe standardform andthe TridentineMass shouldbeconsideredtheextraordinaryform. Inkeeping withthis decisionI think

I will go aheadanddenotethatthe Mass ofPaul VI will bethestructureI will use as a mediating force. Therearesome verystrong similarities

between thesetwo forms, enough thatsomeonelike me doesn’tre-allyrecognizemuch ofa differencebetweenthe two aside from a few prayers hereand there andt heobvious languagedifference. However,

I thinkit is importantto str ictlydeterminewhichoneis in useif I’m going to utilize itas such animportantfactor inmydecisions aboutthe light.

The s tructure o f the Mass of Paul VI is set up by a docu-

m en t p ro du ce d i n 1 96 9 a pt l y e nt it l ed , “ Ge ne ra l I n st ru c- t ion o f the Roman Missa l. ” I t o rgan iz es mass as such:

Thereis some debate about how long mass is supposedto last. Theseopinions from theologians varyfrom halfan hour to an hour,with

a general acknowledgement that 15 to 20 minutes is absurdlyshort.

There are quite a few stipulations abouthow manymasses may be per-formedeach day. Mass may be performedonce on normal weekdays,

butit is notrequired. With permission from the Local Ordinary,it may be performedup to two times on weekdays. Two masses are permit-

tedon normal Sundays,but again,permission maybe obtainedto hold three. On All Souls’ Dayand Christmas mass maybe performedthree

times and it also maybe performedtwice on Easter andHolyThurs-day. The onlydaymass is notpermitted atall is GoodFriday. How-

ever,on GoodFriday communion is still distributed,but the communionhas to have been consecratedthe evening before, on HolyThursday.

However,on normal weekdays the one mass that is permitted is not

required. Clergy members are insteadrequired to celebrate the Lit-urgyof Hours on a dailybasis. The Liturgy ofHours is mostlycom-

prised of psalms along with some hymns andreadings and is sup-posedto be recitedat the canonical hours. These canonical hours are

basedoff oftwo major historic precedents andit is up to the clergyof each church to decide which one theywill follow. The Traditional Ro-man Breviary, instituted in the fth centuryhas the following schedule:

The other precedentwas createdbyPope Paul VI and has the followingstructure (which focuses on three major hours andtwo to four minor hours):

I’m unsure ofwhich version ofthe Roman Breviaryto follow. I’m drawn

to the fact thatthe traditional Breviaryhas fair lyxedhours that dictate when these prayers are supposedto take place. I ,so far, can’t ndanywhere that states exactlywhen the prayers dictated by the Pope

Paul VI Breviaryare supposed to take place other than their reference to words like Matins,Lauds, and Vespers--which refer to times ofday

like earlymorning--andaren’tparticularlyspecic. I’m a bitconcernedabout inferring specicitywhere it isn’texplicitly stated butI don’tthink

it’s unreasonable to assume thatfor example Matins will always takeplace atmidnight and Vespers will always take place around6 pm

(as iti s explicitlystated in the older version ofthe Roman Breviary).

The liturgical calendar is an obvious factor in the wayti me is usedi n

the Catholic Church and will be a strong mediating factor in my use oflight. The dates of manyof the feasts notedwithin the liturgi-

cal calendar change from year to year (theyare typically basedoff of the moving date ofEaster). However,this change is relatively min-

ute as Easter only moves within the extents of about a month.

The Eastern Orthodoxand the Western use differentversions ofthe liturgical calendar. One of the major differences is that the ChurchNew Year in the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar takes place on

September 1st,insteadof on the rstSundayof Advent--as foundin the Western liturgical calendar. Of course there are others, but I

don’t want to waste my time discussing the differences and rambling.

Moving on,I will be using the Western calendar based off of the Ro-man Rite of the Catholic Church. As I previously stated, this liturgi-

cal calendar begins with the rstSunday of Advent, when the churchis preparing for Christmas. This begins a year of liturgical seasons

that starts with Advent, followed by Christmas,then OrdinaryTime(also known as the Time after the Epiphany),Lent, Easter, and nal-

ly Ordinary Time (this one is also known as the Time after Pentecost).Even within the Roman Rite ofthe Catholic Church there are differentliturgical

calendars. As I previouslystated, Pope BenedictXVI’s Summorum Ponti-cum establishedan “ordinary”form ofthe Roman Rite in 2007 andthis rite

has a slightlydifferent liturgical calendar from thatoft he “extraordinary”Tri-dentineRite. In lightofthe factthatI am using the “normal”form ofthe Roman

Rite, I will be employing the mostrecent version ofthe liturgical calendar.

In myuse of light the solstices are the most important annual solar in-stances thatI will be marking,as they representthe extremes ofthe light.One ofthe things thatI noted earlier aboutthe liturgical calendar is its

close association with the lunar calendar (for example,Easter is set on

the rst Sunday after the vernal equinox--which the Church has rather idealisticallyset to March 21st). The close association between the solar andlit urgical calendars is also because ofthe attempt to convertpagans

in the earlier days of the Christianity. This conversion involvedadopt-ing the dates ofthe pagan’s religious rituals for a means ofadaptation.

For this reason, Christmas is basedaround the winter solstice and theEve ofthe FeastofSt. John the Baptist is heldaroundthe time ofthe

summer solstice (andalso includes the pagan tradition ofl ighting largebonres). On a side note,when I initiallyreadof the Feast ofSt. John

the Baptist, I was confusedby whata big deal it was because,hon-estly, I hadnever heardof it. But I latter learned thatwhile the Feast

ofSt. John isn’ta particularly famous holidayin the UnitedStates,it is verypopular in Scandinavian andportions ofeastern Europe. Fun fact.

The feast involves burning, playing with, and jumping over bonres, which sounds pretty awesome in my opinion.

Another factor thatmay become important in the development ofmy design are the major interior aspects ofCatholic Churches that are nec-

essaryt o celebrate the liturgy. I want to be able to address andre-spectthese traditions within the Catholic Church in my own building and

use them as inuential elements. From myresearch there are quite afew ofthese traditional liturgical elements that are importantto include:

There are other historical architectural features thatare traditionallyfoundin

churches. While I mayor maynotfully take use these in myown architec- ture I thinkit’s important to have an understanding ofthe typologyofchurch-

es. Mycurrent leaning is to give atleast a hintofthis historical typologyas

it reallyis, in myeyes,what denote a church as a church. These impor- tanttypological elements basely include,butare notdenitely limitedto:

The Introductory Rites

T h e En t r an c eG re e t i n g o f t h e A l t a r T h e A c t o f P e n i t e n c e T h e Ky r i e E l e i son

T h e G l o r i a T h e Co l l e c t

The Liturgy of the WordSilence

T h e B i b l i c a l Re ad i n gs

T h e Re spon so r i a l P sa lm T h e H om i l y

The Profession of Faith The Prayer of the Faithful The Liturgy of the Eucharist The Preparation of the Gifts The Prayer over the Offerings T h e Eu c h ar i s t i c P r aye r

T h e Com m u n i on R i t e T h e Lo r d ’ s P r aye r T h e R i t e o f P e ac e

T h e F r ac t i o nRe c e p t i o n o f Com m u n i on

The Concluding Rites

Matins ( du ri ng t he n ig ht , a t m id ni gh t)L au ds o r D aw n P ra ye r ( at D aw n, o r 3 a .m .)

Prime orEarly Morning Prayer (FirstHour = approximately6 a.m.) Terce orMid-Morning Prayer (ThirdHour = approximately9 a.m.)Sext or Midday Prayer (Sixth Hour = approximately12 noon)None orMid-AfternoonPrayer (Ninth Hour = approximately3 p.m.) Vespers or Evening Prayer(g en er a ll y a t 6 p.m .)

Compline orNight Prayer (beforeret ir ing, general lyat 9 p.m.)

O f f i c e o f R e a d i n g s ( f o rm e r l y M at i n s ) , m a j o r h ou r L a u d s o r M o r n i n g p r a y e r , m a j o r h ou r D a y t i m e p r a y e r (T e r c e o r M i d -M o rn -i n g P r aye r /Se x t o r M i dday P r aye r )

N o n e o r M i d - A f t e r n o o n P r a y e r , m i n o r h ou r

V e sp e r s or E ve n i ng Pr a ye r, m a j o r h ou r C o m p l i n e o r N i g h t P r a y e r , m i n o r h ou r

Cathedra: the bishop’s throne, since the Second Vatican Council movedthe altar to a standing altar,it is locatedbehindthe altar,as it was in ancientRoman basilicas

Altar: historicallylocated on the east end, freestanding since the SecondVaticanCouncil,placed in what is known as the “chancel,”a ropedoff partof the sanctuary Credence table: placed in the south side of the sanctuary, known as the epis- tle, it is usedan a side table for objects usedin the celebration of the EucharistLavabo: the basin where the priest washes h is hands be-

fore the celebration of the Eucharist, can be located near the altar Sacrarium: basin placednear the altar,used for the washing ofcommunion vessel Altarrai ls: denotes the chancel,the space in the sanctuarythat contains the altar Tabernacle:lockedbox usedfor reservedconsecratedEucharist,itis to either be locatedin an appropriate chapel or in the sanctuary,but notnear the altar used for celebration

Choir: locatedbeyondthe pointof the crossing in the bodyof the church,to-

wards the East End (can be hidden behind an ornate wooden screen)Organ:may be locatedwith the choir behinda screen or above the choir in the transeptLectern: p la ce d n ea r t he E as t E nd i n t he n av ePulpit: also placed near the East End in the nave, used for the sermonBaptismal font: near the door to signifyan entrance into the communityof the church

Stations of the cross: series of fourteen sculpture or imag-es designed to lead the observer through a spiritual pilgrimage of prayer Pews: bench seating facing the altar that are found in the nave ofthe church, were not a staple until the rise of the sermon in the Protestant ReformationCrucix: placed upon the altar as its principal ornamentCandles: placed on or beside the altar for the celebration of mass

Confessional: enclosedbooth usedfor confession, separates and visuallyobscures the priestfrom the penitent,may be freestanding or built into the walls ofthe church

The Nave: longitudinal central aisle with two lower aisles or one lower aisle

and a row of chapels on e ither side--t radit ional ly separated by an arcade The Transept: c r ea t es th e so c a ll e d “a rm s ” o f t h e c hu r ch The Crossing: t he m ee ti ng o f t ra ns ep t a nd t he n av e,can be marked by a small spire or dome cal led a eche The Facade: most often at the west front it can inc lude three proces-sional doors, a large window, and paired towers that frame the facade

East End: u sua l ly c ont a in s t h e a l ta r an d h as u n de r - wen t a s ig n i c an t am ou n t o f c han ge fr om pe ri o d t o pe ri o Axis: h istor ical ly, some churches have emphasized an east, westaxis with the altar pointed east (towards the coming of Christ ); th is is not a feature found in al l churches, (particu lar ly Rome) ;e ven so , t h e te rms Eas t End an d Wes t F r on t a r e use d t o desc ri be

t he lo c at i on of t h e a l ta r an d t he e nt rBelfry: bell tower thatcalls the worshippers to the church and denotes the time

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