sacred spaces
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Sacred Spaces by Jeff GreeneTRANSCRIPT
Sacred Spaces
By Jeff Greene
About Me
• Studied under the Fresco Scholarship at the Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture
• Has led large scale restoration, conservation, and new designs in sacred spaces for the last 35 years
• Studies from ancient texts and old masters
• World traveler
What makes a Sacred Space?
The goal of sacred architecture is to make “transparent the boundary between matter and mind, flesh and spirit”
-Architect Norman L. Koonce
• Sacred: From the Latin word, Sacrum, referring to the gods
• Sanctum: Latin for “set apart”• That which is worthy of veneration
What makes a Sacred Space?
Language and Grammar of Design• Universal Principles Exist• Harmonious Elements Transcend Culture• Paradise Represented on Earth• Principals are Timeless• Quality of Craftsmanship• Temporal and Cultural Shifts
What makes a Sacred Space?
Aesthetic Moment:• Revelatory• Relational • Evoking Emotional Response
Mount Sinai, Egypt
Ayers Rock, Australia
Devils Tower, Wyoming
Pech Merle, France25,000 B.C. – 16,000 BC
Our Lady of Lourdes, France1858
Pak Ou Caves, Luang Prabang, Laos
Pak Ou Caves, Luang Prabang, Laos
Newgrange, IrelandStone Age
How can we understand these spaces?
Multifarious Manifestations of Experiencing the Sacred
• Monumentality• Awe• Contemplation• Reverence• Intimacy• Introspection• Mysteriousness• Humility• Harmony• Order
How can we understand the basic principles?
• Careful Visual Study• Training to See These Elements• Application Across Different “Languages” of
Design• Studying History of Styles• Context and Syntax
What are the building blocks?
Principles:• Balance• Contrast• Movement• Emphasis• Pattern• Rhythm• Proportion• Unity
Elements:• Line• Value• Shape• Form• Space• Color• Texture
Color Theory
Psychological Effect of Color
• Contrast• Harmony• Atmospheric
Perspective• Symbolism
How can we understand these principles?
Vernacular vs. Classical
Church of Kish, Shaki, Azerbaijan1st Century, AD
Yeşil Türbe (Green Mosque), Shrine of Rumi, Konya, Turkey1274
Shrine of Shams Tabrizi1248
Mosque of Uqba, Kairouan, Tunisia670 A.D.
Mosque of Uqba, Kairouan, Tunisia670 A.D.
Samarkand, Uzbekistan12th Century
Vank Cathedral, Isfahan, Iran1606-1664
Agiou Pavlou (Saint Paul’s) Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece980 A.D.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, New York, NY1933, Kerr Rainsford
Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow, Russia1561, Barma and Postnik Yakovlev
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Tamil Nadu, India1655
Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia9th Century
White TaraTsering Phuntsok
Royal BhutaneseTemple, Bodhgaya, Bihar, India
Round Roof Interior: Forbidden City Temple, Beijing, China
Temple: Taipei, Taiwan
Delphi, Mount Parnassus, Greece4th Century BC, Trophonios and Agamedes
House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus, Turkey33-100 A.D., Discovered 1881 by Abbe Julien Gouyet via Anne Catharine Emmerich’s visions
The Cathedral Effect
“[There is] a relationship between the perceived height of a ceiling and cognition. High ceilings promote abstract thinking
and creativity. Low ceilings promote concrete and detail-oriented thinking.”
Lidwell, William, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler. Universal Principles of Design. Berverly, MA: Rockport, 2010. Print. P.38
• Vertical Height: Cognition of abstract concepts
• Longitudinal space: Procession and return of sacramental acts
• Auditorium space: Suggestive of proclamation and response
• Communal space: Return determined by intimacy of scale
Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France1194-1250
ModernNew Forms for Sacred Space
La Sagrada Familia1882, Antoni Gaudi
Unity Temple, Oak Park, IL1908, Frank Lloyd Wright
Bahá'í House of Worship, Chicago, IL 1920-1953, George Fuller & Louis Bourgeois
Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland1937, Guðjón Samúelsson
Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik, Iceland1937, Guðjón Samúelsson
Washington D.C. Temple, Kensington, MD1974, Spencer W. Kimball
Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, CA1981, Philip Johnson
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, CA2002, Rafael Moneo
Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA2008, Craig W. Hartman (Skidmore, Owings, and Meril)
EverGreene’s Work
Dura EuroposReplica at the Jewish Museum
300 B.C.
Western Wall, Jerusalem
Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit
Historic PreservationBuildings as Vessels for Memory
Grace ChurchBrooklyn, NY
Architect: Richard UpjohnDate: 1848
Grace Church, Brooklyn, NYInvestigation of 1866 Decoration
Grace Church, Brooklyn, NY
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. Floriated Ornament: A Series of Thirty-one Designs.London: H.G. Bohn, 1849. Print.
Grace Church, Brooklyn, NY
Grace Church, Brooklyn, NY
Garden of Eden
Eldridge Street Synagogue, New York, NYPeter and Francis Herter; 1887
Eldridge Street SynagoguePatrick Charles Keely; 1887
Eldridge Street Synagogue, New York, NYPeter and Francis Herter; 1887
Eldridge Street Synagogue, New York, NYStained Glass Artist: Kiki Smith
St. Francis Xavier New York, NYPatrick Charles Keely; 1887
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Albany, NYPatrick Charles Keely; 1848
St. Joseph’s Wheeling, WVEdward Weber; 1926
RenewalHistorical Recreations
Dome Design Illustration
Sacramento Cathedral Sacramento, CABrian J. Klinch; 1889
Decorative Painting on Canvas in
EverGreene’s New York Studio
Sacramento Cathedral Sacramento, CABrian J. Klinch; 1889
Sacramento Cathedral Sacramento, CABrian J. Klinch; 1889
Baptism
Reconciliation
PenanceConfession
Holy Eucharist
Confirmation
Matrimony
Holy Orders
Extreme Unction
Consider the building’s symbolism and liturgical use
Webber, F. R. Church Symbolism; An Explanation of the More Important Symbols of the Old and New Testament, the Primitive, the Mediaeval and the Modern Church. Cleveland: J.H. Jansen, 1938. Print. Sacramento Cathedral Sacramento, CA
Brian J. Klinch; 1889
Sacramento Cathedral Sacramento, CABrian J. Klinch; 1889
Sacramento Cathedral, Sacramento, CABrian J. Klinch; 1889
Anshe Emeth, New Brunswick, NJAlexander Merchant; 1930
Anshe Emeth, New Brunswick, NJAlexander Merchant; 1930
Brooklyn Tabernacle (Previously The Loew’s Metropolitan Theater), Brooklyn, NYThomas W. Lamb; 1918
Brooklyn Tabernacle (Previously The Loew’s Metropolitan Theater), Brooklyn, NYThomas W. Lamb; 1918
Brooklyn Tabernacle (Previously The Loew’s Metropolitan Theater), Brooklyn, NYThomas W. Lamb; 1918
Brooklyn Tabernacle (Previously The Loew’s Metropolitan Theater), Brooklyn, NYThomas W. Lamb; 1918
New DesignThe Craftsmanship Still Exists
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Santa Paula, CADuncan Stroik Architecture; 2009
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Santa Paula, CAEverGreene Plaster Studio
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Santa Paula, CADuncan Stroik Architecture; 2009
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Santa Paula, CADuncan Stroik Architecture; 2009
Church of the Nativity Leawood, KSShaughnessy, Fickel, & Scott; 1986
Church of the Nativity Leawood, KS
EverGreene’s Design
Church of the Nativity Leawood, KSShaughnessy, Fickel, & Scott; 1986
Church of the Nativity Leawood, KSShaughnessy, Fickel, & Scott; 1986
Church of the Nativity Leawood, KSShaughnessy, Fickel, & Scott; 1986
Prince of Peace Kearney, NEEverGreene’s Design
Prince of Peace Kearney, NEEverGreene’s Painting Studio
Prince of Peace Kearney, NERDG Planning and Design; 2011
Prince of Peace Kearney, NERDG Planning and Design; 2011
Prince of Peace Kearney, NERDG Planning and Design; 2011
St. Paul’s Westerville, OHEverGreene’s Design Choices
St. Paul’s Westerville, OHDavid Meleca; 2011
St. Paul’s Westerville, OHDavid Meleca; 2011
St. Paul’s Westerville, OHDavid Meleca; 2011
St. Paul’s Westerville, OHDavid Meleca; 2011
Wedding Feast at Cana Wedding Feast at Cana St Anthony of Padua Ambler, PASt Anthony of Padua Ambler, PA
Private Residence
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Santa Paula, CA
Rothko Chapel - Houston, TX
“The Rothko Chapel is oriented toward the sacred and yet it imposes no
traditional environment. It offers a place where a common orientation could be
found – an orientation towards God, named or unnamed, an orientation towards
the highest aspirations of Man and the most intimate calls of the conscience.”
-Dominique de Menil
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© EverGreene Architectural Arts, Inc. 2012
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EverGreene’s projects, please visit www.evergreene.com