Numinous Experience: Atmosphere of the Sacred by Chris McAvoy

Chris McAvoy

NUMINOUS EXPERIENCE: The Atmosphere of the SacredA critical study of St. Aengus church

Student number – B00556210 Module coordinator – Tanja Poppelreuter Word count – 5000 Submission date – 01/05/13

Dedicated to Eddie McAvoy (Nibs), always in our thoughts.

Acknowledgements With special thanks to Mum, Dad, Nanny, Cara and Edward for their help and support over the past three years. Without their help none of this would be possible.

I would also like to thank Dr. Tanja Poppelreuter for her continued encouragement and guidance throughout this project and the knowledge that she has shared with me.

2 Â

Contents

Sacred architecture in the 21st Century

Numinous Experience

St. Aengus church

4-5

6-10

11-37

Form and relation to context

13-18

Application of material

19-22

Light

23-29

Scale

30-36

Conclusion - St. Aengus church and the Numinous

37-38

Fig. 1 – Sketch of entrance space to St. Aengus church

Sacred Architecture in the 21st century All religiously related activities originate not from a notion of divinity, but from the sacred. At the end of the 19th century, the English missionary and ethnologist Robert Codrington provided an analysis of the sacred defining it by the terms, mana and tapu, meaning, power and prohibition.1 The words mana and tapu have their origins within Maori language and concepts. Therefore when translated into English, take on a wide variety of meanings depending on the context within which they are being used. 2 Codrington interpreted them in his own way, in order to describe the dual characteristic of the sacred as something that is at once powerful and intimidating, and at the same time attracts attention. The French Sociologist Roger Callois generated a simple comparison in order to describe this attraction, repulsion, elation and fear associated with the sacred.3 “In the presence of the sacred, a believer feels the same as a child does in the presence of fire. Unfamiliar with the element, one feels at once a desire to warm oneself and a fear of burning oneself.”4. The Greek and Latin languages draw a distinction between an objective and subjective understanding of the sacred. In one instance, it is permanently embodied in particular places, for example in Greek it is termed hieros in Latin sacer – on the other hand, it is something instilled within particular people, in Greek hosios, in Latin sanctus.5 Within Catholicism, the sacred is viewed as being embedded within religious buildings, shrines and grottos, whereas within the Protestant faith, the sacred is believed to reside within the souls and spirit of people.6 There are also two distinct types of sacred experiences, Active experiences and Passive experiences. An active experience is triggered when a person knowingly participates within a sacred ritual or meditation 1

Rudolf Stegers, Sacred buildings (London: Birkhäuser, 2008), p31

“Tapu - sacred Māori code,” accessed 28 April 2013, www.newzealand.com 3

Rudolf Stegers, Sacred buildings, p31 Ibid, p31 5 Ibid, p31 4

6 Ibid,

p31

such as religious services, individual prayer or pilgrimage. They create a special atmosphere, which is subjective, detached from any external stimuli.7 A Passive experience is instigated by a pre-created atmosphere, which an individual encounters, simply as an observer, without any prior intentions or spiritual beliefs to partake in this experience. 8 One way in which this pre-determined atmosphere can be experienced is through architecture. The English writer Graham Howes believes that contemporary religious architecture has the potential to act as a vehicle for the communal and personal experience of the sacred.9 Through the subjection of the body to the manipulation of form, light, scale and materiality a variety of atmospheric conditions can be created allowing the user to experience a series of emotions such as joy, elation, wonder and awe, fear, inadequacy and dread. These sacred spaces provide a significant place within the built environment in which people have the opportunity to find a deeper meaning within their lives, as described by the British anthropologist Victor Turners as a “liminal experience – to move beyond the psychic constraints of mundane existence, to step out of time and attain new, larger perspectives”10 One way in which this liminal experience can manifest is through the numinous. Within this paper the various characteristics and origins of the numinous experience will be analysed to establish what it actually is and how it can be instigated within sacred architecture.

7 Hadi Fayyaz, “Ecstasy or Anxiety – A study of Spiritual Impacts of Contemporary Architecture” (PhD thesis, Tabataba’i University of Iran, 2008), p2 8 Ibid,

9 Graham 10

Howes, The Art of the Sacred (London: I. B. Tauris, 2007), p76 Graham Howes, The Art of the Sacred, p76

Numinous Experience In 1917, the German Theologian Rudolf Otto conceived/coined a new term when describing the experience of the sacred, that of the numinous. He created and derived the term from the Latin word “numen”, meaning divine power.11 Within his most famous work, The Idea of the Holy, Otto defined the numinous as a personal experience of being in the presence of God.12 According to Otto, this experience cannot be quantified, conceptualised or rationalised but instead is only understood through the psychological and emotional feelings that it evokes.13 Otto describes the various characteristics of two distinct feelings that accompany such an experience, referring to them in Latin as the mysterium tremendum and the fascinans.14 Mysterium tremendum refers to the sensation, which occurs within the human mind as a result of experiencing the mysterious and unknown nature of a being more powerful than man.15 This sensation elicits a complex of emotions; mysterium exhibits feelings of wonder and awe at the majesty and esoteric nature of God, whilst tremendum refers to the immense fear and dread experienced simultaneously, due to God’s overwhelming power and superiority in comparison to the human person. The other component, fascinans, is associated with the feeling of fascination experienced by the human person as they try to contemplate and understand the hidden, unquantifiable and ineffable nature of this greater being. These experiences of the mysterium tremendum and the fascinans, is best summarised by Otto as: “Awe and dread it is true, brings the individual

11 Donald S. Lopez, “Approaching the Numinous: Rudolf Otto and Tibetan Tantra,” Philosophy East and West 29, no. 4 (1979): p468 12

Adam Barkman, “ Platonic Eros, Ottonian Numinous and Spiritual longing in Otaku Culture”, Marburg Journal of Religion vol.15, (2010): p1-11 13

Dan Merkur, “Interpreting Numinous Experiences,” Social Analysis 50, (2006), p206

Dan Merkur, “Interpreting Numinous Experiences”, p206

Ibid, p205

to his knees, but desire to see and understand the mystery – indeed, fascination and “love” for the mystery – causes him to raise his eyes.”16 Another key emotion that is evoked during a numinous experience is the subject’s sense of creature consciousness.17 Otto described this as “the emotion of a creature, submerged and overwhelmed by its own nothingness in contrast to that which is supreme above all creatures.”

It is the

recognition of one’s insignificance in the face of the absolute, in this case, the absolute being God.19 Over the course of The Idea of the Holy, switching back and forth between the religious and the aesthetic, Otto acknowledges the existence of a close relationship between the Kantian Sublime and his own numinous theory. 20 Both experiences of the sublime and the numinous exhibit the same dual characteristic of an experience that is at once daunting whilst also attracting.21 Otto states that they “humble us and at the same time exalt us, circumscribe and extend us beyond ourselves, on the one hand releasing in us a feeling analogous to fear, and on the other rejoicing us.”22 Within Kant’s aesthetic theory, two types of the sublime are acknowledged, the mathematically sublime and the dynamically sublime. Dynamic sublimity refers to the subject’s experience of the power of nature in a fearful way.

Through this experience the subject recognizes their

physical powerlessness in controlling nature, whilst at the same time the event reveals the superiority of the human person in comparison to nature. 24

Kant cites overhanging cliffs, thunder, volcanoes and hurricanes as

Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy (London: Oxford University Press, 1923), p41 Dan Merkur, “Interpreting Numinous Experiences”, p206 18 Ibid, p207 19 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, p10 17

Ibid, p10

Ibid, p42

23 -

Edward N. Zalta, "Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy, accessed April 24, 2013, www.plato.stanford.ed 24

Internet encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu, Accessed April 18 2013

examples of natural phenomena that have the potential to instigate a sense of dynamic sublimity.25 Whereas Mathematical sublimity refers to the human person being confronted with an event, object or experience, that is so large that it overwhelms the imagination preventing them from comprehending it and instilling a sense of inadequacy. 26 Kant likens this aspect of the sublime to the emotions felt when experiencing monumental and large-scale architecture such as the pyramids in Egypt and St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.27 In relation to Kant, Otto suggests that these sensory perceptions of natural phenomena and aesthetics provide a vehicle through which the numinous can be instigated, in saying: “ … they [natural phenomena and aesthetics] are the incitement, the stimuli, and the “occasion” for the numinous experience to become astir.”28 In this instance, the numinous is a personal psychological experience that occurs within the “subject” or person, however this experience can be instigated by the aesthetics of the object. In the case of architecture acting as the object, the aesthetic and sensory experience of sublimity within a building has the potential to create a numinous experience for the user or the subject. Otto recognises that the most primitive existence of this relationship dates back to prehistoric times. He states “In the arts, nearly everywhere the most effective means of representing the numinous is the sublime. This is especially true of architecture, in which it would appear to have first been realized. One can hardly escape the idea that this feeling for expression must have begun to awaken far back in the remote megalithic age. The motive underlying the erection of those gigantic blocks of rock...single monoliths or titanic rings of stone, as at Stonehenge, may have well

Ibid

Edward N. Zalta, "Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.plato.stanford.ed 27 28

Internet encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, p113

been originally to localize and preserve and, as it were, to store up the numen in solid presence…” 29 In this instance, Otto suggests that the numinous is also a primeval experience, hard-wired into the human psyche which was experienced, if not totally understood, by prehistoric man before religion even existed. This feeling was triggered by the experience of a monument/ structure, which had some sort of spiritual reference but most importantly was sublime in terms of its’ moving aesthetics. The scale and monolithic nature of the stone monument has links to mathematical sublimity in the sense that it is overwhelming in comparison to the human scale. The feeling of inadequacy when faced with something that is overpowering and superior in comparison to the human person is similar to the emotions evoked by the mysterium and creature consciousness aspects of the numinous experience.

Fig. 2 - Monolithic stone blocks of Stonehenge

Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy p65

However numinous is not explicitly a religious term or experience. Noted atheists Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennet, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris have discussed the existence of numinous experiences which they claim are devoid of any supernatural or divine connotations.30 In their recorded discussion, entitled The Four Horsemen, Dawkins, Dennet, Hitchens and Harris provide examples of every day experiences that can illicit the numinous emotions of wonder and awe, such as witnessing the natural phenomena of the setting sun, experiencing a piece of artwork, listening to music and technological innovation.

In this sense, the

numinous is perceived as an overwhelming experience that instigates a variety of natural human emotions when presented with an event or object that is experientially or aesthetically moving.

Within the field of religious art and architecture, there has also been some scholarly works that have investigated the difference between a religious numinous experience and a secular one. For example, Graham Howe’s introduced the idea of hollow spaces and 32 defines them as the opposite of holy spaces. Hollow spaces from this point of view, are imbued with the same characteristics of holy spaces, in terms of the emotions that they instigate, however what makes them different is their total detachment from religious or 33 supernatural associations.

30 “The Four Horsemen transcript,” Accessed February 4, 2013, http://richarddawkinsfoundation.org/fourhorsementranscript 31 “The Four Horsemen transcript,” http://richarddawkinsfoundation.org/fourhorsementranscript 32

Hadi Fayyaz, “Ecstasy or Anxiety – A study of Spiritual Impacts of Contemporary Architecture,” p4 33 Ibid, p4

St. Aengus Church In order to exemplify the potential that sacred architecture has in acting as aesthetic stimuli for numinous experience, a visual analysis of St. Aengus church by the Irish architect Liam McCormick will be given. The study will focus on four key design considerations, the buildings form and relation to its surrounding context, the use of natural light, application and use of material and the building’s scale in comparison to anthropomorphic dimensions. The experience within St. Aengus church will then be related back to Otto’s theoretical framework in order to establish if the building has the potential to instigate the numinous. This particular building was selected as it is widely considered as McCormick’s most important contribution to Irish church architecture.34 The architecture of McCormick is regarded as some of the most significant and memorable of the modern period in Ireland. 35 His sensitivity to landscape and context, his naturally creative approach to design and his patronage and passion towards Irish artists in the service of the church, all amalgamate to establish McCormick as the most important Irish church architect of his generation. 36 Designed and constructed between 1964 and 1967, the conceptual approach applied to the creation of St. Aengus church was revolutionary in comparison to the traditional church typologies that had gone before it.37 The church forms a landmark, not only in its surrounding mountainous context but also in the progression of modern church architecture within Ireland. 38

Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2008), p49 35 Ibid, p51 36 Ellen Rowley, “Admitting the light,” The Furrow 60, (2009), p505 37

Richard Hurley, “Cities for God” Irish Arts Review 25 Issue 2 (2008), p129 Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick, p47 38

St. Aengus church is located at the base of the Innishowen peninsula in Burt, County Donegal. The building sits at the foot of a commanding hill, atop of which is located the ancient Grianán of Aileach stone fortification. The circular form of the church is created by the barrel-like profile of the exterior stonewalls, which wrap around the interior sanctuary space. The curvilinear stone base is crowned by a tent shaped copper roof, rising from three metres above ground at the overhanging up-turned eaves, to eight metres directly above the altar. The height of the roof grows naturally out of a rhythm of converging eccentric curves, culminating in the creation of a conical spire that contains a lantern oculus light well.

Fig. 3 - Exterior view of St.Aengus church

Form and relation to context The historical context of the site at Burt had a significant influence on McCormick’s design for St. Aengus church. The site itself is steeped in religious tradition, both Christian and Pagan, as within the area there has always been some form of sacred temple or monument since the Bronze Age. 39 However when beginning to create his own sacred temple, the most significant influence on the design was the Grianán of Aileach.40 The ancient stone fortification sits directly atop the steep hill behind the site of St. Aengus church, visible in the skyline above. The fort is circular in form with its monolithic cambered stonewalls, five metres in height and four metres in depth giving it a sense of monumentality and gravitas. The structure is thought to have been built some time around the birth of Christ, its builders may have been attracted to this hilltop by the presence of a sacred monument – a prehistoric burial mound or tumulus, possibly from the Neolithic period. 41 The fort itself is surrounded in myth, legend and spirituality and is thought to be the place where St. Patrick baptized king Eoghan, and ordained his grandson Aengus, after whom the church is named.42 McCormick had a great admiration for the structure both in terms of its architectonic qualities and also the romantic history and spirituality that is embedded within its walls. So much so, that his design for St. Aengus church is a necessary, but barely, Christianised evocation of the stone fortification.43 Within the curvilinear form and stone materiality of the church, McCormick alludes significantly to the great circular stonewalls of the ancient fort above, later describing it as “my pagan building.”44

39 Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2011), p47 40 41 42

Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p47

Ibid, p47

Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick, p259 43

Ibid, p47

Fig. 4 – Grianán fort – circular form and stone materiality

Fig 5. – St. Aengus church circular form and stone materiality

From the exterior, the most distinctive element of the church is the sculpturally treated asymmetrical roof. For this particular element, McCormick used the natural landscape of the surrounding context as his inspiration to generate this form, as the amorphous roof integrates successfully with the rolling hills of the mountainous landscape and gently echoes the swaying curves of Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly in the distance beyond.45

Fig. 6 - Roof form mimics surrounding landscape

Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick, p68

The idea of a curvilinear church was a radical concept at the time within Ireland, as it had never been attempted before.46 McCormick found difficulty in convincing the parish clergy, especially Bishop Farren, of the suitability of a circular plan; however, the design of Burt coincided with the paradigm shift within the Catholic liturgy.

The publication of the

Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy by the Second Vatican council in December 1963 emphasised new and active participation of the laity (parishioner) within the liturgy and mass ceremony.48 Architects and clerics were presented with the challenge of creating a new church architecture that accommodated these changes.

This provided McCormick with the

opportunity to craft a piece of church architecture at Burt, which would break free from the previous shackles of the typical, formal rectilinear church geometry and produce a form that reflected the organic nature of the site and its contextual references, whilst retaining an intimate environment for the mass ceremony. The curvilinear theme of the exterior form is continued throughout the church, with a circular plan and organic geometry being implemented for internal furnishings and detailing. The plan consists of two circular walls, placed tangentially within the other, resulting in the formation of a crescent space between them, which houses the baptistery, sacristy areas, storage and services.

This

sophisticated arrangement allows the auxiliary spaces to be hidden and separated from the main sanctuary space, letting the church appear curvilinear on both the inside and outside. Placed concentrically within the exterior wall is a ring of ten steel columns which act as the main load bearing structure for the roof. The columns are both circular in their form and formation and wrap around the inner sanctuary space from the main entrance to the altar. This simple and uncluttered ground plan layout and 46 - Ellen Rowley, “Admitting the light,” p504 47

Richard Hurley, “Cities for God”, p129

Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick, p47 49

Ibid, p47

Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p47

internal arrangement establishes a mood of repose and quiet within the space.51

Fig. 7 – Circular plan

Fig. 8 – Ring of steel circular steel columns

51 Graham Howes, The Art of the Sacred (London: I. B. Tauris, 2007), p79

Within the inner sanctuary there is a distinct absence of “hard” and “harsh” rectilinear forms allowing the space to feel fluid, soft and organic. The circular form also has significance in terms of its religious symbolism, as the circle is regarded as a representation of the wholeness, unity and infinity of God.52 McCormick decided to implement a radial layout of seating for the parish, rather than the traditional axial typology. The radial layout wraps the congregation around the central altar and creates an intimate space for receiving the mass. This arrangement was chosen as the intention was for the parish to feel like they were active participators in the ceremony and radial seating provided each person with a view of the altar and the priest, and vice versa.

Fig.9 – Transition from axial layout to radial

52 Graham Howes, The Art of the Sacred, p80

Materiality The outer ring of the church that forms the external envelope is constructed in Claudy stone, which is indigenous to the Northwest of Ireland and quarried in Derry. The use of stone for the external wall was again inspired by the materiality of the Grianán of Aileach on the hillside behind. From the exterior the stone wall has a rugged and natural appearance reflecting the surrounding mountainous context. The monolithic form of the wall feels heavy and strong, giving the appearance that the building is firmly rooted to the site. It is this aesthetical gravitas that gives the exterior appearance of the church a sense of the mathematically sublime. In this sense similarities can be drawn between Otto’s analysis of the monolithic stone blocks of Stonehenge and the stone wall of St. Aengus church. Both structures are overwhelming in comparison to the human scale, not in terms of their height, but in their depth of materiality, solidity of mass and physical weight. Their overpowering nature instils a sense of inadequacy within the user, whilst simultaneously instigating a sense of awe and wonder at the sheer power and weight stored in their structure. This humbling experience and emotions are similar to those felt within the creature consciousness and mysterium tremendum et fascinans aspects of the numinous.

Fig.10 - Church Claudy stone materiality

Fig.11- Grianán fort stone materiality

The stonewall also acts as a protective barrier, similar to the stone wall of the fort above, wrapping around the soft and light inner sanctuary space, providing protection to the sacred that exists within. The variation in colour, texture, form and size of stone creates a dynamic façade, encouraging the eye to wonder along each edge, vein and groove. To a lesser extent, McCormick also employs water as a material within the church’s design as he implements a system which harnesses rain water in order to create four small pools located around the exterior circumference of the building. The channelling of the rainwater is a complicated system; a concealed copper gutter at eaves level collects the rainwater, which is then transported through the roof between the two layers of glazing and then finally, to the spouts on the exterior and into the pools. 53 This intricate system demonstrates the sensitivity and care that was given to each detail of the building’s design.

Fig. 12 – Pool and spout detail

Fig. 13 – Rainwater harvesting system

53 Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p23

The choice of roofing material also played a key part in the building’s successful assimilation into its surrounding context. The asymmetrical roof structure is clad in copper and throughout the last 40 years the congregation have witnessed the metamorphosis of the roof’s colour, progressing from rustic browns to shades of bright green, due to the process of patination. These shades of brown and green mimic the colour palette of the surrounding natural landscape allowing it to blend and sit quietly within its context.

Fig. 14 – Current state of copper roof

Fig. 15 – Colours of roof reflects the colours of the sit

The inner circular wall is of concrete block work construction rendered with white plaster and forms the internal partition between the main sanctuary space and ancillary spaces located around the outside. 54 The expanded steel loadbearing columns located around the circumference of the space are also finished with plaster. This simple monochromatic implementation of materiality provides the space with continuity and purity. The choice of a white rendered surface also has spiritual symbolism, as the colour white is associated with, innocence, cleanliness and holiness within Christianity.

Fig. 16 - White rendered internal walls and columns

54 Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p18

Light Within the chapter Means of Expression of the Numinous, Otto recognises the strength that the relationship between light and shadow has in instigating a numinous experience. He states that “The darkness, must be such as it enhanced and made all the more perceptible by contrast with some last vestige of brightness, which it is, as it were, on the point of extinguishing; hence the mystical effect begins with semi darkness that glimmers in vaulted halls, or beneath the branches of lofty forest glad, strangely quickened and stirred by the mysterious play of half lights, has always spoken eloquently to the soul, and the builders of temples, mosques, and churches have made full use of it.”55 In subjecting the body to a journey through light, experiencing the dark, the half-light and the light, Otto believes that the human soul and mind can be moved to a numinous state.56 This journey through light is also found within the experience of St. Aengus church as the user progresses from the outside world into the inner sanctuary space. The first space experienced is the narthex space (entrance space) which is quite dark due to the lack of glazed openings, encouraging the body and soul to be quiet, to be still and to adjust in preparation for experiencing the inner sanctuary. After emerging from the entrance space, the eye, body and soul are immediately uplifted to the infinite shaft of light, which pierces through the curvilinear form of the ceiling. This shaft of light floods the interior sanctuary with soft, diffuse top light, which lends this sacred space an appearance of weightlessness and peacefulness, encouraging contemplation and reflection. As the user moves further away from the lantern oculus towards the periphery of the sanctuary, the body is subjected to what Otto refers to as the half-light. These areas are quite dimly lit due the absence of glazed openings within the stonewalls, creating a peaceful atmosphere, encouraging the body to be still and quiet.

55 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, p68 56 Ibid, p68

The significance of opening the church to the sky also has symbolism embedded within religious experience. The sky is seen as one place in which God resides, within the heavens. In opening the building to the sky, the space is given a feeling of transcendence, creating a metaphorical connection between heaven and earth, God and man. This heavenly light could also be regarded as the actual manifestation of God within the space, which Otto would refer to as being within the presence of the wholly other. 57 When standing under the lantern oculus the user experiences a sense of insignificance at this unrelenting light source whilst simultaneously feeling in awe at the purity and luminosity of the light. The emotions associated with this experience are similar to the emotions felt during the mysterium and creature consciousness aspects of the numinous. The positioning of the oculus directly above the altar is also a significant strategy employed by McCormick. The altar is illuminated from above, accentuating its presence within the space and highlighting its importance within the Catholic faith and also within the mass ceremony.58 As parishioners approach the altar, they are illuminated by the heavens and bathed in natural light from directly above, whilst they receive the sacrament of communion. Within the main sanctuary the absence of glazing at eye level disconnects the user from the surrounding context and the outside world, internalizing the focus on the atmosphere of the space and the experience whilst within it.

57 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, p30 58

Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p20

Fig. 17 - Detail of lantern Oculus

Fig. 18 - Lantern Oculus lighting the inner sanctuary

25 Â

Another key use of light within the main sanctuary is a band of brightly coloured stained glass that spans the entire circumference of the building and is fixed to the top of the inner circular wall. The exterior stone wall carries the secondary glazing, which is a band of clear glass through which light penetrates the stained glass behind. Due to the positioning of the two circular walls of the plan tangentially within the other and the offsetting that it creates, less light is able to penetrate the stained glass located directly behind the altar, resulting in a darkening and deepening of the shades of red and blue within the glazing. However around the outside of the sanctuary, where the offsetting of the glazing is much less prominent, the body becomes immersed in colour as sunlight is able to penetrate through the stained glass windows creating an ethereal atmosphere. This complex layering of colour provides the space with energy and vibrancy generating a sense of vitality and joy.

Fig. 19 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ethereal atmosphere created by stained glass

26 Â

At night time the stained glass is illuminated by a continuous strip of artificial lighting concealed in a channel between the stained glass and the external glazing and when viewed from the outside, the illuminated clerestory gives the impression that roof is floating above the stonewalls.59

Fig. 20 – “Floating” roof at dusk

59 Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p20

Embedded within the intricate detailing and vibrant colours of the stained glass clerestory are religious symbolism and motifs. The reoccurring depiction of the form of a fish references Catholic theology, as the origins of Jesus’ ministry is associated with fish. He selected fishermen to be his disciples and to go out into the world to become fishers of men. The symbol of the fish is also evident in the parable of The feeding of the 5000. 60 This religious symbolism within the stained glazing contributes to the atmosphere of the sacred within the space as it reinforces the spiritual beliefs of Catholicism.

Fig. 21 – Fish motif within stained glass

Fig. 22 – Detail of stained glass windows

60 Rudolf Stegers, Sacred Buildings, p31

The baptistery space within the church has been giving significant attention and care by McCormick. The space itself is a small alcove located just off the main sanctuary. The same lighting technique used above the altar is replicated within this space as located directly above the baptismal font is another oculus light well. This again provides a metaphorical connection between heaven and earth, God and man. It is almost as if the child or person being baptized is illuminated by heaven’s light as they receive the sacrament of baptism.

Fig. 23 – Sketch of lighting conditions

Scale Scale has always been a key design factor within sacred architecture, most notably within Christianity and the design of churches. Previous typologies of church architecture within Europe and Ireland had a scale that was detached from anthropomorphic dimensions. For example the tall central naves of Gothic churches span towards the heavens in order to instil a feeling of insignificance within a human being in comparison to the majesty of God.61 The scale of St. Aengus church is much more sympathetic to human proportions, and is more intimate in its experience. Before entering the main sanctuary of the church, the body is subjected to a momentary compression as it experiences the small narthex space located at the front of the church. This small space has a low ceiling and is rectilinear in form, which is quite significant and slightly unexpected, due to the fact that the rest of the building is curvilinear in its geometry. This space acts as a transition zone and mediates between inside and out, the sacred and the profane, where parishioners have the opportunity to partake in purification as they bathe themselves in holy water becoming clean, before entering the main sanctuary where the sacred resides. After emerging through the sanctuary doors, the low ceiling narthex space gives way to the larger curvilinear sanctuary space. Here the body is then released by the uplifting of the ceiling and opening of the space. The tallest volume within the space is the void created by the lantern oculus, which is located directly above the altar. The void extends from the ceiling to the top of the spire above providing an infinite view from the earth to the sky. Otto recognises the potential power that the implementation of this type of empty distance (void) has in establishing a sense of the numinous within architecture.

He regards empty space as a way of conveying the

mathematically sublime stating that “ …empty distance, remote vacancy is, as it were, the sublime in horizontal. The wide stretching desert, the

61 Roger Homan, The Art of the Sublime, (Aldershot : Ashgate, 2006), p54 62 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, p69

boundless uniformity of the steppe, have real sublimity.” 63 The oculus light well within the main sanctuary space provides an experience of what Otto would regard as the vertical sublime. This funnel into the infinite creates an experience that confronts the human person with an immeasurable and unquantifiable volume of space that is totally overwhelming. Although at the same time feelings of awe and wonder are experienced, as the user appreciates and attempts to understand what this infinite space actually is. The feelings that this experience elicits are similar to those felt within the mysterium and creature consciousness aspects of the numinous.

63 Ibid, p69

Fig. 24 – View into the infinite

Fig. 25 – Sketch showing sectional change in scale

The experience throughout the rest of the building is more intimate in terms of volume, ceiling heights and interior detailing. The care and attention invested in the design and creation of objects which are touched by the body such as door handles, furniture, balustrades and other details gives the building’s experience a sense of the human scale. The most successful detailing is the skilfully co-ordinated integration of bespoke religious artwork by various Irish artists. As well as providing religious symbolism and spirituality within the space, each piece of art creates a sense of the handcrafted. There is no element within the interior space that feels as if it has been created by a machine or computer but instead feels as if it has been sculpted by the hands of the artists, builder and architect. Within the experience of both the art and architecture they do not read as two separate things, but instead they knit and interweave together to create a holistic experience of the sacred.

Fig. 26 – Detailing on door handle

Fig. 27 – Celebrants chair

Fig. 28 - Bronze tabernacle

Fig. 29 – Baptismal font

Fig. 30 - Portland stone altar

2 The

tabernacle is adorned with a mixture of abstract shapes and figures in beaten bronze 64 and other enamels, created by Patrick McElroy. The altar and baptismal font, created by Imogen Stuart, are both made from Portland stone and have maritime motifs carved into 65 their forms. The altar carries the symbol of a fish, whilst it the baptismal font has a frieze 66 of running spirals wrapped around its circumference representing waves.

Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick, p159 65 Ibid, p159 66 Ibid, p158

Fig. 31 – Stone screen wall

Fig. 32 – Detail of concrete plaques

The most ambiguous and intriguing artwork at Burt is the stone screen wall, located just outside the main entrance. Decorated by the Irish sculptor Oisín Kelly, the piece consists of seven cast concrete plaques depicting the spiritual history of the site, both religious and pagan. One plaque portrays the 67 scene of St. Patrick ordaining Aengus, the patron saint after which the church is named. Another is Kelly’s representation of a Celtic solar disc, detailed with the image of a blazing hot sun, which references the Grianán fort in the skyline above as the phrase Grianán translates from Irish as the 68 “sunny place The placing of this piece directly outside the main entrance is significant as it is the first spiritual object experienced by the user. It depicts the development and transition of the site from a pagan place of worship, to Christian.

67 Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt, p18 68 Ibid, p10

Conclusion- St. Aengus church and the numinous The sacred atmosphere created within St. Aengus church provides a vehicle through which a numinous experience can be achieved. Each event or aesthetic stimuli that is experienced has its own unique characteristics that evoke a variety of emotional responses from the user. For example through the manipulation of scale, void and materiality, the body is confronted with the mathematically sublime within the building. The infinite void of the lantern oculus light well combined with the heavy monolithic nature of the exterior stone wall, overwhelms the scale of the human body creating a sense of creature consciousness. At the same time, the user feels a sense of appreciation, wonder and awe at the limitless nature of the void and power and mass of the wall.

It is this dual characteristic of an

experience which is at once daunting yet at the same time attracting, that Otto attributes to the numinous.69 The manipulation of natural light within the space is also significant in instigating a numinous experience. The plain treatment of the interior whiteplastered walls provides the perfect canvas for the play of light as the matte surfaces accentuate the dramatic contrast between light and dark. This canvas also reflects the vibrant coloured light created by the stained glass windows around the space and onto the seating and floor. This allows for the creation of two distinct lighting conditions. The coloured light lends the space a sense of vibrancy and joy, whereas the daylight gives the space a sense of calm and reflection. Both types of lighting overlap and flood into one another to create a holistic atmospheric experience of the sacred. The numinous atmosphere experienced within the inner sanctuary space can be perceived by the subject in two different ways. Firstly from an Ottonian viewpoint that God himself is acting through the aesthetic stimuli of the architecture in order to instil numinous emotions within the subject. On the other hand, this experience can be perceived from the viewpoint of The Four Horsemen, as a secular experience. In this case the numinous is the subject’s natural emotional response when confronted with an event within 69 Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy, p42

the church that is aesthetically or experientially moving, but most importantly, devoid of any religious connotations. Due to the subjective nature of the numinous, the experience and emotions felt are unique to each individual who uses the space. As people, we are all subjected to the same atmospheric conditions within the main sanctuary space in terms of light, scale, materiality and form. However it is our individual interpretation and emotional response to these conditions that makes the numinous experience truly moving and unique.

38 Â

Bibliography Books - Roger Homan, The Art of the Sublime (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006)

- Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2008) - Rudolf Otto, The Idea of the Holy (London: Oxford University Press, 1923) - Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2011) - Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick – Seven Donegal Churches: Architect + Artists (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2011) - Phyllis Richardson, New sacred architecture (London: Laurence King, 2004) - Rudolf Stegers, Sacred buildings (London: Birkhäuser, 2008) Journals - Adam Barkman, “ Platonic Eros, Ottonian Numinous and Spiritual longing in Otaku Culture”, Marburg Journal of Religion vol.15, (2010): p1-11 - Graham Howes, The Art of the Sacred (London: I. B. Tauris, 2007) - Richard Hurley, “Cities for God” Irish Arts Review 25 Issue 2 (2008): p124129

- Donald S. Lopez, “Approaching the Numinous: Rudolf Otto and Tibetan Tantra,” Philosophy East and West 29, no. 4 (1979): p467-476 - Dan Merkur, “Interpreting Numinous Experiences,” Social Analysis 50, (2006): 204-233. Dissertations and Theses - Hadi Fayyaz, “Ecstasy or Anxiety – A study of Spiritual Impacts of Contemporary Architecture” (PhD thesis, Tabataba’i University Iran, 2008 - Rodney Furze, “ Mysticism in the experience of architecture” (PhD thesis, University of Exeter, 2010). - Ellen Rowley, “Admitting the light,” The Furrow 60 (2009): p502-506 - Rinkle Shah, “A phenomenological study of contemplative experiences: implications of interior design” (M.Arch thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2009). Websites - “The Four Horsemen,” accessed February 1, 2013, www.youtube.com - “The Four Horsemen transcript,“ accessed February 4, 2013, www.richarddawkinsfoundation.org/fourhorsementranscript -

Internet

encyclopedia

Philosophy,

accessed

April

18,

2013,

www.iep.utm.edu - “Tapu - sacred Māori code,” accessed 28 April 2013, www.newzealand.com

- Edward N. Zalta, "Kant's Aesthetics and Teleology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed April 24, 2013, www.plato.stanford.edu

Illustrations

Fig. 1 – Sketch of entrance space to St. Aengus church Fig. 2 – Monolithic stone blocks of Stonehenge, Source: www.maleromanceuk.blogspot.co.uk (accessed April 29,2013) Fig. 3 – Exterior view of St. Aengus church Fig. 4 – Grianán fort – circular from and stone materiality Fig. 5 – St. Aengus church circular form and stone materiality Fig. 6 – Roof form mimics surrounding landscape Fig. 7 – Circular plan, Kate Doherty, Source: Paul Larmour & Shane O’Toole, North by northwest: The life and work of Liam McCormick (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2008) Fig. 8 – Ring of steel circular steel columns Fig. 9 – Transition from axial layout to radial Rudolf Stegers, 2008. Source: Rudolf Stegers, Sacred buildings (London: Birkhäuser, 2008) Fig. 10 – Church Claudy stone materiality Fig. 11 – Grianán fort stone materiality Fig. 12 – Pool and spout detail Fig. 13 – Rainwater harvesting system

Fig. 14 – Current state of copper roof Fig. 15 – Colours of roof reflects the colours of the site Fig. 16 – White rendered internal walls and columns Fig. 17 – Detail of Lantern Oculus Fig. 18 – Lantern Oculus light inner sanctuary Fig. 19 – Ethereal atmosphere created by stained glass Fig. 20 – “Floating” roof at dusk Henk Snoek, 1967. Source: Carole Pollard, Liam McCormick - Seven Donegal Churches: Burt (Kinsale: Gandon Editions, 2011) Fig. 21 – Fish motif within stained glass Fig. 22 – Detail of stained glass Fig. 23 – Sketch of lighting conditions within space Fig. 24 – View into the infinite Fig. 25 – Sketch showing sectional change in scale Fig. 26 – Detailing on door handle Fig. 27 – Celebrants chair Fig. 28 – Bronze tabernacle Fig. 29 – Baptismal font Fig. 30 – Portland stone altar Fig. 31 – Stone screen wall Fig. 32 – Detail of concrete plaques