symbolism: cracking the code
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Symbolism came to the fore in the late 19th century, with its roots in arts and literature. Largely a reaction against naturalism and realism, the movement was largely in favour of spirituality, the imagination and dreams. Symbolism has, since then, pervaded every facet of human life. Almost everything — be it a building, a painting, a movie or a tale — has its roots in some form of symbolism or, conversely, resorts to symbolism for expressing itself. In architecture, clearly, buildings are imbued with and embody multileveled and multipurpose meanings and messages. They provide not only structure and form, but text, context and meaning to social and cultural life. Architecture also constitutes powerful expressive and symbolic vehicles in its own right, with monumental buildings being more noteworthy in their statements and style than in their functional provision and delivery. Architect and academician, Prof. Parag Narkhede and his wife Rachana, an interior designer, highlight some significant facets of symbolism as expressed in some wellknown examples of world architecture.
There is a powerful need for symbolism, and that means the architecture must have something that appeals to the human heart. — Kenzo Tange Symbols carry varied meanings in different settings. A symbolic expression, according to famed psychiatrist Carl Jung, is one that is held to be the best possible formula by which allusion may be made to a relatively unknown “thing”, which referent is nevertheless recognised as existing. When it comes to architecture, symbolism exists at many levels. However, we tend to connect it mainly to historical and religious structures as the imagery appears to be highly explicit and profound in them. Why is symbolism exemplified in monuments, mosques, churches and other spiritual and historic structures? It is because these structures refer to and hint at the relatively unknown but existing “thing”. Every structure has an inherent symbolism. The courtyard at the centre of a regular house, over and above practical purposes, is a symbol of the connection between man and God, or man and the elements, or the soul at the centre of our being and the ultimate principle pervading the universe — all of which are believed to exist but are relatively unknown.
The History of Symbolism
how the human body relates to buildings and the universe.
Symbolism as an art movement developed in the late 19th century and was characterised by the incorporation of symbols and ideas, usually spiritual or mystical in nature, which represented the inner life of people. So symbolism can be defined as the systematic use of recurrent symbols or images in a work to create an added level of meaning. Symbols give meaning to an object, plant, or animal. The movement began as a reaction to the literal representation of subjects, preferring to create more suggestive and evocative works. It has its roots in literature with poets such as Charles Baudelaire believing ideas and emotions could be conveyed not only through the meaning of words but also in their sound and rhythm. Hence, symbolism is the applied use of any iconic representations which carry particular conventional meanings. Religious Symbolism Religious architecture is a record of the way people express their faith. Religious symbolism uses symbols, including archetypes, artwork, texts, rituals, and other signs. Most religious symbols are positive as long as the person associated with them believes in them and is in sympathy with their origin and traditions.
Sense of Space Symbols and the Hindu Temple The term sense of space has been defined and utilised in different ways by different people. To some, it is a characteristic that some geographic places have and some do not; to others, it is a feeling or perception held by people (not by the place itself). It is often used in relation to those characteristics that make a place special or unique, as well as to those that foster a sense of authentic human attachment and belonging.
Cultures have often associated geometric shapes with religion. The effect of this is mainly at the subconscious level and can, therefore, be very powerful and instinctive. It is based on deep memories and our perception of the spiritual world. In India, the relation between symbols and temple architecture is clearly spelt out by Vastu Shastra. It explains
Vastu Shastra details the relation between symbols and temple architecture.
A temple especially is seen holistically like the human body, and is considered to be alive and sacred. The various parts of a temple are related to corresponding parts of the body. A definitive study of the Hindu temple states this clear link as: The door of the temple: The Mouth The dome: The Head The front pavilion or the meeting place: The Stomach The walls signifying the circumambulatory path: The Legs The Gopuram: The Feet The Garbha Griha: The Jivha (i.e., the life force) Swastika The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles in either left-facing or right-facing direction. It is traditionally oriented so that a main line is horizontal, though it is occasionally rotated at forty-five degrees, and the Hindu version is often decorated with a dot in each quadrant. The swastika symbol is sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, both dating from about the sixth century BC. In Hinduism, the swastika symbolises, in various contexts: luck, the sun, Brahma, stability and an auspicious symbol. From the 1930s, the swastika also became associated with Nazi Germany, being put on the party’s flag, badge and armband.
Swastika
A temple is considered to be alive and sacred.
symbolism: cracking the code
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Tools of Communication Visual arts such as painting in India, Nepal and Tibet use mandals with three basic elements — a dot, a square and a circle. The dot is constant and represents the dead centre of the energy vertex. Square symbolises the earth while the circle denotes the universe. The Wheel of Life In dharmic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism), the wheel of life (also called by a variety of other names) is a mandala or symbolic representation of samsara (the continuous cycle of birth, life, death). One is liberated from this endless cycle of rebirth when bodhi, enlightenment, nirvana, moksha, or samadhi is reached. There are two primary forms of the wheel of life. The more elaborate form is usually sixspoked, though it could also be fivespoked. The simpler form, primarily used in Buddhism, is eight-spoked.
The wheel of life Yin and Yang
Cathedrals: The symbol of the Middle Ages The great cathedrals are a symbol of the Middle Ages. By then, numbers had acquired a metaphysical significance of their own, and were thought to be endowed with occult power. Thus they found their way into nearly every aspect of cathedral design, from the numbers of the pillars in the choir and layout of the facade, and, inevitably, to the division of the rose windows. The Middle Ages were known for their reliance on numbers and geometry — a fact which is reflected in buildings and structures of that time. Yin and Yang The concept of yin and yang originates in ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics, which describes two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe.
Numbers lie at the heart of cathedral design.
Yin, the darker element, is passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking, and corresponds to the night; yang, the brighter element, is active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day. The meaning of the characters for yin and yang, necessarily, has more than just one connotation. Because yang means “sunny”, it corresponds to the day and more active functions, whereas yin, meaning “shady”, corresponds to night and dormancy. The pair probably goes back to ancient agrarian religion; it exists in Confucianism, and it is prominent in
Taoism. Though the words yin and yang only appear once in the Tao Te Ching, the book is laden with examples and clarifications of the concept of mutual arising. Yin and yang are descriptions of complementary opposites rather than absolutes. Any yin/yang dichotomy can be seen as its opposite when viewed from another perspective. The categorisation is seen as one of convenience. Most forces in nature can be broken down into their respective yin and yang states, and the two are usually in movement rather than held in absolute stasis.
Pentagram
Pentagram A pentagram is a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes. Also called pentacle, the pentagram was used symbolically in ancient Greece and Babylonia. The five-pointed star depicts the four elements — earth, air, fire and water— and the spirit. Primarily a pagan religious symbol, the pentacle continues to be used as a symbol of faith by Wiccans. The pentacle, also said to be a preChristian symbol that relates to nature worship, is also associated with the Illuminati, a secret society formed in 1776 and looking to erect a new world order. The Illuminati and its symbols (including the pentacle) were introduced to the common reader recently by best-selling author Dan Brown in his books Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. Symbolism in Structures
The shape of the building led to the name Pentagon.
The Great Sphinx of Giza is the largest monolith statue in the world.
Architecture across the world has, down the ages, been replete with symbolism and imagery. Architects have in the past made symbols a part of their design vocabulary — something that continues till today. Let’s take a look at some world-famous buildings that stand tall as examples of symbolism in architecture. The Pyramids, Egypt As many as 138 pyramids are known to exist in Egypt as of 2008. Built as tombs for the pharaohs and their consorts, the pyramids — most famous of which are the ones at Giza — are known to be the world’s oldest monumental structures of dressed masonry.
represents the primordial mound from which the Egyptians believed the earth was created.
The Pyramids of Egypt symbolise the powerful existence of the human race on the earth. They represent the supreme control of man, the animal with intellect, on the entire earth. The shape of the Egyptian pyramids
The shape is said to represent the descending rays of the sun and most pyramids were faced with polished white limestone to give them a brilliant appearance when viewed from far.
The shape of the pyramids represents the primordial mound.
All Egyptian pyramids were located on the west bank of the Nile, which was the site of the setting sun and was associated with the realm of the dead. The burial monuments housed narrow shafts that extended from the main chamber through the entire structure towards the sky — the shaft was meant to take the deceased pharoah’s soul into the abode of the gods.
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Pyramid at Louvre, Paris
Pyramid at Louvre, Paris In 1983, apart from creating two large glass-covered courtyards to house sculptures, I.M. Pei’s design also included the excavation of two other courtyards to create storage and infrastructure space. Commissioned by Francois “the Sphinx” Mitterand, is made out of 666 panes of glass. Formally, it is the most compatible with the architecture of the Louvre. It is also one of the most structurally stable of forms and lends a feeling of transparency (as it is constructed of glass and steel). The design and the materials used signify a break with the architectural traditions of the past. Although the glass pyramid is much loved now, the structure was initially met with a storm of controversy. Today, along with the Eiffel Tower (a phallic symbol), the Pyramid at Louvre, rich in Illuminati symbolism, is considered one of the landmarks of Paris. Presybterian Church
Presybterian Church
This is an uncompromising example of the Richardson Romanesque style, which predominated 11th century churches and monumental structures, immediately preceding the Gothic. It imitated Roman Empire architecture, but was less rigid in ordering of elements and formulaic proportions. Round arches are the most prominent common feature between Roman and Romanesque.
The Canadian Museum Civilization, Quebec
of
Based on a representation of land as it was when humans first arrived, over 15,000 years ago, and on the topographical history of the site, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is a sculptural monument to the distinctive landscape that faced the first people to come to Canada, in the epoch when the Ice Age glaciers were receding. The sculptural building’s design represents the eroded landforms and streambeds of post-glacial Canada. The curatorial wing, in which are buried the collection holding vaults, is an image of the outcropping bedrock of the Canadian Shield, which itself holds the nation’s mineral wealth. This bedrock was eroded and its angular forms smoothed by the glaciers that overrode it.
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Quebec
The outwash streams from the melting glaciers undercut the rock; these streams — one of which was once on the Parc Laurier site — are echoed in the watercourse flowing down between the two wings. Jubilee Church, Rome Designed by Richard Meier, the Jubilee Church is formally known as Dio Padre Misericordioso. Meier was influenced by Alvar Aalto’s churches in Finland, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wayfarers Chapel and Le Corbusier’s Notre Dame du Haut (Ronchamp chapel) — all of which milk the importance of light. Meier stated that “the central ideas for creating a sacred space have to do with truth and authenticity, a search for clarity, peace, transparency, a yearning for tranquility, a place to evoke otherworldliness in a way that is uplifting.” Jubilee Church sits on a flat, triangular site in Tor Tre Teste, about six miles east of central Rome. The project features materials such as concrete, stucco, travertine, and glass, and, as one might expect, white is the prominent color. Glass skylights run the entire length of the structure, and permit the interior to be flooded with daylight. At night, the building’s interior lighting creates an otherworldly presence that animates the surrounding environment.
Jubilee Church, Rome
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Guggenheim Museum Bilbao A museum of modern and contemporary art, the Guggenheim Bilbao is located in Spain. Designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, widely considered the master of pop architecture, the museum is hailed as a “signal moment in architectural culture”. The randomly curving building, with its witty shapes and sinuous lines in titanium, is now considered the epitome of the post-modern. Intended to resemble a ship (as it is sited in a port town), the building’s reflective titanium panels resemble fish scales and echo organic life forms that are seen commonly in Gehry’s designs.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The Guggenheim Bilbao, called the “greatest building of out time” by architect Philip Johnson, is a structure that follows the deconstructivist style and, like most of Gehry’s work, is synonymous with California’s funk art movement of the 1960s. Jewish Museum, Berlin Credited to Daniel Libeskind, the design of the Jewish Museum is based on a rather involved process of connecting lines between locations of historic events and locations of Jewish culture in Berlin. These lines form a basic outline and structure for the building. Libeskind has also used the concepts of absence, emptiness, and the invisible — expressions of the disappearance of Jewish culture in the city — to design the building.
Jewish Museum, Berlin
This concept takes form in a kinked and angled sequence through the building, orchestrated to allow the visitor to see (but not to enter) certain empty rooms, which Libeskind terms “voided voids”. The ideas which generate the plan of the building repeat themselves on the surface of the building, where voids, windows, and perforations form a sort of cosmological composition on an otherwise undifferentiated, zigzagging zinc surface. Sydney Opera House, Sydney One of the most recognised images of the modern world, the Sydney Opera House ranks up there with the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building. Conceived by Danish architect Jorn
Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Utzon, the Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design constructed with a series of large precast concrete shells. Classified a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, the Sydney Opera House is set over 4.5 acres. One of the most
photographed buildings in the world, the structure has come to “represent” Australia. The skyline of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the blue water of the harbor and the Sydney Opera House, viewed from a ferry or from the air, is dramatic and unforgettable.
Church of Light
Tadao Ando’s Work The work of Japanese architect Tadao Ando — largely geometric architecture — includes a strong moral element. The stark concrete residences he designed on Osaka’s busy streets were rebuffs to the shallow materialism he disparaged in post-World War II Japanese society. His intention was to create a spiritual world, to make a space which is so strong and deep, it penetrates to the people who contact that space. Tadao Ando’s designs attempt to uncover the “memory of the location” by maintaining an awareness of the new relationships that architecture can create among the city, history, and society. The Water Temple, originally for the Shingon Buddhist Sect, is approached from a long uphill path traversing the original temple compound and cemetery. One is then directed, indirectly, through a simple series of two gesturing white-washed concrete walls of light and shadow that eventually lead one to what seems
Munch Museum – Art wave
Church on water
symbolism: cracking the code
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Tadao Ando Row House
The Pool
like a pool of water. The pool itself is filled to its outermost perimeter, forming a boundless horizon line about which it infinitely reflects its surroundings of mountains, sky, rice paddies and bamboo groves. The stillness of the water has a meditative effect and perhaps implications of a spiritual cleansing. Ando’s cylindrical, one-story “Space for Contemplation” in the UNESCO compound, is paved with granite slabs from Hiroshima that were irradiated during the explosion of the H-bomb in August 1945. Conclusion Clearly, buildings are imbued with and embody multileveled and multipurpose meanings and messages. They provide not only structure and form, but text, context and meaning to social and cultural life.
Water Temple
Architecture also constitutes powerful expressive and symbolic vehicles in its own right, with monumental buildings being more noteworthy in their statements and style than in their functional provision and delivery.