INTRO Sacred architecture throughout the world has been designed and regarded as inspiring for millennia, even being the pinnacle of architecture. However, there has been a rather unimaginative wave of religious architecture in the last century. This wave of sacred design lacks creativity, life, and the ability to transcend the physical world. The design methods of sacred architecture in the past such as light, materiality, procession, and verticality have captivated one’s thinking, and caused wonder – past the physical world. How can the design methods and vocabulary of sacred architecture be incorporated into contemporary design in order to promote spiritual experiences that go beyond the boundaries of the church? A person’s physical needs are often at the forefront in the pursuit of human betterment. But when will an individual’s spiritual needs be embraced as their most important needs? The goal of contemporary sacred architecture should be to foster spiritual fulfillment and as a result physical fulfillment. The goal of this thesis is to study these topics through analyses and a design exploration that incorporates these essential design methods within this framework.
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