Conclusion

Despite the critiques and assessments that minimalism within sacred interiors have received, this architectural typology has continually been acknowledged by academics as a highly significant and influential space. This dissertation provided a contextual framework of sacred interiors, as well as an analysis of three contemporary case studies, which synthesised how historical and contemporary influences have impacted the evolution of minimalism within sacred interiors.

The first chapter of this dissertation established a contextual framework that illustrated the impact historical influences had on the development and interpretation of minimalism within sacred interiors. The chapter began by introducing concepts that explored how minimalism could be seen before its conception in contemporary society. The first concept that was introduced was monasticism and a brief overview of this was provided which drew parallels between this notion and living a minimalist life. This was explored further through the lens of Saint Anthony the Great, Saint Basil the Great and Paul of Thebes, who were the first known monks to depart from their common routine in order to live an ascetic life, which encompassed similar traits to living as a minimalist. The following concept that was introduced was the notion of iconoclasm which substantiated how this rebuke of religious symbols had similarities to traits of minimalism to emphasise how this historical influence had an impact on the conception of minimalism within contemporary society. The discussion then shifted to explore concepts of aestheticism and asceticism which emphasised how the shift from large amounts of ornamentation to the complete strip of ornamentation could be interpreted as a trait of minimalism. Ultimately, this first chapter explored how historical influences such as monasticism, iconoclasm and living an ascetic life could be seen to have parallels with minimalism, emphasising how these influences contributed to the evolution of minimalism within contemporary sacred interiors.

Chapter two discussed various theories in relation to minimalism within contemporary sacred interiors to further support the case study analysis in chapter three. Minimalism was defined in this chapter, and together with the affirmed historical framework provided in chapter one, explored the evolution of minimalism within contemporary sacred interiors. An analysis that the impact post-war modernism had on the interpretation of minimalism within the twentieth century was also conducted. A series of case studies were briefly analysed, such as Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, which provided a framework that emphasised that minimalism, as a product of post-war modernism, arose during this period as a rebuke against the rise of mass-consumption and accumulation of materialistic possessions. The Grundtvig Church in Demark was also analysed which illustrated how the architects, implemented architectural conventions with minimalist traits to eradicate the concept of minimalism as an art movement. A brief

history of Japanese culture and Zen Buddhism were also explored, as well as an analysis of Rudolph Schindler’s Schindler House, West Hollywood, which emphasised how Japanese culture has been reinterpreted as a design aesthetic to replication notions of Zen Buddhism into western culture and architecture. This chapter ultimately provided a framework to demonstrate how minimalism developed within the architectural realm of sacred interiors within twenty and twenty-first century as a result of these influences. In addition. The historical influences that were outlined in chapter one also assisted in the development and interpretation of minimalism within contemporary sacred interiors. These concepts were further reinforced in chapter three through the implementation of a series of case studies.

Chapter three of this dissertation utilised a theoretical framework that was discussed in the two previous chapters. This framework provided an abundance of evidence which proved the hypothesis that historical influences such as aspects of monasticism, iconoclasm and living an ascetic life, together with contemporary influences such as the rise of minimalism as a product of post-war modernism and the influence of Japanese culture, have shaped the evolution of minimalism within sacred interiors. The three case studies that were analysed included the Saint Moritz Church, designed by John Pawson, followed by Tadao Ando’s Church of the Light and finally Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Chapel. The spatial analysis conducted on these three case studies, focused on lighting strategies, materiality decisions as well as scale. The spatial analysis, combined with an understanding of the modernist traits that Pawson, Ando and Zumthor possess, substantiated how minimalist traits were implemented by these architects as an interpretation of these influences, to emphasise how these minimalist spaces were influenced by these historical and contemporary factors. All three of these precedent studies served to demonstrate that minimalism has been developed as an interpretation of the historical and contemporary research that was previously mentioned in chapter one and two, which emphasised how these influences informed and shaped the evolution of minimalism within sacred interiors.

Reflecting on this dissertation, there is an opportunity for future research to be explored to further investigate the impact that minimalism within a sacred interior has on the effect on the user. Future research focused solely on the impact minimalism within sacred interiors has on the user and how this is able to behaviourally impact the user, may provide further insights into the power and effectiveness of architectural conventions. In order for this dissertation to be as specific as it was, as addition with time constraints, an exploration of this broader aspect of research was not able to be explored, however, it is still available for further evaluation. Therefore, the research conducted in this dissertation is not conclusive as there are avenues available for further research to be conducted. In summary, this dissertation highlighted the evolution of minimalism within sacred interiors through the lens of historical and contemporary influences which provided a framework for this development.