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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