Architectecture * K. Erickson
Special Topic: Sacred Spaces

Slide Number
(click for image)

Identification

 Structural Systems /
Notable Design Elements
Sacred Spaces 1 Stonehenge, near Salisbury England, c. 1500BCE (Neolithic), stone megaliths

megaliths, post and lintel
stone circle

Sacred Spaces 2
Diagram of Stonehenge

note heel stone; alignment with celestial occurrences

Sacred Spaces 3 Ziggurat at Ur, Sumerian, (Southern Iraq), c. 2100 BCE. To learn more about ziggurats and the Ziggurat at Ur, click here

stacked mud brick, axial plan; only priests entered the temple at the top of the platform

Sacred Spaces 4
Pyramid of Khafre, Egyptian, Giza, 4th Dynasty, c. 2570-2544BCE, sandstone, c. 65'

Constructed out of cut stone, stacked up with stone facing (mostly lost).
The pyramids were alignned with the sun and stars.

Sacred Spaces 5 View of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Temples on the Acropolis were arranged in a manner that allowed wandering, not on an axial plan.
Sacred Spaces 6 Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Parthenos
by IKTINOS and KALLIKRATES, (view from the northwest), Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447–438 BCE		 Perfect example of doric order, showing triglyphs and metopes in the frieze.
This is a peripteral temple - you can walk all around it. Architects designed it with slight swelling of stylobate.
Sacred Spaces 7 Greek architectural orders - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian Standard elements of the three principal Greek orders.
Sacred Spaces 8 Plan of the Parthenon Showing location of the various friezes.
Sacred Spaces 9 Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118–125 CE.

Featuring a dome on drum; constructed using concrete, which was more dense at the bottom (basalt vs pumice in upper areas).
Portico is in Greek temple style.

Sacred Spaces 10 Interior of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-125 CE Includes as coffered ceiling (weight, decoration) and an oculus ("eye"). Patternd marble.
Sacred Spaces 10a Longitudinal and lateral sections of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118–125 CE. Interior is 142 feet in diameter and height = sphere fits inside.
Sacred Spaces 11 ANTHEMIUS OF TRALLES and ISIDORUS OF MILETUS, Hagia Sophia (view facing north), Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, 532–537 Constructed using dome on pendentive, with semi domes and buttresses to support. Minarets were added later by Ottomans.
Sacred Spaces 12 ANTHEMIUS OF TRALLES and ISIDORUS OF MILETUS, longitudinal section of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, 532–537 Showing the central dome and supporting half-domes.
Sacred Spaces 13 ANTHEMIUS OF TRALLES and ISIDORUS OF MILETUS, interior of Hagia Sophia (view facing southwest), Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, 532–537. Byzantine style. Note clerestory windows under dome.
Islamic roundels added later
Sacred Spaces 14 Aerial view of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, 526–547.

Byzantine, dome on pendentive;
octagonal plan; simple on the outside.

Sacred Spaces 14a Interior of San Vitale (view from the apse into the choir), Ravenna, Italy, 526–547. Central plan; arcade; mosaics on the inside contrast with plain exterior.
Sacred Spaces 15 Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687–692. Domed on drum with windows; built over Muslim holy site; octagonal; Koranic script decorates.
Sacred Spaces 16 Interior of Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687–692. Central plan shrine; double ambulatory surrounds rock; pilgrims move clockwise then counterclockwise.
Sacred Spaces 17 The Kaaba, Mecca, showing pilgrims circumambulating. This is the holiest site in Islam. Muhammad smashed pagan idols in the Kaaba, inaugurating Islam and Mecca, his birthplace.
Sacred Spaces 18 Great Mosque in Mecca during the Hajj. Pilgrims wear white to show unity. They circle the kaaba seven times.
Sacred Spaces 19 Aerial view Temple Mount / Haram al Sharif, Jerusalem, Israel The site is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Sacred Spaces 20 Western Wall (also called the Wailing Wall), Jerusalem Holiest site for Jews; believed to be remains of wall for Second Jewish Temple.
Sacred Spaces 21
Malwiya minaret of the Great Mosque, Samarra, Iraq, 848–852.
 Spiral shaped minaret adjacent to mosque (damaged during Iraq war).
Sacred Spaces 22 Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, designed by archiect SINAN, 1568–1575. Standard Ottoman mosque design; dome on pendentive with supporting domes; designed to surpass the Hagia Sophia.
Sacred Spaces 23
Aerial view (from the southeast) of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120.
Romanesque; Latin cross plan; radiating chapels; designed to accommodate pilgrims.
Sacred Spaces 24 Plan of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse

Plan shows nave, transept, ambulatory, side aisles,
groin vaulting in side aisles. During Romanesque, stone vaulting replacing wood ceilings.

Sacred Spaces 25

 Ambulatory and radiating chapels, abbey church, Saint-Denis, France, 1140–1144. Designed by the Abbot Suger. Accepted as the first Gothic church; free flowing space in ambulatory and in chapels.

Sacred Spaces 26

 Aerial view of Chartres Cathedral (from the northwest), Chartres, France, begun 1134 Gothic cathedral; Latin cross plan; flying buttresses; noted for its stained glass.

Sacred Spaces 27

 Plan of Chartres Cathedral Plan shows nave and aisle, radiating chapels, apse, choir.

Sacred Spaces 28

 Interior of Chartres Cathedral Ribbed groin vaulting in nave and aisles, compound piers reach to ceiling; elevations = nave arcade, gallery, clerestory windows.

Sacred Spaces 29

 

 Flying buttress from Chartres Cathedral Flying buttresses allowed walls to be thinner, higher and full of stained glass; Chartres' flying buttresses reach only halfway to ground.

Sacred Spaces 30

 

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, plan for Saint Peter’s, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1546.

check date?

Michelangelo designed a church with a Greek cross plan for St. Peter's. A different central plan church was used.

Sacred Spaces 31
DONATO D’ANGELO BRAMANTE, plan for the new Saint Peter’s, the Vatican, Rome, Italy, 1505
 Bramante's design was implemented; it is a Greek cross plan but it was later altered.

Sacred Spaces 32

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI, Dome of Saint Peter’s (view from the northwest), Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1546–1564.
Dome completed by GIACOMO DELLA PORTA, 1590.

Michelangelo designed the dome for St. Peter's during the Renaissance.

Sacred Spaces 33
CARLO MADERNO, facade of Saint Peter’s, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1606–1612.
 Maderno's facade obstructed the view of Michelangelo's dome.
Sacred Spaces 34 CARLO MADERNO, plan of Saint Peter’s, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, with adjoining piazza designed by GIANLORENZO BERNINI. The plan shows Maderno's addition to Bramante's original church, with the piazza at right.
Sacred Spaces 35
Aerial view of Saint Peter’s, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1506–1666.
 Bernini designed the long arms of the piazza, meant to embrace the faithful, during the period of the Counter Reformation.

Sacred Spaces 36

 GIANLORENZO BERNINI, baldacchino, Saint Peter’s, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 1624–1633. Gilded bronze, approx. 100’ high. Bernini designed the "baldacchino" using bronze taken from the Pantheon and melted down. This covered the tomb of St. Peter below.
Sacred Spaces 37

Great Stupa, Sanchi, India, 3rd century BCE to 1st century CE. Shrine built to house the remains of the Buddha

 Circular tomb structure; walkway around the outside so that people can ambulate; "torana" gates are aligned to four cardinal directions; an axis mundi was believed to run through the middle.
Sacred Spaces 38 Torii gate, Japan. Torii gates indicate a sacred Shinto area where "kami" reside.
Sacred Spaces 39 Inner shrine, Ise, Japan, 1st century CE, rebuilt 1993 Shinto shrines are usually simple - wood, thatch - since Shinto is linked to nature. Only priests enter.
Sacred Spaces 40 Vishnu Temple, Deogarh, India, early 6th century.

Hindu temples have a central chamber that houses the deity.
Window are designed to let the "light" of the god out.

Sacred Spaces 41

Sculptures from Luoyang, China. Longmen caves. Buddha, disciples, and Bodhisattvas. Tang Dynasty, completed 675 CE. Buddha is approx 44 feet high.

Buddhism entered China via the Silk Road. Buddhist shrines were built in caves along that route for prayer.
Sacred Spaces 42 Great Friday Mosque, Djenné, Mali. Rebuilding of 1907 in the style of the 13th c. original. Wooden torons support mixture of mud and straw. Mali was an important Islamic empire.

Sacred Spaces 43

 Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California, 1978-80, designed by Philip Johnson Philip Johnson is perhaps best known for his Glass House in New Canaan.
Sacred Spaces 44 Aerial view of the Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California, 1978-80, designed by Philip Johnson The building has a star shape when seen from above.
Sacred Spaces 45 Interior of the Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, California, 1978-80, designed by Philip Johnson Megachurches require comfortable seating, audio, and video for the masses. Glass walls surround a skeleton.
Sacred Spaces 46 James Turrell, Live Oak Friends Meetinghouse, (Quaker Meetinghouse), Houston, Texas. Completed 2000. James Turrell (designer of GA US lighting) uses light as his medium. This roof is retractable. The view changes according to the light at different times of day.

Ideas/ Themes / Links

Themes / Common Features

  • circular or central plan
  • ambulation / contemplation
  • domes /skylights (representing Heaven, leading eye upwards)
  • light (believed to be divine in several religions)
  • clear separation between sacred and profane realms
  • height (of building, of site chosen)
  • axis mundi - idea of an axis connecting Heaven, earth, underworld
  • accommodating pilgrims