Where the Sacred Meets the Everyday: A Pilgrimage in the City

Abstract

This thesis seeks to provide a sacred space in the city; a pilgrimage for the body, mind and soul. As contemporary life causes a constant search for meaning, identity and authenticity, it is through sacred architecture within the urban realm that community, participation and publicness acquire an intense meaning. Architecture can challenge the condition of religious space in urban society. The thesis seeks to clarify the relationship that sacredness has to the modern world, an experiment in embodied sacredness in self, site and city. This thesis attempts to uncover the universal route of religious architecture by identifying and deconstructing the archetypes that formed and established a religion’s architectural expression at one time. The intention would be to then interpose elements in the streets of the city in order to establish a new public space for the everyday that serves the city and the spirit.